Growing old racefully
Ian becomes British champ as he smashes over-85s mile record
Roger Bannister’s epic 1954 run
AN inspirational athlete has set a new British record by running a mile in 8mins 10.4secs – at the age of 85.
After his epic performance, evergreen Ian Barnes has been named the British Masters champ in the over-85s category.
He said: “I was aiming for around nine minutes so it’s a lot better than I’d hoped.”
Ian helps to organise his local Parkrun – a free weekly fun run that was held at venues across the
UK before the pandemic disrupted it – and still enjoys racing with his club in Darlington, Co Durham.
The retired legal executive, joint president of Darlington Harriers, hopes to be competing again this autumn if it is deemed safe for him to be out.
He started running competitively when he was 20 and has an enviable 5k personal best of 19mins 28secs. But he admitted: “That was a while ago.”
The grandad of two loves exercising outdoors, explaining: “It gets the adrenaline going. You have highs and lows but it’s great to keep fit.
“You don’t have to give up sport. Age doesn’t have to be a barrier.” During his record-breaking run, he was four seconds behind the 1500- metre UK record for the 85-plus age group, so he could yet set another record.
Last summer, Ian became Britain’s fastest man aged over 80 to run a mile, recording a time of 7mins 54secs.
He said at the time that he thought he could have run “much faster”.
Mark Tallon, the track and field manager for the Darlington Harriers, said: “Ian is an inspiration to us all. He’s not just a recordsetter, but he’s also one of our most regular volunteers, always willing to get out there in all-weathers, supporting others. We’re just really proud of him.”
The first man to run a mile in under four minutes was Roger Bannister who, on May 6, 1954, recorded a time of 3mins 59.4secs. The current world record holder over a mile is the Moroccan athlete Hicham El Guerrouj, who ran 3mins 43.13secs in Rome in 1999.
And Steve Cram holds the British record for the distance at 3mins 46.32secs which he set in Oslo back in 1985.