Ross Hunt's "Gulf Marathon"
The day is Thursday April 10th 2003. The time is 9 a.m. The place is the treadmill
in the RFA Argus gym. When or where else could you possibly run the London Marathon?
Unfortunately for him, Scotland Band's very own Musn Ross Hunt found himself
in "The Gulf" on the day of the London Marathon. However, it takes
more than being in the wrong continent to stop our running man from taking part
in his 5th successive London Marathon. So he decided to do the run on one of
our fine ship's two running machines, quite selfishly "hogging" one
of these only two treadmills in the process! Still, no one seemed to mind, as
it was all for "charidy-mate", though he doesn't like to talk about
that mate.
Ross was running to raise money for L.I.S.A. (Laryngectomy Indoor Swimming Association)
and, at the time of going to press, he had succeeded in raising about £1100
for this worthy cause.
Running on a treadmill can be boring at the best of times, but even more so
if you are going to be on there for 26.2 miles. Therefore Ross was grateful
that BdCpl / LtCmdr Ian Davis and his entourage of nurses had spent the whole
of the previous evening producing a "London collage" so that he would
feel like he was actually in the bustling capital. This artistic masterpiece
contained all of London's famous sights as well as various "sporty"
images. The collage included pictures of the London Eye, Buckingham Palace,
numerous runners, a pork pie, the late, great snooker player Bill Werbeniuk,
and various girls' behinds. "Well, it kept Ross going", as Ian put
it.
Ross also had a plethora of volunteers to run alongside him for company, in
addition to all the spectators who were also there wishing him well. They also
provided welcome additional revenue for the cause, as all spectators were required
to pay 50p to watch, and runners had to pay £1 for the privilege of exhausting
themselves alongside him! Among the volunteers were the majority of the Band
out here, including "The Boss", and numerous other members from the
RN, RAF, and RAMC. Some of these managed to run further than others. Some only
managed about 2 feet, having fallen off the treadmill before they even got going,
without mentioning any names. Fortunately, BdSgt "Taff" Ingram was
on hand to step into the breach, and run an ADDITIONAL half-mile, so only Ross
ended up running further (there's your mention, as requested). However, of all
the volunteers who ran with Ross, the star was surely Musn Mike Hearman, who
ran the penultimate mile wearing full I.P.E. gear and his respirator, to the
great amusement and disbelief of everyone. His only complaint was that he could
not see where the treadmill's belt was, and hence nearly fell off a number of
times.
Ross completed the distance in the eminently respectable time of 3 hours and
45 minutes, with a triumphant punch in the air, followed immediately by a pained
grab to his leg, as he suddenly feared that his hamstring had just snapped.
Once he had recovered, he stepped off the running machine, through his "winner's
tape", and received his medal from the Boss, who he thanked with a sweaty
kiss on the ear.
Ross would like to thank the ship's buglers who gave him a triumphant fanfare
on completion, and also his admin team of Musn Graham Hayes, and LNN Kelly Troake
who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.
When asked for a quote, Ross said, "I can't think of anything relevant
right now, but I'll probably think of something while I'm in the bar later"
Well, I shall have to finish this article now and congratulate Ross on a magnificent
achievement.
Musn Rich Mackey
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