Don't forget the forum

As frequently stated, I started the http://www.manxathletics.com/ site in 2000 and it wasn't long before I tried to establish a forum.

With fewer users on the site and perhaps because people were a bit shy, in the early days I often resorted to starting debates by posting something controversial - my suggestion that veteran athletics should only start at 60 because most events were being won by over 40s certainly did the trick!

The forum has been in its present form (hosted by http://www.bravenet.com/ ) for about five years and the vast majority of the visitors to the main site also appear to check out the forum on a regular basis.

So if you need some help with your training, with your aches and pains or your race tactics, don't be afraid to ask the expects for help.

A good example of the response you can expect was a recent request for help from a walker suffering an injury. Loads of people, including several professionals, came to his/her help.

The only problem is that the walker did not provide their name and email address as required by the forum rules.

This usually means that the post would be deleted but occasionally I have let such entries go. But the rule is still there - its just not being enforced on this occasion. That is a theme I shall return to on another day.

To access the forum use this link:

http://pub38.bravenet.com/forum/3219660836