Over the years I have been called many things. However, I think being called a running shoe geek is perhaps one which fits in with a big part of my running and working life these last 35-plus years.

If I am honest, though, I can’t say I get overly excited by today’s ‘most technical ever’ running shoes - undoubtedly my favourite era is the 1970s and 1980, what in truth was the start of the running shoe revolution.

I was fascinated by them and would study footwear catalogues for hours. I still have many of them – catalogues and shoes that is.

Nevertheless, my business, Sportlink, and staff prides itself on being experts when it comes to advising customers as to what type of running shoes best fits their needs. Run by Runners for Runners is our slogan. Assistant manager Mark Thorpe epitomises this. He really is a guru when it comes to not only knowledge of running footwear, but everything running too.

I also think it is fair to say he is very much one of Norfolk’s stand out characters due to his huge enthusiasm towards running and people.

So where did his love for running all start, I asked?

“My love for running goes back to St James primary school in King’s Lynn when I discovered cross country running. At the same time I also worked out that I could save 3p for sweets if I got off the bus one stop early and ran home across the fields,” he said.

Like lots of others though, once he had walked out of the school gates for the last time the only running he took part in was when playing local football. That was until meeting a lady called Sharon Holl (a top local runner) in the late 1980s, who convinced Mark to join the Fakenham Runners whilst also taking part in the Nelson 10k at Holkham.

“I ran the race in an old pair of adidas fashion shoes, but I was hooked again and even more so after meeting the great Tim Ash and Harry Collins who, alongside Peter Duhig at Ryston Runners, were great inspirations to me. I am not sure why though or for whatever reason, I did drift away from running again and apart from playing football, music became a big part of my life which included hosting a successful music blog which I presented on Future Radio for five years,” he said.

That was until a mate of his who was going through a bit of a tough time asked him to go for a run round Whitlingham Lake – the first time I met Mark after he came into Sportlink for kit.

Being a bit of a talker myself, it was clear that he had a huge passion for running, with non-stop chatter about running shoes, races and the best way to train for this and that.

I remember thinking at the time that he needed to be careful, what with having seen it all before when enthusiasm can turn into over-eagerness, leading to injury which of course did happen – but not through running. A snapped Achilles tendon due to playing in a charity football match at Carrow Road once again sidelined him for several months. Apart from a brief flirtation with boxing, time out gave him an opportunity to think about what he really wanted from his running, along with more thought into structured training. As we all know, it is during those times when we are held back and can’t get out there and do what we love doing, ie our daily fix of a having a run, when we realise just how important it is to us.

 

This is where his want for helping others came in.

“I love being able to immerse myself in learning and helping others achieve their goals through coaching at the Norfolk Gazelles,” he said. “At the same time, when the opportunity came to work at Sportlink three years ago I jumped at the chance. Why would I not? Being able to talk about my favourite subject: running shoes and running all day long.”

Mark really does epitomise what a running geek represents, and I say this with the utmost respect for him. As already mentioned, I am one myself. He has time for everyone and whilst he is very modest about his own running achievements, he has some decent PBs over a wide range of distances. Probably because he is one of those people who is happy to toe a start line when it comes to a race, be it over just 400 metres up to an ultra-marathon.

With personal bests of 16:35 for 5k, 34:30 for 10k, 59:32 for 10 miles and 78:22 for a half marathon, I think most people would agree that these times are well above average. And he loves to run in the big city marathons too, having completed London, Berlin, Paris and Manchester with Valencia his next target in December.

When asking him about his favourite ever races, he points to many great classics of today and of yesteryear, but two which did stand out were when running with his daughter Roxanne in last year’s Cambridge Half Marathon and his wife Amberley in the Run Norwich 10k.

A nice way to end this week’s column I think…..