Always Remember

Take a minute to remember,
Those men and women who refused to surrender.

All those lives they fought to save,
Only it is they that ended up in a mass grave.

This was not a game of Call of Duty you know,
These people that died did not get to see their children grow.

Before and since, soldiers have died aplenty,
Thousands of them gone before they hit twenty.

The First World War is known as Great,
But what is so about such conflict and hate?

For months and years they suffered in trenches,
Remember that when you are sat on their memorial park benches.

For all those souls that met their fate,
Did so to ensure that evil does not dictate.

Take a minute to reflect, remember and ponder,
All those lives lost in years gone yonder.

And support our soldiers, strong and brave,
Think of all those lives they fight to save.

Wear a poppy by your heart, on your chest,
They don't ask you to give a lot, just do your best.

One hundred years have come and gone,
We should always remember them, each and every one.

Why do we run?

Heart pounding so hard you can hear it in your ears. So cold outside that you can see your every breath in front of your face, in between wiping the tingling mess of sweat and rain from your eyes so that you can actually see that is. Your legs screaming in pain as your every step hits the floor with a thud.

It doesn't sound so attractive when you put it like that does it? So why do thousands of people up and down the country, not to mention far and wide across the world, pull on the trainers every day without fail?

The truth is that the benefits of this simple sport are numerous. But everybody participates for a different reason. Let's see if we can work out a few, and whether any of you fit in with each of the categories in turn.

• Health - possibly one of the most important reasons behind many people new to running taking up the sport is the rich health benefits which can be reaped through putting in the hard miles. For instance, my own dad took up running this year in order to 'get in shape'. More calories can be burned per hour through running than any other sport or physical activity. Which makes it the perfect way for people who are looking to lose weight, get rid of the beer gut, or maintain a balanced lifestyle to reinvent themselves. Ultimately, by taking up running and getting fitter, it can help people to potentially extend their life expectancy.
• Mental - whether or not you enjoy the actual process of running, or see it as fun during participation, the mental benefits of our sport are very much real. When a person completes exercise their body naturally releases a chemical called endorphins. This is defined as a 'morphine-like substance', which can cause feelings of euphoria. This also be described as the 'runner's high' or the buzz that keeps bringing runners back for more time and time again.
• Social - one of the greatest advantages of running that I personally have noticed since becoming a member of a running club is the feeling of belonging, acceptance and community amongst fellow runners. Both within the running club itself, but also throughout the local running community there is a huge network of clubs, teams and groups where people from all walks of life can come together and share a common passion. I can honestly say that this is the best benefit that I have found since I took up running seriously. But then again I am biased, without the sport I probably would never have met my girlfriend! Some people do like to run, or train on their own, but certainly running in groups or with friends makes the activity easier and time pass more quickly.
• Competition - whatever standard or level you are able to perform at,participation in races is a big part of this sport once you take the plunge into becoming a club runner. Whether you are fighting for the front positions, racing against the clock, trying to beat a known 'rival' of a similar standard, beat your previous PB, or simply looking to get around the course and finish the event. Running can provide a great feeling of personal challenge and give you a drive to succeed or improve yourself. I have been lucky to have a certain degree of success recently within my own local running community through winning races, but if anything this success only drives me to want more and to set myself even higher standards for the future.

Whatever your own personal running story, and reasons for participation are, there is certainly a lot out there to keep us all coming back for more day after day. 

If you have enjoyed this article, or it has got you thinking about what exactly makes you run, please feel free to comment and promote debate :)

How high can a dead cat bounce?

After a horrific start to the campaign and what looked like an early season-defining mauling away to Southampton, it appeared the writing was on the wall for Alan Pardew at Newcastle United.

Arranging to loan out two of the supporters favourite players, whilst the club continued to pick up their wages, did the manager of the North East's biggest club no favours either.

The teams form had plummeted alarmingly throughout a turgid 2014, which had began with another sale of the teams best player. The move which saw Yohan Cabayé depart for mega-rich PSG ripped the heart out of a side lacking in guile and creativity.

A summer recruitment drive appeared to address this problem, however with big money signings Seim De Jong (injured) and Rémy Cabella (form) failing to hit the ground running, fan unrest soon spread amongst the toon army.

When Hull City came to St James' Park on the afternoon of September 20th, it had the feel of a 'make or break' 90 minutes for the Alan Pardew era. With ousted former player Hatem Ben Arfa fanning the flames further, sitting amongst the home fans to watch his new team take on NUFC. Almost inevitably Hull City took the lead in a scrappy game early into the second half. When that advantage was doubled with just 25 minutes to play, Pardew had the look of a broken man on the touchline. The home support began to bay for blood once more.

Incredibly, at that moment, Pardew took what appeared to be his final throw of the dice. He chucked on Papiss Cissé, a player who had returned to full training just two days previously from a broken knee cap, and whose form over the last 2 seasons had tailed off so dramatically that last year he mustered just two league goals all campaign. Within 15 minutes he had equaled that tally already this season. A point was rescued, and the manager survived for another day.

A mid-week victory followed away to Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup, along with a similar 2-2 draw - and two more Papiss Cissé equalisers - the following weekend at the Liberty Stadium.

This brought us to the international break, with Newcastle stranded at the foot of the table, alongside Burnley. The manager was in a position in which his every decision was under scrutiny, and for every mistake he was vilified more.

A local newspaper poll in the Chronicle found that some 96% of 100,000 supporters believed that Pardew had to go (and let's face it the other 4% were probably Sunderland supporters!) and local journalist Mark Douglas published an opinion piece on September 25th, warning that any upturn in the clubs immediate form was nothing more than a 'dead cat bounce'. Read the article in full here: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/sport-opinion/mark-douglas-witness-alan-pardews-7835452

The first game after the international break was at home to Leicester City. The game was decided by a single goal via Gabriel Obertan and NUFC had their first league win of the season.

That was two weeks ago.

What had happened since has been quite remarkable.

For a struggling side, lacking in form and belief, to come from behind to win against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, then follow that up with another away win four days later in the Carling Cup against the current holders and premier league champions, Manchester City, was incredible. But today, the story took an even bigger twist.

A young, largely inexperienced Newcastle side took apart a talented Liverpool side, and stood resolute and strong against any attacks from Mario Balotelli and co. A side which included academy lads like Paul Dummett, Mehdi Abeid, Sammy Ameobi and Rolando Aarons, alongside a young striker bought for the development pool - Ayoze Perez - largely outclassed another multi-million pound outfit.

The side is now back in the top half of the division, and astonishingly now just one point behind today's opponents.

I am not his biggest fan, and admit that I called for his head a few weeks ago. But credit and respect must go to Alan Pardew for this recent turnaround, and also to the much-maligned Mike Ashley, for showing fellow Premiership club owners that sometimes the answer is not always to just sack the manager in hard times.

Tonight is a night to pay the club on the back and smile at last, before turning attentions to the next fixture and keeping the momentum going.

It is also perhaps a good idea to reflect and ponder: just how high CAN a dead cat bounce then?