My Life and Background
I grew up in Hastings, New Zealand and started running in a club from the age of 7 (but officially couldn’t join until I was 11). All I wanted to do was run so even by the age of 13/14 I was training with the group on the Trails around Hastings or at the Athletic track, which was grass in those days. At 14 I ran in the NZ Secondary Schools Inaugural Athletic meet and placed in both the 100 and 400m and the following year, at 15 the same.
I was always at the track, I would race every Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon and train all the rest of the time. At 18 I won the NZ 400m Junior Title and at 19 made the NZ team for the 400m. My club in Hastings decided to have a trip to the UK and Germany back in 1981, I was 22. The trip was for 5 weeks and I stayed on for 2 years living in the Wimbledon area of London. I loved training there and would train twice per day every weekday and once on Saturday and Sunday on Wimbledon Common and Richmond park. I remember doing all our Intervals on the roads around Wimbledon Tennis club. At the time I thought that was pretty neat. After those 2 years away I headed back to NZ to build the finances back up.
But two years later I was back on the plane heading to the UK again and lived up in the Norfolk area on the coast near Wells-next-to-Sea. My wife at the time and I scored a job working for the Queen Mothers Private Secretary on a Stately home and I ran every day after work and all through the winter months in the snow, I remember loving it. We stayed there 7 months and then headed around the Coast of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Turkey for 7 months living out of a Camper Van (those were the days).
By then it was around 1986 and I moved places in NZ before heading over to live in Hobart, Tasmania for 4 years, (1988-1992). Here I coached groups of young track runners and took classes for people wanting to obtain their Level one Coaching Certificates. I raced a lot in Tasmania over 10km and half Marathons but also on the track. After these 4 years I headed upto the warmth of Queensland and lived near the beautiful beaches of Noosa and Mooloolaba where my two boys were born and still live. I worked in the Stationery field as an Account manager for around 30 years so Sales and marketing has always been my job of preference.
Many years later I met Sarah who grew up in the New Forest area and had moved over to Aussie for Nursing. We got married and eventually moved and retired here in the New Forest area of Hampshire.
My dream was to set up my own running group or running Community and what better place to do that than here in the New Forest, Hampshire. After spending all my life in Clubs I honestly believed there were hundreds if not thousands of people out in the Community who would like to run. RUNNING is the base of fitness for a number of sports and general all round lifestyle, but not everybody wants to join a Club (like I did), or for that matter go to a GYM (Which I do). But that doesn’t mean these people can’t and shouldn’t enjoy running like I do. BUT WHERE DO THEY GO? Often nowhere and it’s hard to get help and support and get given motivation to keep going. I hear this all the time.
So onelife2_run started back in October 2018 and it has quickly grown into the fantastic group we have today.
MY CURRENT PB’S
100M 10.7
200M 21.7
400M 47.9
800M 55.0
5KM 19.50
10KM 37.50
HALF MAR 1.26
Onelife2_run 