page 2 - JOHN MORGAN continued

Coaching and Coal-Carrying

Another event which John contested away from the running track was the World Coal Carrying Championship, held principally at Gawthorpe, near Ossett in Yorkshire. Other versions were held at the Kendal Gathering Gala, Aughton Pudding Festival, Penrith Gala, Lowgill and Morecambe. John's best performance at Gawthorpe, carrying a 1 cwt sack over a 1,012 metre uphill course from the Royal Oak pub to the village Maypole, was 2nd to the Leeds window-cleaner, Gordon Froment. Gordon won the title six years in succession, 1966-71, and was also an outstanding runner at Northern sports meetings, winning the 880 yards at Grasmere in 1966. In addition to local coal miners, the event attracted entries from other track and fell runners like Tony Nicholson, another multiple winner, from Troutbeck in Cumberland, and Reuben Parsons (Levens) who triumphed at Morecambe in 1969 over Keith Summersgill (Skipton) and John Morgan, who took 3rd place.

Besides competing himself, John was also coaching his daughter, Tracy, andher friend, Mandy Elvey, also of Kendal, during the '70s. Other girls would often turn up for these sessions. Tracy won the 90m girls' event at Grasmere in 1977 after finishing 3rd over the same distance at Ambleside the previous year. Two other local girl athletes, Marie and Susan Morgan, were the daughters of John's brother Henry and his wife Shirley, while their son Ronnie was a good cross-country and fell runner. When Kendal Sports was inaugurated in 1968 on Netherfield's football ground, Ronnie tied with another Kendal runner, Peter Proctor, for first place in the Under-17s cross-country race. He also won the Youths' 880 yards at Jedburgh around this time, with John himself placed third in the Mile to Colin Glen, Bathgate, brother of Michael Glen, who established the British One Mile record on a grass track at Keswick August Bank Holiday Sports in Fitz Park in 1955, with a time of 4 mins 7 secs.

John Morgan with daughter Tracy

Tracy and Mandy were the first girls to compete in Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling at Lakeland Sports. Tracy was first to make a name for herself in this discipline when she was placed third in the under-16s at Torver between two Brocklebank lads from the famous Tewitfield family of wrestlers.

In 1978, Tracy was one of six girls at Longlands School, Kendal, to be banned from competing against classmates at sport because teachers knew they took part in meetings like Grasmere and Ambleside and must therefore be regarded as professionals. John and other parents were understandably very angry over this and John wrote to the Ombudsman about it. This resulted in Cumberland County Council confirming their agreement with him and stating that the teachers had misinterpreted the rules. An Amateur Athletics Association spokesman declared: 'I have much sympathy with Mr. Morgan and am satisfied that the girls have suffered injustice' . The teachers, however, were not too happy about this verdict and even considered taking legal action against John! Said he: All children should be treated alike at school, merely as schoolchildren and not as amateurs and professionals.

Officiating

John began organising races and officiating at various village sports around 1968, while still competing himself. Together with Tommy Airey and his wife Avril, he began promoting the sports at the historic Kendal Gathering Gala the following year, and he continues to be active in this capacity. In 1973, John introduced to the Gala his Paddle, Pedal and Patter event for junior teams. He was inspired by his knowledge of the old Lakeside-Gummers-How race (revived in recent years as an amateur event), in which competitors would row across Lake Windermere, run up and down Gummers How, then row back across the Lake. His Kendal version involved a raft run on the River Kent, a bike ride and a run up Castle Hill.

Two years earlier, John has organised the running and coal-carrying events at the revived Aughton Pudding Festival at Oaken Head Farm, Halton, near Lancaster . This had last been held in 1886, prior to which it had taken place every 21 years, but it hasn't been repeated since its 1971 revival. John was also responsible for reinstating the grass track cycle racing at Lakeland Sports which had been banned by the British Cycling Federation. I had a chat with Derrick Tunstall of Burton-in-Kendal , who was in the postal service in Kendal and he was helpful in getting it restarted at Kendal Sports at the rugby ground. The following year, Ambleside and other Sports followed suit. I believe Derrick retired this year as Secretary of the Lune Valley Cycle Club after forty years.

The Kendal Sports Committee Winter League was another of John's ideas. This began in 1972-73 with just three events: a fell race up Benson Knott, a cross-country race around Mintsfeet and the Jubilee Fields, and a road race at Burneside, his idea being to test the all-round athletic ability of the competitors. From these three races, the League eventually expanded to cover 22 events and is now promoted by the Helm Hill Runners. John was also responsible for introducing the fell races at the Walna Scar Shepherds Meet, which alternates yearly between Torver, Seathwaite and Broughton Mills.

In 1985, John took over as Secretary of the Lakeland Sports Promoters Association, a position which he still holds. He also continues to serve on the committee of the Ambleside Sports Association, as well as officiating for the track races at various other sports meetings. He was an official at Grasmere until track racing was dropped from the programme after the 1997 event. For the past 30-odd years, John has been an unpaid contributor of Sports reports and results to the Westmorland Gazette and the Lancashire Evening Post .

It is due to the unswerving dedication of people like John Morgan that Lakeland sport survives in such a healthy state today. Long may he continue to serve the Sports with such distinction.