Athletics - Handicaps & Handicapping

[Tipton Tog]

I am researching the history of Tipton Harriers and am struggling to find some "standard" data for handicap racing that went on from the early 20th century right up to the early 1960's.

This form of competition was the most common form of track & field contests available to runners of the period.

They were often staged by local firms, charity organisations and the like around the Birmingham & wider Midlands area and also included cycle racing as well.

I have exhausted my wide range of local athletic contacts/materials/archives and just wondered if anyone might have any 'rules' or "standards" associated with this branch of athletics as an item of ephemera.

I can find many references to the various "penalties" that would be applied should you win or false start but not the basic parameters.

What I am after is as follows. The "novice" mark was that mark you were put on when first entering such contests. The "upper" one was the maximum allowance anyone was given. From what I understand these would have changed periodically, possibly even yearly.

Distance	Novice Mark	Upper Limit
100 yards
220 yards
440 yards
880 yards
1 Mile
Etc.

Notable Handicappers from the Birmingham area were Jim Peace (Harborne Harriers), C H Frame, A Machin (Sparkhill Harriers)

Any help gratefully received.

 

[tim eborn]

I don't know if it is the same person who handicapped at Harborne Harriers but the surname is Peace. I worked along side Allan Peace at Guest, Keen, and Nettlefolds c1958 and he was their handicapper at that time.
It maybe he was the son of Jim Peace and took on the mantle or his name was Allan James Peace or James Allan Peace . He was however Allan at work and he was the Supervisor of the Schedule Section in the Sales Dept.
We were in a syndicate of 13 who won some largish prize in the football pools.
I attended an Annual Dinner of the Harriers as his wife was indisposed and I sat at the top table next to The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, who like myself had no connection with the Harriers and knew nothing about running but we got on like a house on fire.
A couple of weeks later our motor scooter club (The Cherubs) were taking part in a Blood Bank challenge for motor cyclists and scooter riders and The Lord Mayor turned up and was surprised to see me as a somewhat familiar face (ex drinking companion?). Unfortunately I cannot recall his name etc.
If Allan is still around he would be well into his 80's and I doubt if he would remember me but you never know!