CHRIS BRASHER CBE
Chris Brasher died of cancer on February 28th at the age of 74. Many column inches of newsprint over the past few days have been devoted to the achievements of his remarkable life and I need do no more than repeat the bare outlines here before moving on to Chris's considerable contribution to Ranelagh Harriers.
Born in British Guiana in 1928 and educated at Rugby and Cambridge, Chris discovered a love of the adventurous outdoors early in life and before the age of 22 had participated as a geologist on two expeditions to the Arctic. He was introduced to serious athletics at University and quickly made an impression, competing in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics before famously helping to pace Roger Bannister to the first four-minute mile in 1953. Not content with playing a bit part to greatness he resolved to dedicate himself to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where he nevertheless lined up only as Britain's third-choice steeplechaser. Against all expectations - except perhaps his own - he won the gold medal in a time, 8.41.2, that would still rank highly in the UK today.
A successful career in journalism and broadcasting followed and he was twice voted British Sportswriter of the Year. But he always continued to pursue his own sporting passions which from the early 1960s had included orienteering. A business based on selling orienteering gear from the boots of cars preceded the opening of the first Sweat Shop in Teddington which in turn led to the highly lucrative sports shoe distribution company Fleetfoot.
Living in River Lane literally just around the corner from our clubhouse, Chris became a Ranelagh Harrier in the mid-1960s. In July 1965 he organised in Richmond Park the first orienteering event to be held in the south of England, won by track international Tim Johnston with Ranelagh's Jeff Bull and Rex Lofts 2nd and 3rd. Afterwards over a beer in the Dysart the Southern Navigators club and the Southern Orienteering Association were formed and one year later Chris became chairman of the British Orienteering Federation.
Chris was an enthusiastic member of the Ranelagh team that set a new record of 33.41.15 for the Pennine Way relay in 1971, an account of which he later presented to a wider audience in an article in 'The Observer'. Another article two years later centred on the South Downs Way where several teams from Ranelagh and other clubs ran the route as a relay using rules devised by Chris. It was fitting that Chris's own team of himself and the two Ians, Milne and Macintosh, should set the day's fastest time of 8.04.43. Just a few weeks later Ranelagh set another footpath record on Offa's Dyke and again Chris was involved, taking amongst other sections the final stage into Prestatyn where he insisted on running all the way down the beach and into the sea.
In our centenary year of 1981 we were back in the Pennines and although over three hours faster than ten years earlier we fell just 48 minutes short of the new record. Chris was in the team of course and in 1987 at the age of 58 was one of the prime movers and organisers of our final (to date) effort when severe weather unfortunately caused us to abandon the attempt on grounds of safety.
He took part in the more traditional events too and won four club handicaps: the Clutton Cup in 1970, the Baker a year later, the Page Cup in 1975, and the Thomas Cup in 1993. In 1979 he and his erstwhile Olympic steeplechase colleague John Disley missed the start of the Southern Veterans Over 50 championship at Milford by a reported two minutes yet still ran through the field to finish 11th and 22nd and together with Ray Dare 27th they won bronze medals. Timekeeping was better in the National event at Parliament Hill two weeks later where the same trio finished 4th, 17th and 44th and the team 2nd.
It was later that same year, with ten other Ranelagh Harriers on the Sweat Shop tour to the New York Marathon, that Chris was inspired to wonder whether London could organise a similar event. "We have the course, a magnificent course, but do we have the heart and hospitality to welcome the world?", he wrote. Only a man of Chris's vision and determination could have brought the dream to fruition a mere 18 months later. Many Ranelagh Harriers helped in small ways in that first event, from recceing the route to behind the scenes paperwork to manning the registration desks, and many continued to volunteer for years to come; others took full-time jobs with the Marathon organisation. The first race also featured another series of 'Observer' articles, pitting the John Hanscomb long steady training regime against the Brasher 'fartlek' mixture of speedwork and distance. I don't know how the respective camps' guinea pigs fared but John won their personal battle in the race, 2.54.29 to 2.56.56.
Chris served on the club committee for many years and often represented the club at meetings of the sport's governing bodies. He also provided valuable assistance in our various struggles to improve and rebuild our clubhouse. In later years he developed an interest in horse racing and became an enthusiastic owner. In pursuit of these interests he moved out to Berkshire but retained an active interest in both Ranelagh and Thames Hare and Hounds of whom he had also become a member.
Chris Brasher was an extensively generous man. Within Ranelagh there were the many rounds bought at the bar, wine for our suppers with Thames and two trophies, the Brasher Cup under 15 boys championship and the Brasher Bowl women's marathon championship. But much more importantly he devoted large sums of money to conservation projects to protect some of the wilder and most beautiful parts of our country, via foundations such as the John Muir Trust and the Chris Brasher Trust. The latter receives 40% of the profits from the Brasher Boot Company, another of Chris's businesses, which he founded in 1983 with the aim of developing a walking boot with the comfort of a running shoe. He also supported many young athletes via the Ron Pickering Foundation. But perhaps his greatest legacy will be the London Marathon itself which has raised and will continue to raise millions of pounds for charity while providing thousands of ordinary men and women with the opportunity to meet a challenge most of them would never have dreamed of attempting. As Hugh McIlvanney wrote in this week's 'Sunday Times': "I'm glad Chris Brasher was part of my life. An entire nation has cause to say the same".
Chris was appointed CBE in 1996 and is survived by his wife Shirley, daughters Kate and Amanda and son Hugh, himself a steeplechaser and a Ranelagh Harrier for some years. We offer them our sincere condolences.
In writing the above I have deliberately kept to the facts and figures and avoided repeating any of the many Brasher stories and anecdotes that come to mind, for it occurs to me that many of us in Ranelagh have such stories to tell. Please send in anything (printable!) that you'd like to pass on and I'll compile them into a Brasher miscellany.
Steve Rowland