80 year old Brian Symonds from Tillington near Hereford ran so fast at the recent Bath Half Marathon that he smashed the qualifying time to represent England at the International Masters Race in Chester in May 2023 organised by England Athletics.
The qualifying time for anyone over 75 is 2 hours 30 minutes and Brian managed to beat that by 16 minutes by finishing in 2 hours 14 minutes.
Brian finished mid pack in the sold out race leaving over 2000 runners typically half his age trailing in his wake.
Brian has been running with his club Wye Valley Runners in Hereford since his mid sixties and regularly trains with the club and tours the region racing at weekends.
Brian told Your Herefordshire:
“Running is for everyone – if I can do it anyone can. It really can change your life for the better – you meet all sorts of lovely people and if you put in a bit of work there is no reason why you can’t have a go at wearing the England vest.”
Brian has a few races planned ahead of the big race in Chester on May 22nd – but still plans to run his favourite race a week later when back home in Tillington – the Crocodile 8 race from Burghill Community school.
He has invited anyone who would like to join him to contact Wye Valley Runners and pop along for a run.
The club can be contacted at www.wyevalleyrunners.co.uk and they always welcome new people.
