Stephen Murdoch
Penrith, England
DOB: 16 April 1961
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The north of England was a fortuitous place to start a lifelong love affair with running, it being a cauldron of athletic endeavour. I soon joined Jarrow Hebburn AC, running my first race in 1969.
I just loved to run - it was as simple as that - and I have detailed training diaries going right back to those early days. The very talented Steve Cram (1983 World 1500m Champion and 1984 Olympic silver medallist) joined our club but, while we trained and competed together for decades, sadly that’s where the comparison ends.
Being a late developer, athletic progress eluded me for many years and even aged 17 I finished last in a local youths’ road race. At Edinburgh University I was very fortunate to be guided by Martin Hyman, ex-Olympic 10,000m athlete, a founder of the International Athletes Club and a good friend for life. It was his dedicated wisdom and patience that inculcated athletic beliefs.
In the 1970s and 80s I discovered a talent for orienteering when finishing 4 th in the British Championships. Representing British teams in European internationals was an absolute privilege but I was never sufficiently gifted to be selected for the World Championship team. Despite still only being in my twenties I became Team Coach and then British Team Manager, leading teams in the World Championships and World Cup Final.
As a Chartered Accountant, sitting all day provided ample recovery from training sessions but it was only in the 90s, maturing at the ripe old age of 30, that I realised I could be competitive on road and track. I ran a half marathon personal best of 66:40 in 1992 when selected to run for the North of England, this being my undoubted career highlight on the road.
Living and working in New Zealand in 1993 I won 33 out of 55 races, in addition to memorably meeting such athletic notables as Arthur Lydiard and Kathy Switzer. Defining memories of a personal best 30:19 track 10,000m and a Northern 10,000m title will always give much pleasure, as does a 14:28 track 5,000m. No dark regrets whatever remain, as unlike many runners I am convinced that every competitive ounce was ground out of my humble gifts, thus defying a local press description of me as a ‘self-coached, enthusiastic amateur’!
In the 2000s, getting older but not yet hobbling, I was still running well and twice competed in the World Masters Championships, winning team silver and bronze medals for Great Britain. Individually, 8 th in the half marathon and 8 th then 10 th in the 10km on the road were maximal performances, of which I will always be proud. Truthfully, it retrospectively feels as if somebody else ran those races.
What of the injuries? Youthful over-exuberance and a frail physique swiftly imparted the wisdom that my safe limit was about 70 miles per week, so I have always indulged myself with interval and fartlek sessions. These were my first love and I rue the day I will run my last. Stress fractures have been a perennial problem and a spine operation, two knee surgeries and two cardiac ablations have also slowed me, yet I’m gratified that positivity stands undiminished.
Now I have returned to my roots. I have run in more than 50 countries and now I run in the mountains, not missing a day for over a year and averaging just over 50 miles per week. The pleasure is as immense as it ever was. I run hill and orienteering races and put a 5km spurt on each Saturday at a local parkrun, having completed 450, still enjoying racing.
New challenges have presented themselves and this year I finally completed my ‘racing alphabet’, including races in Örebro, Sweden, and also Żary, Poland. My greatest pleasure nowadays is when out running in the mountains, often in the dark with my headlight, invariably with only nature for company. Who wouldn’t be a lifelong convert?
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