Veteran middle-distance runner says he’s reaping the rewards of a training group which provides the perfect platform
Edinburgh AC’s Paul Forbes continues to set the standard in masters track and field. The 67-year-old – who won world and European titles in 2022 and broke records from 800m to the mile in the M65 age group – has further excelled in 2023. He won double gold over 800m and 1500m at the World Masters Championships indoors and European Masters Championships outdoors. He also broke M65 world records in the 800m (2:13.74) and 1500m (4:39.15).
“It’s a bit of a thrill, I must be honest with you,” says Forbes when told he’s been voted by AW readers as the British Male Masters Athlete of the Year for the second successive year. “They’ve made an old man happy.”
He represented Scotland at three Commonwealth Games and was one of the country’s top 800m runners in his heyday, with a best of 1:45.66. Forbes is hugely appreciative of the respect and support shown by his fellow runners and athletics aficionados but in truth he’s already happy and hugely motivated.
Paul Forbes leads the 1982 Commonwealth 800m final from eventual winner Peter Bourke (16) (Mark Shearman)
“We need to look after ourselves as we’re getting older,” he says. “This is the age when things start to drift a wee bit, and people are generally more inclined to sit in rather than going out, but that’s not me at all, I’d go crackers if I was trapped in the house for too long.
“There’s no guarantee that being healthy or fit is going to help you going forward, the vagaries of life can hit anybody at any time, but if you’re fit and healthy you’re giving yourself a better chance.
“I love what I’m doing,” he continues. “I love being able to run at this age. I also really like running fast, so when the summer comes I’m really up for it, and so is the rest of the group.”
Forbes attributes his progress on the track to the squad he trains with on a weekly basis. “Without them I wouldn’t be anything,” he says, while also acknowledging the support of his wife Kim, a sub-three hour marathon runner in her younger days.
“When I started to come back into it I was training on my own, I was getting lots of injuries and I just wasn’t getting anywhere. I thought I was a road runner, but I wasn’t.
Paul Forbes in Pescara
“When I got back on to the track I needed people to train with and I met Graeme (Gemmell). I thought: ‘Right,…
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