I love this photo of Dave, it helps sum him up, determined , gritty, own style. An absolute legend in our Club ( I still regard Shaftesbury Harriers as 'my' club!)and in the U.K..A WORLD RECORD HOLDER for 10,000 in 27m30'odd back in the Seventy's when I first started running.
Of all the stories there are about this Champion, the following is typical of this guys fantastic abilities.
As a Junior athlete he competed in the South of England Junior Cross Country Championship at Parliament Hill. He Won the race at a canter and for reasons I cant recall, but it might have been the Senior team were short a runner? He started the Senior Championship Race shortly after finishing the Juniors and went on to win the Senior event too!
Consider in the old days cross country was really cross country and distance was distance. 6 miles in the Junior followed by 9 miles in the Senior.
Dave worked for a short time as a P.E. Teacher at my school !! How good was that!! A World Record Holder for a teacher!
In 1979 Dave was getting fit again after a number of years out (through choice or injury I'm not sure), he was on the comeback trail and he and I raced each other all Summer. I'm sure it was the thrill of racing Dave that pushed me to my 5000m PB performance (aged 17!) of 14m31.
Dave ran 14m40?
Like Johnny Broe , Dave is a huge character and enjoyed a pint or two after a race or training.
It was not a surprise that he should later run/own a Night Club - the Mad Hatters in Luton!
Though for normally low key distance runners this career seemed somewhat incongruous!
He is now the Chief Executive/Race Director of the London Marathon, very much involved with our Club and much sought after for opinions about athletics matters in the UK.
5.00am 45m21 Roo+Lake 11.1KM
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