On this day in 1947, a boy Robert Stanton Harlow was born to Frank and May.



On this day in 2005, Bob (a.k.a. Rob; a.k.a. Boy Harlow) is cycling between Tam Duong and Sa Pa in northern Vietnam. This will include a climb of 1,900m and no doubt a few cleansing ales at the end of the day. There is meant to be the most spectacular scenery today, although also the hardest day of cycling. It will be a challenge after being woken during the night with a rat gnawing his toe. He did not sleep after that.



Happy Birthday Gorgeous! How can I summarise Bob's achievements in a few lines? When I met Bob in 1990, he was an accomplished if steady middle of the pack runner with a marathon PB of 2:42. There were only three trophies in the house, and although keen, he was not a contender amongst his peers. Since then however he has gone from strength to strength, especially since turning his attention to ultras, and thence triathlon and duathlon events. The highlight must be his age group win in the World Duathlon Championships in Alpharetta in 2002, however participation in events all over the globe, including the Comrades, Powerman Zofingen and Austria and many World Championships must be up there. He is also a hell of a nice guy!