Athlete wins England vest for third time... at age 75

AN athlete has won an England vest — at the age of 75.

David Dibben qualified for the Masters vest after completing a 10km race in Brighton and will now represent his country in a race of the same distance in Birmingham in May.

It is the third time he has earned an England vest, all for different distances and in different age
categories.

Ten years ago, when he was 65, he qualified by completing the Brighton Marathon in a time of three hours, 43 minutes and 47 seconds. Five years later, at age 70, he did the same after running a half marathon in Farnborough in one hour and 43 minutes.

Last month, he was back in Brighton for the 10km, which he ran in a time of 49 minutes and 54 seconds.

England Athletics’ age group Masters competition recognises the contribution that runners aged over 35 make to the sport. There is a rolling programme of qualifying events with a friendly competition format.

David, a retired Fleet Street journalist who lives in Winterberry Way, Caversham, with his wife Jill, said: “Qualifying for the England Masters gets easier the older you get simply because there are fewer and fewer competitors still running.

“The marathon was the most pleasing because I was close to the end of the age window. I finished first out of 89. There were only five of us in the Brighton 10km in my age group. Prior to the race I researched everyone’s form online and they were all decent runners. Fortunately, I managed to beat them all.

“Although I wasn’t pleased with my time, it was more than seven minutes better than the qualification target. This was the first race that I had competed in for 13 months as I suffered from two injuries this year.”

David, who has been a member of Reading Roadrunners for nine years, suffered a quadriceps muscle injury in November last year and was hospitalised.

He recovered and was just getting back into running when he suffered from a hamstring injury.

He visited Back in Line chiropractors in Greys Road, Henley, which helped his recovery and return to running.

David said: “I try to run three times a week as it is important to train. It can sometimes be hard to train with the weather, especially in minus degrees. On Sundays I join the Reading Roadrunners, who are mostly marathon runners.”

David became more serious about running after retiring from the Mirror, where he worked on the sports desk for many years. “The nature of my job meant that I was sitting at a desk for the majority of the day,” he said. “I have always enjoyed running but now I take it more seriously.”

He trains at the Rivermead leisure centre in Caversham and also runs around the area. His wife is also a member of Reading Roadrunners.

David is looking forward to pulling on his England vest in May.

He said: “The race is more like a photo opportunity as part of the team. I will be at the front on the start line, which will annoy the quicker runners nearer the back as they have to get past us all.

“Well, someone has got to be the youngest in the race and someone has got to be the eldest. I know my limits and am happy to let the younger ones speed ahead.”

David also plays for Blewbury Croquet Club, near Didcot.