The Lichfield Dash

'It's like Chariots of Fire' - that's the usual way to explain the Lichfield Dash.

Chariots of Fire was the 1981 film about the achievements at the 1924 Olympics of two remarkable men: Harold Abrahams, a Jew seeking to confront prejudice; and Eric Liddell, a committed Christian, running for the glory of God. In one particular scene, Abrahams attempts the Trinity Great Court Run: to run around the perimeter of the Great Court of Trinity College, Cambridge (a distance of 341 metres) in the 43 seconds it takes for the college clock to strike 12.

Well, the Lichfield Dash is some sort of equivalent. As it happens, the perimeter road around Lichfield Cathedral is a 430 metre circuit. So it's considerably longer than Trinity Great Court. But, as it happens, it also takes a bit longer for the clock of Lichfield Cathedral to chime 12 noon: almost 62 seconds in fact, which is just long enough for an elite athlete to get round.

So, each year in July, Lichfield Cathedral Close is given over to a foot-race. Actually, it's given over to a series of foot-races, the culmination of which is the Lichfield Dash itself at 12 noon. Earlier in the day there are age and gender differentiated races, some of them (for younger athletes) only cover the length of the Close. This year there was an innovation in the form of a cycle race.

The main event is usually won by a semi-professional male, who usually does manage to get round inside the time of the chime. But the highlight of this year's event was not the Dash itself, but the race which preceded it: the novelty relay. There were three teams: one representing Ansons (a firm of local solicitors); one (surely the favourites) representing the Lichfield Harriers (a running club); and a third, 'First Class Males', representing - you guessed it - Lichfield Cathedral. And the winners were - you guessed it - First Class Males.

Why 'First Class Males'? Because this time last year, the Post Office issued a set of stamps featuring images of some of Britain's finest Cathedrals. And the image selected for the first class stamp was an image of - you guessed it - Lichfield Cathedral. So we had some T-shirts printed up, complete with the image and the slogan 'First Class Male'.

So let's hear it for Lichfield Cathedral, a first class building; and for our first class relay team, the First Class Males.