Jim Bradley, legend of this parish, life-long President of our wonderful Club that he was so proud of being part of, loving and much loved husband of Sheila. Together they gave so much to Buxton Athletic Club, willingly, lovingly and all for the sake of the sport that brought them together 25 years ago, to give back to running just some of the absolute pleasure and rewards it gave to them.
Jim was born in Chapel-en-le-Frith, on the 1st of August 1942 but most of his life was spent in Buxton, and he was always a Buxton lad at heart. At the age of 11, Jim won a scholarship to attend Buxton College Grammar School. His running abilities were soon apparent and he won his school ‘colours’ at cross country. Jim’s running was to play a major part in the rest of his life. After leaving school, Jim started a five year printing apprenticeship and worked at Buxton Press, the start of a 43 year career with the company. He earned the respect of his colleagues for his professionalism, his easy manner and his ability to get on with anyone from any walk of life. Printing was his lifeblood for many years.
Despite a spell of serious illness in his early 50s, Jim was extraordinarily strong and fit, and remained so well into his 70s, running competitively, walking long distances over his beloved Derbyshire hills, and trekking over tough mountainous areas on the many holidays he and his wife Sheila went on over their 23 year marriage. He was a strong cyclist at a time when traffic wasn’t as heavy as today, and often talked of cycling over to Chester and back in a day, or North Wales where he and his mates would camp on the beach before returning back to Derbyshire the following day.
After being made redundant from Buxton Press at the age of 59, Jim didn’t rest on his laurels for a moment, an active and busy man throughout his entire life. He placed just one ad in the local Buxton Advertiser and for the next 12 years or so he worked as a gardener, which added to his strength and made him fitter than ever. He and Sheila enjoyed many years of growing fruit and vegetables at their allotment on Crowstones, Jim responsible for all the heavy jobs which he did with relish, Sheila keeping it neat and tidy, much to Jim’s amusement.
Running is the aspect of Jim’s life that really defines the man he was and the man he became. It was his salvation at school, it gave him strength and fitness, it gave him his much-loved life partner and wife Sheila, it kept his sanity in times of crisis and trauma, it allowed his generous nature to give unstintingly to both the running community and the community of Buxton in general. He was a founder member of Buxton Athletic Club, started in 1977 by Chris and Angela Bent, and other than a few brief years in the 1980s, his membership continued until the day he died.
Where to start?
Well, he was a 2 hour and 47 minute marathon man, quite a feat in the 1980s, but astonishing today, when there are far fewer “average Club runners” who achieve such speedy times. And he always emphasised that his times were nowhere near the “great” runners of the time – Arthur Gratton, Graham Morson, Ray Aucott, Andy Wilton, Bill Moss, Malcolm Firth, to name but a few. It was always a battle to get into the cross country team in the early days, and he never tired of saying that he didn’t always make it because there were other far better runners than him. Always a modest man who was never known to blow his own trumpet, he put in the 80 or 90 miles a week in training so that he could achieve his goals, and my how they paid off.
His regular training included back-to-back runs around the moorland plateau of Combs, and in the early days talked of having to leave his ordinary clothing hidden near the climb up to the plateau, and having changed into running gear, run anti-clockwise around the 9 mile route, and then turning back to run the 9 miles in a clockwise direction. Pretty hardcore by anyone’s standard. He was a true “bog-trotter”, seeming to float over muddy bogs and peat hags, yet he was always a road runner at heart, enjoying the challenge of the constant speed of a road race – 7 milers, 10 milers, half marathons, 20 milers and of course the marathon distance. He was adept at any discipline in fact, shining at all. He took part in the very first “Otter 40” (latterly known as the High Peak 40), and his best time on that was a superb 6 hours 18.
He did what he described as a “crazy” 1 hour 13 minutes in the London Marathon one year, having set off way too fast, paid for it but even then managed to finish in a very respectable 2 hours 55 minutes! His best “real” half was 1.18.15, even managing a 1.21.41 at our Club’s tough half marathon then known as the Otter Half. He ran 1.58.40 for the 20 mile distance in his 40’s, always acknowledging Steve Watson’s 1.49.33 as a fitting Club Record. Likewise at 10 miles, his fantastic time of 57.40 didn’t quite get him the Club Record, and 1.27.40 for 15 miles (not a distance often seen today) is to be respected. He ran 28.45 for 5 miles, pretty good by any standard. His name appears NINE times in the list of Club Records – he really didn’t need to be modest did he?
His desire to “give something back” was evident right from the early days of the Club, taking on a variety of roles, and on his return to the Club in 1994, he straight away became involved in committee work, helping to organise Club races, always turning out to do the race timing, take photographs, mark courses, put up signs, giving others the chance to enjoy their running and racing. Jim and Sheila organised the Club’s Carnival Race for several years, then a five mile road race held for many years on the town’s Carnival Day; if he wasn’t racing the Club’s Half Marathon, he was helping by marshalling, timing, marking out the 13.1 mile course, taking entries and preparing race results.
As he became older – and slower, much to his regret but he something he accepted – he took a huge amount of pleasure in encouraging new runners who came to the Club, and many remember him (and Phil Hutson, his partner in crime!) supporting and helping them to keep going, improving their confidence and running abilities, in particular at Andrew Wearden’s Target 5K groups, many of whom are still running today.
The London Olympics held in 2012 gave Jim food for thought. He was inspired by the desire to give something back to the sport and to keep the Olympic legacy alive, and on returning home from taking part in the Bramhall 5K parkrun one Saturday, had the brilliant idea of holding a free monthly 5K race around Buxton’s beautiful Pavilion Gardens. He and Sheila worked hard to create and nurture the event which has now been held over the past seven years, and because of that inspirational idea, literally hundreds of people have benefited from his amazing foresight. A fantastic legacy for a fantastic sportsman.
The Club’s “Dream On Mile” was Jim’s idea. Inspired by Steve Cram’s UK record of 3.46.32 at the Dream Mile in Oslo in 1985, Jim knew that pretty much everyone else could only ever “Dream On” about running at that speed, so he devised a two lap route starting on Broad Walk in the Pavilion Gardens, which is held – and always very well attended by Seniors and Juniors from the Club – twice a year. The Bradley Trophy, introduced this year for the Buxton AC male winner of the English Fell Championships, was a source of pride to him and Sheila when Sue and Nigel Jeff suggested it, and he’d have been proud to award this to the fitting winner at the Club’s Presentation Night. His name will never be forgotten at Buxton AC.
His lifelong contribution to the sport was fittingly rewarded in 2017 when he was winner of the “Volunteer of the Year” category in the England Athletics East Midlands, and winner of the “Services to Sport” category in the High Peak Sports Awards. Very well deserved in everyone’s view, although he was a reluctant recipient, hating the thought of being in the limelight – but afterwards acknowledging he’d quite enjoyed the events, saying they hadn’t been as nerve-wracking as he thought they would be! Jim has been described as a legend, which may seem like a weary cliché often over-used. In Jim Bradley’s case, he’s the epitome of the word. A true ‘gentle’ man, an inspiration, a great sportsman, a loving husband, dad and granddad – a legend.
October 2019