Mickey’s Tribute

MICHAEL EDWARDS 1950 - 2001

The club was saddened in 2001 by the death of a very dear member of the running club, Mickey Edwards. Here is my account of his career with Great Bentley Running Club, our friendship and the lasting heartfelt affection that he had with everyone.

I first met Mickey at the Riverside Club at Colchester Leisure Centre in 1995 when I was chasing a dream of my 1^st ever London Marathon, which I was going to do in 1996. I think he was unsure of me at first, but after only a short while we started what was to be a long and very close friendship that I feel I may never experience again.

He started to come up to club nights with me, in my car, when I joined in November 1995 and I was amazed at how popular he was with everybody there and he helped me to very quickly establish myself in the club. He loved his running, having already done 3 London Marathons. He always loved a challenge and often talked to me about the Grizzly, held once a year at Seaton in Devon. That and the London Marathon were his favourite events.

Mickey was always very proud to run for Great Bentley Running Club. He was enthusiastic about everyone's performances for the Club, particularly mine as he said that like him I always gave 100% when I ran in a race. He became my biggest fan, always encouraging me and applauding my performances. They were only modest by club standards, but Mickey would always make me feel I had just won the biggest race of the year and took so much pleasure in helping me break my personal bests.

When he met my family he warmed to them straight away and loved to joke and tease my two boys, Matthew and Martyn, volunteering to baby-sit on many occasions and wanting nothing in return. He liked to feel he was helping Debra and myself enjoy life a little and give us a break from the hectic life of parenthood. The boys learned to see him as an uncle and so we felt he was the ideal godfather to our new arrival Zoë, when she was born just before Christmas in 1998.

Wherever I went to run, Mickey would always come with me and we became more like brothers than friends. He would always pay for my run at Riverside after a race, despite me saying to him I owed him much more that he owed me, but that was Mickeys generosity, he would always pay his way and refused to take anything in return.

Mickey won many Club Vets Championships and awards from the club including Club Person of the Year in 1998 an award he so richly deserved, but Mickey always played them down choosing to reflect on the performances of our top runners. However he would never let you forget about the more modest level members of the club and their achievements. He loved running handicaps where he felt everyone who loved running at any level can shine.

He also became a Coach at Riverside and took out the novice runners to introduce them to our sport and also helped out with training at Bentley clubnights too pushing everyone through their paces.

When I broke my best London Marathon time by over 20 minutes in April 2000, breaking 3 hours 17 minutes, he was over the moon for me despite being somewhat dissapointed with his own time which was still good. He told everyone how proud he was of me, again showing the selfless and big-hearted way Mickey always was.

" You trained hard, and deserve your time. You should be proud of yourself, I know I would be" are words from him I will never forget.

Unfortunately, on February 8^th 2001 Mickey passed away. We lost a best friend and an ‘adopted’ brother. Mickey was a man who gave everything and expected nothing. I will always cherish the memories of him and feel proud and honoured to have known a man who in my opinion was one of the best people ever to have lived. His family, his friends, my family and I will all miss him.

When you ask people who influenced you in running they will talk of people like Liz McColghan, Brendan Foster, Lynford Christie, Paula Radcliffe or other famous people in the sport of athletics. For me it is my friend Mickey. He was my friend, like a brother, my trainer, my biggest supporter and my inspiration.

May he rest in peace.

Dean King

Vice-Chairman