IT may not be the golden generation he was once part of, but Mike McLeod is seeing signs of a revival in British endurance running, and he is proud the North East is doing its bit to build on it.
The Dilston-born runner won a 10,000m silver medal at the 1984 Olympics at the height of British athletics, with podium finishes commonplace at the middle and longer distances.
McLeod won the first two Great North Runs, a competition which, like the Olympics, is now dominated by north African talent. Now 25-year-old son Ryan is flying the flag for the family on the world stage.
Since its 1981 inception, the Great North Run has become an iconic road race, second only to the London Marathon in this country. It inspired events such as the Blaydon Race and July’s Great North 10k.
“It just shows the passion in the North East that we’ve got the spectators and competitors who want to turn out for all sorts of sports,” said McLeod. “It’s great they shut the roads down, which is a hard thing to do. Every year we’re losing road races so it’s great to be able to get competitors out here. You do lose a lot of people when the races go from the region, but with them coming back more schoolchildren will take up the sport and hopefully there will be future Olympians from that.
“That’s what it’s all about – laying the foundations and keeping them going.
“In all forms of sports you get dips but it bounces back. The country does have a good crop of young kids internationally coming through again. We haven’t as many coming into the sport as in the 60s and 70s when there was a hell of a lot more athletes to chose from. This time there’s less coming into it but they are still coming through.”
As a father as much as an athlete, McLeod is excited about what the 2012 Olympics can do for youngsters.
“The publicity 2012 will generate, people will bounce towards that, take up sports and hopefully in future years go to Olympics from that,” he said.
“It’s about getting kids off the couch and into sport.
“We didn’t have PlayStations and computers when we were kids. They’ve got too many now and they’re not getting enough exercise. Hopefully the schools can capitalise on the Olympics to put a bit more sport into the curriculum – not just athletics.
“Let them have PlayStations, but monitor them. We did that with our two children and Ryan’s an international athlete now.”
The Great North 10k starts and finishes at Gateshead International Stadium, a world-famous venue whose decline resulted in the loss of Diamond League status. McLeod hopes it can rise again.
“The stadium’s getting rehashed and hopefully in future years we’ll be able to attract the top athletes and top international events again,” he said.
“Gateshead will keep trying. It’s supported sport since the early 70s and hasn’t really slipped too much, it’s just they don’t have this event.”
Still a Blaydon Race regular, McLeod is looking forward to adding the 10k to his calendar.
“It’s a great setting and for people doing the Great North Run, it gives them a good idea of how their training’s been going,” he said.
“There’s the camaraderie of everybody getting out. It’s not often you can finish in a high-class stadium where many great athletes have competed either.
“It’s good to see these races coming back to the North East and onto the roads. It’s great people have them as a stepping stone to the Great North Run.”
