Dave Clarke (runner)

David Robert Clarke (born 1 January 1958) is a British former distance runner who competed over distances from the 1500 metres to the marathon. He represented Great Britain over 5000 metres at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics and the 1981 Summer Universiade.[1][2]

Dave Clarke

Personal information
Born	(1958-01-01) 1 January 1958 London
Sport
Country	Great Britain  England
Sport	Athletics
Club	Hercules Wimbledon Athletics Club
Medal record World Cross Country Championships 1982 Rome Team 1987 Warsaw Team 1989 Stavanger Team 1992 Boston Team

He made twelve appearances at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships from 1977 to 1995. Individually, his performance came at the 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, where he placed seventh overall.[3] Clarke was a three-time silver medallist at the competition (1982, 1987, 1989) and also won a team bronze in 1992, sharing the honours with Mike McLeod, Hugh Jones, Julian Goater, Steve Kenyon, Karl Harrison, Carl Thackery, Kevin Forster, Steve Binns, Tim Hutchings, Gary Staines, Richard Nerurkar, and Eamonn Martin, among others.[4][5][6][7][8]

Born in London, he attended Dulwich Prep London and then St Paul's School, London, where he took up running, as did his brothers Peter and Chris. Professionally, he worked as a labourer and hospital porter before becoming a history and physical education teacher.[9]

He ranked in the top twenty in the world over 10,000 metres in the 1982 season.[10] He shares the British record in the ekiden marathon relay, alongside Carl Thackery, Jon Solly, Mark Scrutton, and Karl Harrison, with a silver medal-winning time of 1:59:14 hours set at the 1986 IAAF World Challenge Road Relay.[11][12]

In national competition he won the 5000 m title at the 1981 UK Athletics Championships,[13] and was runner-up in that event at the 1983 AAA Championships.[14] He won the English Cross Country Championships three times (1982, 1987, 1988) and won the British Cross Country Championships in 1992. He was also twice runner-up at the British race and a four-time runner-up at the English Championships.[15] He won the British Universities Cross Country Championships in 1981.[16] At sub-national level he won the 1984 title in the 3000 metres at the South of England Athletics Championships and the 5000 m inter-county race at the 1985 CAU Championships.[17][18] On the professional circuit he won races including the Cross di Volpiano, Amatrice-Configno, Foulée Suresnoise, 1989 Stockholm Marathon and the Cross de Nantes.[3]

He continues to take part in the sport as a masters athlete, mostly in local parkruns, though he completed the 2016 London Marathon in 3:03:54 hours.[19]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
1977	World Cross Country Championships	Düsseldorf, West Germany	23rd	Junior race	24:28
			4th	Junior team	80 pts
1981	World Cross Country Championships	Madrid, Spain	38th	Senior race	35:59
			6th	Team	312 pts
	Universiade	Bucharest, Romania	6th	5000 m	13:54.66
1982	World Cross Country Championships	Rome, Italy	9th	Senior race	34:19.4
			2nd	Team	114 pts
1983	World Cross Country Championships	Gateshead, United Kingdom	7th	Senior race	37:05
			8th	Team	318 pts
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	11th (semis)	5000 m	13:58.37
1985	World Cross Country Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	26th	Senior race	34:23
			8th	Team	437 pts
1986	World Cross Country Championships	Colombier, Switzerland	16th	Senior race	36:14.4
			8th	Team	360 pts
1987	World Cross Country Championships	Warsaw, Poland	10th	Senior race	37:10
			2nd	Team	146 pts
1989	World Cross Country Championships	Stavanger, Norway	15th	Senior race	40:56
			2nd	Team	147 pts
1992	World Cross Country Championships	Boston, United States	20th	Senior race	37:52
			3rd	Team	147 pts
1993	World Cross Country Championships	Amorebieta-Etxano, Spain	111th	Senior race	35:28
			7th	Team	353 pts[20]
1994	World Cross Country Championships	Budapest, Hungary	55th	Senior race	36:24
			8th	Team	444 pts
1995	World Cross Country Championships	Durham, United Kingdom	77th	Senior race	36:17
			9th	Team	354 pts
1990	International Chiba Ekiden	Chiba, Japan	6th	10K	28:20
			5th	Marathon relay	2:02:05[21]

National titles

• British Cross Country Championships
  • Long course: 1992
• English Cross Country Championships
  • Long course: 1982, 1987, 1988
• AAA Road Relay Championship: 1979 (leg 4)

Circuit wins

• Cross di Volpiano: 1982, 1983
• Amatrice-Configno: 1983
• Foulée Suresnoise: 1987
• Stockholm Marathon: 1989
• Cross de Nantes: 1989, 1990

Personal bests

• 1500 metres – 3:39.27 (1982)
• Mile run – 3:56.95 (1982)
• 3000 metres – 7:57.88 (1984)
• 5000 metres – 13:22.54 (1983)
• 10,000 metres – 27:55.77 (1982)
• Marathon – 2:13:34 (1989)

References

1. Men 5000m Athletics I World Championship 1983 Helsinki, Finland - Sunday 14.08 - Eamonn Coghlan, Ireland. Todor66. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
2. "Final results". United Press International. 26 July 1981. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
3. David Robert Clarke. Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
4. Magnusson, Tomas (March 24, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 12.0km CC Men - Roma Hippodromo della Campanelle Date: Sunday, March 21, 1982, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 20, 2013
5. Magnusson, Tomas (March 24, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 12.0km CC Men - Roma Hippodromo della Campanelle Date: Sunday, March 21, 1982, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 20, 2013
6. Magnusson, Tomas (September 8, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 12.0km CC Men - Warszawa Sluzewiec Date: Sunday, March 22, 1987, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 22, 2013
7. Magnusson, Tomas (September 8, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 12.0km CC Men - Stavanger Scanvest Date: Sunday, March 19, 1989, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 23, 2013
8. Magnusson, Tomas (September 8, 2007), IAAF World Cross Country Championships - 12.5km CC Men - Boston White Stadium, Franklin Park Date: Saturday, March 21, 1992, Athchamps (archived), archived from the original on October 16, 2007, retrieved October 24, 2013
9. Dave Clarke (The Great Runner from Hercules Wimbledon). Highgate Harriers. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
10. Dave Clarke. Track and Field Statistics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
11. United Kingdom National Records. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
12. IAAF World Road Relay Championships. Association of Road Racing Statisticians (2004-03-27). Retrieved 2020-03-19.
13. UK Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
14. AAA Championships (Men). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
15. British Cross Country Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
16. British Universities Championships (Other). GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
17. South of England Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
18. CAU Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
19. Dave Clarke. Power of 10. Retrieved 2020-03-19.
20. Non-scoring performance
21. Japan Clinch Marathon. The Straits Times (1990-12-18), p. 33. Retrieved 2020-03-19.

External links

• Dave Clarke at World Athletics