Athletics, and in particular middle distance running, didnโt feature in my school sporting activities until around 1953 age 15, at Warwick High School. To my surprise and without a great deal of training, I started winning races in the local Inter-school competition over 880 yards and 1 mile. My best performance was winning the one mile race in the Queensland State Secondary School Sports Association competition in Brisbane on 16 September 1955 in a time of 4:46.
For the next 3 years (1956-1958), academic studies at the University of Queensland took precedence with very little training and running. I then started serious training, much of it with my university club-mate and Olympian Tony Blue. My times improved dramatically in 1960 and 1961 with the 880 dropping to around 1:52 and the mile to 4:10.5. Training and competitive running dropped off again in the period 1962-1967 with full-time post-graduate study and work commitments in Canada. On my return to Australia in 1968 through until retirement in 1998, training and competitive running was intermittent, the only highlight being in 1983 with a 2nd place in the Australian Veterans Athletic Championships in Melbourne, with a time of 4:11 in the 1500 m. This time was, for a brief period, the W.A. State record for my M45 age group.
My post-retirement running career has been dogged by muscle injuries. However, one positive for the ageing athlete is the drop-off in competitor numbers, so that I have been able to collect a number of W.A. State titles over distances from 800 m to 10 km.
More details of my running career can be obtained by downloading the attached PDF (2.5Mb) or viewing online below.
