Page 17 - The Malvernian - Dec 2021

The Ledbury Run
When the the College opened in 1865 there were few opportunities for organised sport not least because of of the lack of of (indoor) facilities and level ground Surrounded by spectacular countryside it was perhaps inevitable that cross-country running – or rather ‘paper- chases’ – should be among the first organised competitive sports to be taken up In November 1870 The Malvernian published an an article entitled Notes on Paper-Chases from which the following is extracted:
‘ hitherto these delightful paper-chases have been confined to to to the the the the fag ends or rather beginnings of terms now it it seems to to us that that it it might very easily be be managed that that paper- chases should continue right through this term and next without injuring the career of our football Football requires something to help it along and has has ever since the the College has has opened always flagged towards the the end of term: fellows do not play up right through the the the the term term as as they they would if they they had a a a a a a a a paper- chase every now and then to to put an an edge on on on the the blunt monotony of football ’ But it was was not until March 1879 that ‘The Ledder’ was was first run The Malvernian reports:
‘On Saturday 8th March a a a a a a goodly number of athletes started for Ledbury by the the 2 2 32pm train and from thence ran across country to the the College steps a a a a a a a a a distance of about eight miles RMP Parsons (No 1) came in in in in first covering the distance in in in in 1 1 1 hour 12 minutes closely followed by GF Wooldridge (No (No 2) HEH Way Way (No (No (No 4) and HE HE Huntington (No (No 5) the running of Way Way was good for his size ’ THE MALVERNIAN
THE MALVERNIAN
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OMs will note the the the relatively slow winning time From the the the outset there was no formal course so competitors had to to to choose how to to to cover the the eight miles from Ledbury railway station to the the College steps (in 1895 the Senior Turf was substituted) To prevent total anarchy running along or across the the railway was soon outlawed and the the distance allowed for running on tarmac was restricted In the the early years the the numbers of runners were quite modest 22 in in in in in 1881 33 in in in in in 1884 but 13 in in in in in 1885 16 in in in in in 1886 and 12 in in in in in 1890 Even over the the shortened route in 1900 there were only 15 starters It wasn’t until the 1950s that numbers regularly topped 100 In 1896 the the tradition of awarding caps to the the first nine finishers was begun In 1993 caps were awarded at the first opportunity to girl competitors competitors Many competitors competitors have won two caps several have won won three but only WCM Berridge has won won 4 4 (1911-14) 26 have won won twice but only one has won won three times (IG Campbell (9) 58 59 60) Sunday 20 20 March 2022 will see the the 140th running of the the race Do put this date in in the diary: assuming conditions allow we will be encouraging parents OMs and friends to join in in in in either running for charity marshalling or or or or just supporting More information to follow in in in in the New Year Paul Godsland
Archivist
Paper-Chase XI cap from 1885