Runner raced against great-grandson on 85th birthday

Eric Hughes in his "85 and still alive" T-shirt with his grandchildren Willow and Jack, after completing the Porthcawl Parkrun on his birthday

A veteran runner who raced against his great-grandson on his 85th birthday has said organised running events could create a new generation of athletes.

Eric Hughes, from Bridgend, has volunteered at more than 500 Parkruns, which are free community events that take place at hundreds of locations across the UK.

He said the highlight of the runs was seeing children as young as four taking part, and “the natural ability they’ve got”.

Eric helps to organise the senior Parkrun in Bridgend on Saturdays and the Sunday version for juniors in Porthcawl.

Parkrun started in London in 2004 as a “free-for-all” weekly, timed 5km (three mile) event, and there are now more than 1,200 around the world.

Eric said he volunteers because he would “quite like to give something back”, having spent much of his life as a runner.

In 1967, he ran in the same race in Cardiff when his twin brother, Lynn, broke the world four-hour barrier for 40 miles (64km) on a track.

Speaking to the BBC in 2017, on the 50th anniversary of that race, Eric joked that Lynn “wouldn’t stand a chance” against him.

“I think eventually we’ll have such good athletes in this country and that’s because of the Parkrun,” says Eric Hughes

“Ask him when he last beat me in a race,” he said, to which Lynn sheepishly responded: “We won’t go into that.”

Eric has taken part in 18 British Masters Championships at various distances, “winning a medal every time”.

One of his standout memories from his running career was “breaking both his ankles” during a steeplechase race – and still winning.

“I slipped and thought I’d sprained my ankle and kept on running, but later found out I’d broken them,” he said.

More recently, he has enjoyed seeing the Parkruns grow, from about 30 runners to 200 at Bridgend, while he said there were also about 500 regular runners at the Porthcawl senior run.

“I think eventually we’ll have such good athletes in this country and that’s because of the Parkrun,” he said.

Eric, here taking part in the 2003 Malta Half Marathon, has won several British Masters Championships

“Some of them are very young, and when they arrive the first time with their parents, they do one or two runs with them, but then they insist they want to run on their own,” he said.

Steve Brace, director of Porthcawl Parkrun, said Eric was setting an example to the “relative youngsters around him”.

He described Eric as an important part of the volunteer community “who make it safe for others to enjoy – week in, week out – whatever the weather”.

Eric’s competitive spirits have not completely disappeared, and he recently ran a Parkrun on his 85th birthday alongside his great-grandson.

“I intended on walking it, but when I got there with my great-grandson, I decided to run it. He beat me by seven minutes,” he said.