Dave with his son, Alan at the Pier to Pier Race in South Shields in 2022. The race came after a series of health scares but he finished fifth MV70 in the 7 miles race in a time of 64:19. Read the full story below.
Dave helped in writing a profile of club mate Mike Johnston and we took the opportunity , since we had done his own profile in 2020, of asking him to update his athletics career so far for us. It is quite a story in its own right, not simply an add-on to his profile. A series of injuries and illnesses seriously tested his dedication to the sport and there have been many ups and downs. He still loves the sport and its people and his dedication has been honoured by the King in January 2023.
David says.
My 5K Scottish M70 effort in May 2019 resulted in having to take an enforced 8 weeks break from running due to having aggravated my ankle problem. I did eventually get back to some light running which was interrupted by having fractured my ribs in a heavy fall and then developing ongoing lower back issues. Unfortunately I fractured some ribs again in February 2020 when slipping on ice. Another setback arose in April when I had a mini stroke/TIA supposedly caused by catching Covid but fortunately there were no lasting effects and I eventually managed later in the year to resume and sustain some easy running up to August 2022. I even managed 2 races in May of that year. In spite of my longest single training run being only 3 miles I tackled the 7 Miles Pier to Pier Race from South Tyneside to Roker Pier while visiting my eldest son and family who live in Sunderland. My son Alan was competing for the organising club Sunderland Strollers. Not surprisingly I began to tire just after half way but did finish 5th M70. 11 days later I clocked 14.41 for the 3K on the Green for an improved performance albeit over a shorter distance. Any thought of fitting in a few more races sadly evaporated when I tripped over a tree route to avoid a lunging Alsatian dog. Needless to say I damaged my ribs again and shortly afterwards Covid reared it’s ugly head once more thus leading to another 4 months of rest. Training was resumed in December and then history repeated itself. A heavy fall on ice caused a problem behind my right knee which did not clear until March 2023.
In the interim period I was very surprised to find out that I was to be awarded a BEM in the King’s First Honours Award in January 2023 for services to Cambuslang Harriers and to Scottish Athletics. I accepted the honour which I regarded as not solely being for me but was also for the many other dedicated members of Cambuslang who had helped to transform the erstwhile parochial club into one of Scotland’s leading distance clubs over the last 50 years.
On the running front the familiar pattern of blocks of training being punctuated by recurring back and posterior knee problems and then a new ailment surfaced – first degree burns to my upper feet. This was caused by exposing my feet for only a short time after bathing in the Dead Sea on the last day of a holiday to Jordan, the highlight of which was visiting the ancient city of Petra. The burnt feet issue sustained at 430 metres below sea level was literally the lowest point of the holiday. A recovery period of 5 weeks followed but the re-emerging back and knee issues limited training.
Moving into 2024 my problems eased a bit which allowed me to put in 46 weeks of continuous running. During that time I averaged 20 miles per week with my longest run being 5 miles. Having turned 75 in April I had privately set myself the target of competing in the 5000M at the Scottish Track Championships in mid July. Although a trapped nerve down my left left leg was beginning to cause me some discomfort I tackled the hilly Sunderland 5K Parkrun and managed 28.53 for first M75. My left leg had held up. 6 days later I did the 3K on the Green in a time of 15.32. This was meant to be my final workout before the track 5000M but unfortunately I aggravated my trapped nerve. In spite of 10 days of rest and easy running with some physio thrown in my injury had become too painful and I reluctantly had to give up the idea of competing. I felt gutted that I was unable to try for a M75 Scottish medal to add to my masters age group awards.
Dave with 2025 M75 1500M Outdoors Track Gold. See below.
I spent the rest of 2024 mainly walking with an average of 5 miles a week jogging while my back issue was investigated. The verdict given on Xmas eve was that I had osteoporosis and 3 compressed fractures on my spine. One of my first questions to my GP was could I continue with my running. The answer was a definite no. After 55 years of running this news was a body blow. However, I followed the advice for 8 months. Nevertheless, I continued walking an average of 20 miles per week which was permitted.
I still felt I had unfinished business with running. With warmer weather arriving in April, 2025, and with my back easing a little I tentatively started to build in some short jogging efforts into my walks. It was like learning to run again. It took 6 weeks before I actually ran a mile without stopping. My ambition became to enter the Scottish Masters 1500M in July. A 5K was totally out of the question. It was going to be a delicate balance of doing a minimum of training without breaking down again or worsening my osteoporosis. I plugged away for a further 6 weeks of slow running with my longest continuous run only being up to 1.2 miles and my average weekly miles being six. My pace at around 11 minutes per mile was very pedestrian. With 2 weeks to go to the race I renewed my Scottish Athletics membership which I had not done since my enforced retiral from the sport. My entry was duly put in. When I saw the entry list a few days before the event I noticed that I was the only M75 entrant and therefore had only myself to beat. At best I was hoping to break 10 minutes but on the day I surprisingly managed to record 8.54.80. Although I was a distant last I had achieved my own private goal of achieving a Scottish Medal in the M75 category. I had come out of retirement to achieve this goal and now felt content to retire on my own terms.
