Golds and silver for Dic
Friday 2 April 2010
Cardiff AAC’s Dic Evans (pictured winning the half marathon) has recently returned from Canada where he took gold and silver medals in the World Masters championships.
Representing Great Britain and running in the 60-65 age category, Dic (a youthful 63) took first place in the half marathon, five days after taking silver in the cross country behind Roger Price of the USA.
Curiously, the event, held in Kamloops, British Columbia, is called the World Masters Indoor Championships but includes an 8k cross country race, a half marathon and a 10k walk. The cross country race was held on Monday 1st March, the first day of the 5 day championship and the half marathon the following Saturday, 6th. Conditions throughout were glorious with near freezing temperatures but clear blue skies and little wind. Dic's time in the half marathon was 1:27.18.
These successes followed the gold medal that Dic won at the World Mountain Running Championship in Soll, Austria last October. This was a double celebration as Dic celebrated his 63rd birthday the day after the race. Dic described the course at Soll (equivalent to a marathon distance) as very tough and could take some satisfaction from leaving in his wake several Kenyan runners who found the conditions too difficult.
Dic had been asked to act as team manager to a Welsh team participating in Austria and agreed only on condition that he could also run in the race. He therefore was not only the gold medal winner in the 60-65 age category but had also been a member of the Welsh senior team which placed sixth; perhaps a unique double.
Dic Evans joined Cardiff AAC in 1970 and was an ever present and popular member of the all conquering British League team of that era, regularly taking maximum points in the steeple chase. He has maintained his love of running ever since, never willingly missing his daily run and still covering upwards of 50 or 60 miles per week.
He retired after serving 26 years as headmaster of St John Rhys School, Ponterwyd, Nr Aberystwyth but still teaches part time and enjoys every moment of it.
Dic Evans is one of the great characters of Welsh athletics and long may he continue.