The 90-year-old prodigy from Huddersfield had never competed on a track and didn’t even have a passport before this year’s World Masters Champs in Gothenburg.
Colin Spivey is living proof that age is no barrier to new adventures. This August he proudly represented Great Britain at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, competing in the 5000m in the M85 age group. Remarkably, the 90-year-old had never competed before, while he hadn’t even been abroad since he was a teenager.
His journey to Sweden began much closer. He has been a familiar face at Huddersfield parkrun since 2012, setting his personal best of 27:14 a decade ago. Even now he continues to impress, clocking 29:51 this year. Spivey never imagined that these Saturday morning rides would lead to an opportunity to compete just a month before his country’s 90th birthday.
It was only after one of her regular runs that her daughter’s friend broke the news. he was one of the fastest 5km runners in his age group in the country.
“I was absolutely stunned,” she says. “My daughter was the one who made me do bags, and the first time I did it, I said, “Well, I did it once, that’s it.”
“But I just kept going and had no idea it was going to happen. I never think about my time when running, I just stay out of the way of the fast runners and stay near the back.”
To his surprise, Spivey’s 5km run earned him a spot in the 5000m race at the World Masters, but there were a few bumps in the road to get there. The main problem was that he didn’t have a passport and had never competed before. Initially hesitant about the idea, Spivey initially declined the invitation. “But then I thought. “What the hell?” It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so can I.”
Colin Spivey and Associate Masters (Alex Rotas)
With the decision made and passport secured, Spivey ventured to Huddersfield’s local athletics track to try it out. “Parkrun is one thing, but doing the same distance on a track is quite another,” he adds. “After three laps, I thought. ‘I’m never going to do that,’ and that was the only move I had.”
With a solo run under her belt, Spivey returned to more familiar roads and completed four more runs before heading to Sweden, accompanied by her three children and other members of her family. He had two simple goals: finish the race and make sure he didn’t come last. Both were achieved.
Competing in the M85 age group, Spivey crossed the line in 30:40.23 to finish fourth in his category and 11th overall in the 5000m. “I was a bit disappointed with the time, but it was still nice,” he says.
So enjoyable, in fact, that it sparked another athletic ambition in him. This is far from the end of the road and, having seen other athletes compete in various events at the Masters Championships, he has now set his sights on a new goal: the decathlon.
“We were there for a week, so we paraded around the track and watched the other athletes do their thing,” Spivey says. “I know I shouldn’t, but I was laughing at the 80+ guys doing the decathlon. There was one guy on the pole vault and everyone said, “Colin, you can do better than that.” So they got me into decathlon. I can run already, it’s just the rest of the things I haven’t done.”
Spivey has already started learning about those unfamiliar events and traveled to facilities in Cleckheaton and Spenborough where she practiced javelin, discus and shooting. With no local access to a pole vault facility, she took matters into her own hands.
“I put some canes in the back garden lawn and I put a cane on them about two feet up,” Spivey said. “I couldn’t even jump that thing. I’ve got it down about 18 inches now and I’ve managed to jump over it.
“I’m definitely going to go to these four events that I haven’t done yet, see if I can do them at all. If I can do them then I’ll go for it because I think I can get one or two world records for my age.”
READ MORE. World Masters Champs coverage
Spivey’s determination to tackle these new challenges isn’t all that surprising when you consider his past running experience. He wasn’t always athletic, though. “I started smoking when I left school and did nothing for years,” he says, “until someone challenged me to a mile-long race and I only made it halfway. I couldn’t breathe, so that night everything went in the trash, the cigarette, the pipe, everything.”
He started with fun runs, progressing to 10 mile runs, half marathons and even a few marathons. However, when his wife became ill, Spivey stopped running for a while.
“I haven’t done anything since I was about 60 … until my daughter told me about the bags,” he says. It has opened the door to a world of athletics adventure.
» This feature first appeared in the November issue of AW magazine. Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
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