Charles Spedding (born 19 May 1952) is an English former

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Biography

Spedding finished third behind

Brendan Foster Sir Brendan Foster (born 12 January 1948) is a British former long-distance runner, athletics commentator and road race organiser. He founded the Great North Run, one of the sport's most high profile half-marathon races. As an athlete, he wo ...

in the 5,000 metres event at the 1976 AAA Championships and was third behind

Julian Goater Julian Norris Goater (born 12 January 1953) is a male British former long-distance runner. Biography Goater was born in Southampton, England but grew up in Mill Hill, London, and began his running career while attending The Haberdashers' As ...

in the

1982 AAA Championships The 1982 AAA Championships (sponsored by Robinsons Barley Water) was the 1982 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 24 to 25 July 1982 at the Crystal Pal ...

. Spedding was fourth in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

representing

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, at the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. and became the British 5,000 metres champion after winning the British

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the

1983 AAA Championships The 1983 AAA Championships sponsored by ( Robinsons Barley Water) was the 1983 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 23 to 24 July 1983 at the Crystal Pal ...

, in a time of 28:08.12. His first marathon was the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

in 1984, which he won by "the thickness of a vest". Spedding followed this by

winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * Winning (film), ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * ''Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Fo ...

the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

in 1984 and the bronze medal for Great Britain in the marathon at the

held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States, finishing just 2 seconds behind silver medallist

John Treacy John Treacy (born 4 June 1957) is an Irish Olympic Games, Olympian and former athlete, now a sporting administrator. He is best known for winning a silver medal in the marathon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Early life Treacy was ...

. Although it was the first British Olympic marathon medal for 20 years, and the last won by Britain (male or female), the performance was one of 16 British medals in athletics that year, and it possibly did not get the recognition it deserved. In 1985 he set a PB and English Marathon record of 2:08.33 (which stood until 2014) when he finished second behind

Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Steve Jones (English presenter) (born 1945), English musician, disk jockey, television presenter, and voice-over artist *Steve Jones (musician) (born 1955), English rock and roll guitar ...

in the

. As of August 2024, he is the seventh fastest British marathon runner of all time. He represented

in the marathon, at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In 1987, he finished 8th in the London Marathon in 2:10.32. He also competed at the

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea, finishing 6th.

Post athletics

Spedding was a pharmacist by profession and worked in

Ferryhill Ferryhill is a towns in England, town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, England, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the coal mining industry. The last mine officially clo ...

, County Durham. He is a real ale enthusiast and in 1976 co-founded the Durham branch of

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, real cider, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founde ...

. In September 2009, he published an autobiography of his running career called ''From Last to First''. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Sunderland in 2012. In November 2019 he published a book ''Stop Feeding Us Lies: How Health and Happiness Come to Those Who Seek the Truth'' which examines dietary recommendations and lifestyle approaches which he analyses as being causes of high levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other illnesses.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * * *
Charlie Spedding: We're running out of time for legacy in the Independent

in the

Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...

From Last to First

Power of 10 UK Men's Marathon Rankings
*
Stop Feeding Us Lies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spedding, Charlie 1952 births Living people 20th-century British pharmacists 21st-century British pharmacists 21st-century British autobiographers Sportspeople from Bishop Auckland English male marathon runners British male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for England Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games London Marathon male winners People from Ferryhill People educated at Durham School Alumni of the University of Sunderland Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics English autobiographers English pharmacists