For many years, Suffolk runner David Miller dominated the sport of road and cross-country running in the county, clocking up an unprecedented 200 wins and nearly 50 course records.
Now the Ipswich-born athlete has penned a book about his exploits entitled ‘An Unorthodox Runner- A Tale of 200 Wins,’ which details his many races and other running-related stories along the way.
Carl Marston, the EADT’s athletics writer for many years, has written the foreword for Mr Miller’s book and described how he ‘stood above all the rest’ in terms of the longevity of his success.
The book’s title reflects the unconventional way in which he approached his sport, as despite joining the small running club the Woodbridge Shufflers he continued to train on his own and didn’t attend any club sessions.
In addition, he did not have a coach or do any speed work and didn’t stretch, warm-up or cool down.
He took up the sport as an overweight teenager struggling with asthma after deciding that he needed to do more exercise and lose weight.
He retired from competitive racing in 2009, but carried on running for another decade before reluctantly making the decision to stop, for medical reasons which have so far remained a mystery, despite exhaustive tests.
Mr Miller said: "The book is essentially a memoir which is strongly focussed on my competitive running career.
"It is not a ‘How to Run Faster/Train Better’ guide but is simply my story of how I was fortunate enough to win quite a lot of races.
"It includes lots of stories from races and training, some of them humorous, others not so and some even tragic.
"I hope the book will appeal to anybody who is interested in the sport, or who have taken part in it and will therefore recognise many of the names and events.
"It includes a chapter about some very talented athletes that I competed with and got to know well, including Paul Evans and Helen Davies and others.
"I have never considered myself to be a natural athlete but I hope that my story demonstrates that anything is possible.
"Given where I started from, I would never have dreamed that I could have achieved what I did. If the book inspires anyone to start exercising, then I will be pleased."
Mr Miller will be selling and signing copies of his new book at Woodbridge Library in New Street on Saturday July 30, from 2pm to 3pm.
To order a copy, email Mr Miller on orders.unorthodoxrunner@gmail.com
This book can only be obtained by contacting him and will not be available in book shops.
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