Posted: October 14, 2004

Athletics: 'Running Is a Way to Remain Young'

By Paul Grech

Unbeknown to most of those taking part in this year's edition of the St. Patrick's Birzebbuga 10K in Malta, among them was an athlete who can boast a world record in athletics. For the majority of those athletes, Lynn Hughes was simply the English runner who on the day managed to win the Over 65 category.

Hughes' achievements, however, are much more remarkable than that. On the 4th of November 1967 he became the first man to cover the distance of forty miles on a track in less than four hours: 3:58:53.2 to be precise. And although that record has since been surpassed, it is still the fourth best time over the distance.

"I have always enjoyed running," he said moments after finishing the race. "In all I think that I've taken part in around fifty three marathons winning twenty of them. My best time was of two hours and twenty three minutes."

For someone who was the best in his field, you would expect a high dosage of nostalgia should there be any reason to compare the current and past state of athletics. Not so in Lynn's case who does such a comparison with refreshing objectivity.

"I think that there is still a healthy interest in athletics. However it is different from our time. It never crossed our minds to get paid for running. For us, athletics was just a way of having fun. Today I don't think that feeling is still there. That said, today's athletes are professional and they earn their living from it, so you understand that they take matters more seriously."

"At the same time I do have my doubts on how they manage to get the energy to obtain certain results."

Numerous Trips to Malta
Lynn's visit to Malta was all down to the persistent encouragement of his twin brother Eric, another prolific athlete who was been to the Mediterranean island more than seventy times.

Eric also took part in the Birzebbuga 10K, although for his result wasn't as satisfying. "I didn't feel well," he said. "The heat was too much for me."

Between the two there is certainly a sibling rivalry, although there is never the danger of it getting out of hand. "We don't care how the other one does, as long as I finish ahead of him," says Lynn, only half jokingly.

He doesn't always manage to do so. A few weeks before coming to Malta, Eric won the 1,500m in the Welsh veteran championships. Lynn finished third on the day when both of them turned sixty-five.

"I enjoy running but it is always a way to remain young." Few are in a position to contradict Lynn especially as he can still outrun most men thirty years his junior.

Now that he's had his first taste of road running in Malta, he admitted that he's thinking of coming back in February for the Malta International Half Marathon. Again, he'll have the backing of his brother who has taken part on a number of occasions.

If his continuous participation wasn't enough to confirm his keenness on the event, Eric was more than willing to extol its virtues. "I believe that the Malta Marathon has the potential to attract many more athletes from England. They only have to publicise it a little better. Price wise, I think that there are very few marathons that can compete with Malta. And on an organizational level, it is certainly up there with anything held in England."