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MASTERS ATHLETICS 2015.
The World Masters Athletics Track & Field Championships
are being held in Lyon from 4-16 August and the Organisers
are currently recruiting International Officials. You will be
offered free accommodation, food and transport from the
airport and to and from your hotel. You have until 1 July to
put your name forward by accessing www.world-masters-
athletics.org and completing an application form. Good luck
with this tempting offer!
TOM MORRIS of Midland Masters Athletic
Club, has retired from his role of many years as
Secretary to the Club. He is moving to Cornwall
where he will enjoy a well-deserved retirement.
The 2014 National Veteran Women’s Track & Field
Ranking book is now available.
This year there are nearly 8500 performances set by women
aged from 35 to 90 years of age.
The book costs £4 (cheques payable to Mrs S Gandee
please) together with an A5 self-addressed envelope and a
large 2nd class stamp.
The book can be obtained from Mrs Sally Gandee at 4
Westfield Road, Hertford, Herts, SG14 3DJ.
JIM ALDER M.B.E A
GREAT RUNNER AND A
GREAT MOTIVATOR
by Alastair Aitken
JIM ALDER is not recognised just as, a Commonwealth &
European Games Medallist but as a well-loved runner and
coach and adviser to many, including Mark Hudspith of
Morpeth Harriers , who was third in the Commonwealth
Marathon of 1994 and Neil Black the UKA Performance
Director of 2015.
Nicholas Swinburn, a 26 year old Morpeth Harrier, who was
third in the Senior National cross country Championships of
2015 remarked, after receiving his medal “I am inspired by
Jimmy Alder. He is always about. He adds inspiration and
humour” I will add to that by saying, I always found him
forthright and honest, when I first spoke to him in the 1960’s.
James Noel Carroll said “Jim Alder had a tough start in life.
His Mother died of tuberculosis and his Father was killed on
the last day of the World War Two so, he was a foster child”.
“When he left Glasgow and came down to live at Morpeth in
1949, he was inspired by seeing the Morpeth to Newcastle
road race”.
Jim comments “I always liked running as a youngster. Until
the age of 15 when he preferred football. I loved football but
realised I was just a local footballer like hundreds and
thousands of others”. He continued “I realised if, I had been
introduced to regular training at 12 or 13 I would not have
walked away from football”
Regarding his early years as a runner “I always liked running
and was quite good but I could not make the County team
so, I never ran in the English Schools”.
“Suddenly at 16/17, I started to get better and won a couple
of races. The biggest improvement was between 16/19”
HE THEN HAD AMBITION
“I started to move away and I realised I am going for it”.
“I wanted to win the Scottish National (He did that in 1962),
the Morpeth to Newcastle the oldest road race in the UK”. “I
wanted build my home (He was a brick layer) and start my
own business”. “I had those four ambitions at 18 and
achieved the lot but I never dreamt I would win a Gold medal
at a ‘Big’ Games”.
It was 1962 that he won the Inter-Counties 20 mile road race
in 1h 45:16 (He did run even faster in 1964, a World record
race, in 1hr 40min 58.0sec).
Jim Alder represented Scotland in the International (Now
World) Cross Country Championships. It was 10 years later
in 1972 he was 20th in the International at Cambridge.
In the English National cross country Championship of 1969,
at Parliament Hill, won by Mike Tagg, he was 13th but ahead
of such respected runners as Allan Rushmer, Ron Hill and
Bob Holt and so it goes on.
In 1964 he got injured, just before the Olympics in Tokyo,
which appeared to dash his chances of being selected but
that did not put off the hardy Northerner.
As it is recorded in 2015 “Peter Mathews & Mel Watman’s”
International Athletics Annual “ World Best for running 2
hours on the track by JIM ALDER covering 37.994km at
Walton on Thames on the 17th off October 1964.
“That was my biggest win in my formative years, the World
record at Walton on Thames, I ran in Dunlop sand shoes on
an ash track, when the World Record for the marathon was
2:13.45. “You work it out” Said Jim and continued “I am not
saying I would have won a medal at Tokyo but I was in the
best form of my life, World class form at the right time in the
wrong place”.
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