Member Profiles - Chris Smale
Name: Chris Smale
Club: Unattached
Where are you from?: Originally Portsmouth, Hampshire. Now Bacup, Lancashire.
Age: 47
Occupation: Solicitor
How long have you been running?: 36 Years
How long have you been fell running?: 8 years
Why fell running?: Until around ten years ago I had only known flat places and I liked track running. When I moved to hilly country I initially wasn't interested in running on the hills but when I did eventually get persuaded into it I just caught the bug.
Favourite Race(s) why?: Coniston Gullies, Wasdale Show. Although I am not especially good at either of them they have a great mad feel to them. Musbury Tor Mile. A real lung burster.
Greatest achievements (or disasters!): Achievements: 1st and 3rd respectively for BOFRA and FRA vets championships were quite good but I usually think keeping going for a pretty long time seems to be my main running achievement.
Disasters: A few painful experiences such as Ennerdale when underprepared. Also when "the wheels come off" in a track 10k you really know about it.
Do you follow a training programme?: It is pretty much adapted to taking the dog out. We do an interval session up to five or even six days a week plus a lot of walking / jogging. I don't mean to make it sound overly casual because we train quite seriously.
What is your weekly mileage?: Because it is mostly with the dog it is difficult to speculate as to the mileage. If you exclude walking but include easy running we maybe average about fifty miles a week.
Who is your sporting hero / villain!: Heros: Zatopek, Coe, Gebreselassie, Ted Mason, Ian Holmes, Rob Jebb.
Vilains: None really.
Favourite food: Curry
Favourite drink: Red wine
Favourite shoes: Walsh PB Trainer.
Favourite piece of running kit: Shorts, Walshes, T Shirt, Socks; in that order.
Favourite music / band: My step daughter Sophie Hamer on the Piano.
Favourite movie / TV programme: Movie: Withnail and I. TV programmes: Cricket, Cycling.
Do you have any other hobbies?: No
Give us an interesting fact / something we wouldn't know about you!: I ran a Marathon in 1976 at age 13 years and 1 day.
Complete the sentence: If I wasn't fell running I would be... ...I don't know.
Complete the sentence: I have never... ...managed to avoid doing things that everyone else appears to have done.
Anything else you want to add?: