A record 774 athletes entered the 34th British Masters Track & Field Championships on 26/27 June at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham. Entering on average 3½ events each, the officials and stadium facilities were at full stretch but the meeting ran to schedule and was most enjoyable. Intermittent heavy showers and blustery wind were not conductive to fast times, but by close of play the M90 5000m world record and 26 British records were broken.
Athletes aged from 35 years through to 90 competed in 5-year age groups in all disciplines of the sport achieving some brilliant performances. Ex-internationals, prominent club athletes and some coming back into competitive sport after a break, all found their level in heats and finals. The biggest cheer was for 90 year old Scotsman Gordon Porteous winning the M90 1500m in a British record of 9.01.92sec on Saturday morning. He was back in the afternoon to break the M90 5000m World record, running 31.25.45 as he latched on tenaciously to the back of the M70+ field.
Confidence boosting performances were achieved by several competitors in the last major competition before departure for the European Veterans Championships in Denmark at the end of July. World gold medallist Jane Pidgeon ran a brilliant W40 2000m steeplechase in 7.29.0sec.