Porthcawl ParkrunA veteran runner, competing against his great-grandson on his 85th birthday, said organized running events could produce a new generation of athletes.
Eric Hughes from Bridgend has volunteered at over 500 parkruns, which are free community events held in hundreds of locations across the UK.
He said the highlight of the races was the participation of children as young as four and “their natural talent”.
Eric helps organise the senior parkrun on Saturdays in Bridgend and the junior version on Sundays in Porthcawl.
Parkrun began in London in 2004 as a weekly timed 5 km (three mile) free-for-all, and there are now over 1,200 of them worldwide.
Eric said he volunteers because he “likes to give back” since he has spent much of his life as a runner.
In 1967, he took part in the same race in Cardiff when his twin brother Lynn broke the world four-hour barrier for 40 miles (64 km) on a track.
In conversation with the BBC in 2017On the 50th anniversary of that race, Eric joked that Lynn “didn’t stand a chance” against him.
Porthcawl Parkrun“Ask him when the last time he beat me in a race was,” he said, to which Lynn replied sheepishly, “We won’t get into that.”
Eric has competed in 18 British Masters Championships over various distances and “won a medal every time”.
One of the most memorable memories of his running career is that he “broke both ankles” in an obstacle race – and still won.
“I slipped and thought I had sprained my ankle and kept running, but later it turned out I had broken it,” he said.
He has been pleased to see the growth in parkruns recently, from around 30 runners to 200 in Bridgend, and he said the seniors’ run in Porthcawl also saw around 500 regular runners.
“I think we will have such good athletes in this country at some point and it is thanks to parkrun,” he said.
Eric Hughes“Some are very young and when they first arrive with their parents, they walk with them once or twice, but then they insist on walking alone,” he said.
Steve Brace, director of Porthcawl Parkrun, said Eric was a role model for the “relatively young people around him”.
He described Eric as an important part of the community of volunteers “who ensure that others can enjoy a safe stay week after week, whatever the weather.”
Eric’s competitive spirit has not completely disappeared and he recently took part in a parkrun with his great-grandson for his 85th birthday.
“I was going to walk, but when I got there with my great-grandson, I decided to run. He was seven minutes faster than me,” he said.
