‘Starting later is actually an advantage in some ways’

Alan Newman (68) and Sue James (70) met in 1990 at a running training camp. They got married last year on Sue’s 70th birthday, wearing their GB Masters kit and swapping Garmins instead of rings.

Alan: ‘I started running at school; I used to run everywhere. I ran at lunchtime to get fit for the sports teams because I really wanted to be a footballer. But then, almost by accident, I discovered cross-country running and developed a passion for that. It took off from there.’

Sue: ‘My story is completely different. I was not at all sporty at school and didn’t start running until I was 40. I’d had two boys and I just wanted to get fit. I joined a local gym in Blackpool where I met an England Masters athlete, Sue Samme, in the sauna – and she was my inspiration. She helped me to build up to my first 10K, which I ran in about an hour and a half. I improved that to 38:26.’

Alan: ‘I think starting later is actually an advantage in some ways. I’ve been a runner for nearly 60 years and I’ve had loads of injuries. I think starting in later life means your body is fresher. And as long as you’re sensible, starting steady and building up, you can often go on for a lot longer. There are so many runners from my era who don’t run any more.’

Sue: ‘We met in a training camp in Tunisia in 1990, and in 1993, we moved to Kent. That year, I set PBs at everything from 100m to 5000m. And I ran for the gold-medal-winning W45 team in the Home Countries Veterans International XC, finishing fifth overall. That was my international debut. My best race was the British Masters XC championships in 2007, where I won the W55 category.

That was only six months after a full hysterectomy. I think it was the relief that I was healthy again that helped.’

Alan: ‘Things are very different these days. Even 15, 20 years ago, age grading was in its infancy. Nowadays, there are so many other different ways to measure and assess performance. You might be getting physically slower, but your age grading can stay the same or improve.’

Sue: ‘No, we’re not really into the technology, but we did treat ourselves to two Garmins – the very basic ones. Those were our wedding gifts to each other when we got married last year.’

Alan: ‘We still do speedwork once or twice a week. We’ve never really raced long distances, so our Sunday long runs are usually only around 10km to 12km. We run about 45km to 55km a week and we do three gym classes, too. We missed competing during the lockdowns, but above all, we missed our friends and meeting people we would only meet at Masters championships. But in the grand scheme of things, what’s a year? We still got out running. We’re ready!’