Roger Robinson still running

Press, 24 September 1980, Page 26

Roger Robinson still running

From

KEN COATES

in London.

For a New Zealand running academic, Roger Robinson, the stimulation of competing wherever his research and overseas conferences take him is producing top performances in Britain and the United .States. The 41-year-old professor of English at Victoria University in Wellington, at present on sabbatical leave, is running as well as ever. He recently won the 10,000 m world veterans’ road championships at Glasgow against tough competition in a field of 750. And last week in Dorset, Robinson won a road race over 5000 m “in the heart of Jane Austen country.” That win caused a minor local sensation as Robinson, running in the singlet of the venerable London club, Thames Hare and Hounds, beat the England international, Dave Francis.

“It caused total confusion: race officials did not know who I was, and to compound matters, my 13-year-old son, Jim, who ran in a junior race, and I had accidentally worn each other’s race numbers,” recalled Robinson. The English-born professor will be remembered in Christchurch where he spent six years at Canterbury University and was

stadium announcer for the 1 9 7 4 Commonwealth Games. A Cambridge Blue, he went to New Zealand in T 968, after representing England in cross-country in, 1966-67, and was Surrey cross-country champion in 1963. At 37, Roger Robinson recorded a personal best 10.000 m time of 29:34 during the Pan Am international series, and he represented New Zealand in West Germany in the world cross-country championships. Back temporarily in his native England, "primarily for research so all races have to. be fitted in between my work and conferences,” Roger has also won the British veterans’ 5000 m track championship in 14:55.

He struck form early on this trip, winning a sixmile road race in Los Angeles, and coming third in a field of 4000 in a half-marathon in Kansas City. Performances in Britain include finishing second to the’lrish international, Des O’Connor, in the Hanwell five: fourth in the Rane 1 a g h half-marathon behind the top British runners, Bernie Ford, Graeme Tuck and Ken Penney, and first in a Gloucestershire road race.

But the highlight was the Glasgow world veterans’ race which turned out to be about 500 m over distance. The course was apparently changed at the

last moment to skirt a golf fairway after golfers complained, and there was insufficient time to change the complete route.

Robinson beat the Welsh runner, "Taff” Davies, the veteran world cross-country and steeplechase winner at the Hanover championships, in a time of 31:09. A determined and muchfancied Davies was the

early leader, but Robinson made his break at halfway, and beat his rival with 43 seconds to spare. He recalled that his pace was much faster than the time would indicate: had the course not been over-length, he estimates it. would have been between 29:20 and 29:40. What was particularly satisfying for Robinson was beating Ron Hill, who finished ninth, and Jim Alder (fifteenth), “who were star runners the year I scraped into the England team.” Driving back from Scotland a week later, Robinson stopped off to run a race at Frodsham, Cheshire, "a fierce hill race 'of five miles,” in .which he came sixth, just beaten in a sprint-in by Nick Brawn, a top Oxford cross-coun-try runner, and a group of other top runners. “I didn’t know who these runners were until I saw their names in the results,” Robinson said. He is enjoying the stimulus of running against runners completely unknown to him, particularly after several seasons in Wellington where he knew the opposition thoroughly. “I am running six to 10 miles on the road or cross-country as well as ever,” he said. He is unbeaten in the veteran class, and in open competition has only been beaten by internationals. In New Zealand, said Robinson, running is too centre-orientated, whereas athletes would benefit

from moving around more and meeting different opposition. As a keen researcher into the life and work of Samuel Butler (on whom he will be writing a book), Roger Robinson finds his running far frorh a distraction.

"I find it helps my work by aiding concentration,” he said. “I work with the same kind of in-< tensity with which I run, and I get through more work because of running.”

Some interesting research is being carried out on this point, involving oxygen supply to the brain. Perhaps the word has got around in academia — at Aberdeen, where he attended a conference of professors of English, a sizable group of delegates were out running before sessions. Last week, Professor Roger Robinson flew off to the United States where he will head for a library

in Massachusetts to continue his research. He carried his running gear, as well as a briefcase, as he has been invited to run in several road races, and might run the New York marathon on October 26, styled “the greatest footrace on earth.” Due back in Wellington at the end of the year, Robinson mentions that he has research to do in Christchurch in mid-Janu-ary, and it might be convenient to run in the world veterans’ track meeting about that time. If he does, he could well gain major honours for New Zealand. Another New Zealand veteran runner, John Robinson (no relation to Roger), came second in the world veterans’ marathon at Glasgow in 2:19:38. The latest report is that John Robinson has a post as a coach in the United States.