An international athlete, having worn the vest of his country in 100km and 24-hour events, Steve Till spent more than 50 years battling to be the best he could be at road running, cross country, trail running, track running, triathlon, race walking and ultrarunning.He has run more than 100 marathons, more than 500 parkruns, and qualified as a Centurion for race-walking 100 miles in less than 24 hours in a judged race. He has also completed two Ironman-plus triathlons - actually Quadrathons, consisting of a two-mile sea swim, 50km walk, 100-mile cycle and marathon run. In addition, he has coached dozens of runners of all standards, and spectated at numerous events - from local to international, from parkrun to Olympics. He has also thought ceaselessly and written extensively about this simple but endlessly fascinating sport for the last 50 years.And perhaps more importantly, despite having achieved all of the above, he would say that he is just an ordinary runner with little natural talent. He has achieved what he has achieved with no sponsorship, and whilst holding down a job and bringing up a family, so his story and his hard-won insights may resonate more strongly with you, the aspiring runner, the ambitious running, even the average runner, than lessons from the elites.
Well done, Steve, for putting this simple sport into some context with so many brilliant stories - Mike Gratton, London Marathon winner