Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2012/January 2013 | Page 28

INTERVIEW
Shanklin, Sandown and on to
Bembridge. He smiled: “I was near
Bembridge when I began to feel a bit
tired. I used the money my mum gave
me to buy pints of milk, because it was
the best way to keep myself going.”
Rejuvenated by the white stuff,
David ran through Ryde, East Cowes,
Newport, and eventually just beyond
Shalfleet. He admits: “By then I was
doing more walking than running,
and just couldn’t go on. Thankfully,
someone from the caravan site where
we were staying saw me and gave me
a lift. I reckon I was about five miles
short of completing the whole journey.
That evening we went to a cinema in
a church hall to watch the film ‘The
Dam Busters’, but I was so shattered I
slept through it!
“However, I always remember that
run as being the first time I had done
something that was quite impressive,
and in many ways it added to my love
of the Island. Since then I have been
back many times, and love it. I always
get a buzz here because it takes me
back to my youth.”
David’s parents even toyed with the
idea of buying a hotel on the Island
before opting

David on his way to world record 10,000 metres,
at Crystal Palace in 1973

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David with TV presenter Jenni Falconer at the launch of RunBritain

to stay in London. But inspired by
his Island heroics, he quickly moved
through the ranks of distance running.
Within just eight years he represented
Britain at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
He finished sixth in the 10,000
metres final, and it has always rankled
with him that he did not strike gold,
admitting he was ‘not firing on all
cylinders’, and it as the worst day of
his life.
A year later he enjoyed his
best day as he smashed the
10,000 metres world record
at Crystal Palace in a time of
27mins, 30.8secs. To put that
into perspective Mo Farah’s
winning time in the 10,000
metres at this summer’s
London Olympics was 27mins,
30.42secs.
His distinctive bushy
moustache, long curly hair
and red running socks were
trademark features as he
continued to regenerate
public interest in athletics.
But in 2003 he was in a
legal dispute over the alleged
portrayal of his image in the
directory enquiries 118 118
service advert.
The company used
twin athletes wearing red
socks and David’s distinctive

moustache and hair cut. Eventually
they backed down claiming ‘it was all
a big misunderstanding', but only after
it cost him £60,000 in legal fees!
After retiring through injury at just
25, David worked as secretary for
the International Athletes Club –
and athletes’ union. He quit to open
a couple of night clubs in Luton,
but returned to the sport in 1988.
For 12 years he was Race Director
of the hugely successful London
Marathon, during which time it raised
£550million for charity. He has now
cut back on commitments in favour of
more spare time – and holidays on the
Island.
However, recently his marathon
prowess was in evidence when he
painstakingly planned the course for
the London Olympic Marathon. The
race started in the Mall and finished
not in the Olympic Stadium as is
tradition, but outside Buckingham
Palace after passing virtually every top
landmark in the capital – an amazing
London travelogue! It took him a year
to plan, and he describes it as one of
the most satisfying projects he has ever
undertaken.
David is now 63 and approaching the
50th anniversary of that run around
the Island that started it all. But he
assured me he is not planning a ‘lap of
honour’ to mark the occasion!