One of the wonderful aspects of Athletics is that competitors of all ages can participate. At the SEAA/EAA/Bucks multi event Championships at Bedford last weekend Gary Brazier (51), Steve George (52) and Michael Reilly (47) came through their first ever Decathlon unbowed and unscathed as they raised over £12000 for various charities through their own charity Must B MAD. Through Must B MAD (Making A Difference) the three locals from Cublington raise funds for good causes by taking part in challenging events that quite frankly most people would think are MAD.
Over the 2 days of 10 events they managed to notch a total of 22 personal best’s, exceeding their own expectations and those of coach Jim Rayner.
The three Vale of Aylesbury athletes have been training for 10 months for this event and it all came together at the weekend as family and supporters urged them on.
‘What an amazing experience’ said Gary Brazier after completing the final event (1500m). ‘it has been an exhilarating weekend and one that the three of us will never forget’ added Steve George. Asked if they would consider doing another Decathlon in the future, Mike Reilly commented ‘we are going to have a short rest and then hope to be back in training in November with a view to entering the British Masters in 2009’
The weekend also witnessed an unusual and perhaps unique occasion as father and son, Stephen and Matthew George, both competed in the Men’s Senior Decathlon. Matthew who last year was ranked 5th in the Mens U20 Decathlon rankings and who has represented GB indoors and outdoors completed his first Senior Mens decathlon, whilst it was also Steve’s first ever Decathlon
‘It was wonderful and a privilege to be in the same competition as Mat’ said Steve ‘ I doubt if too many father/son combinations have done this before and for us to achieve 17 PB’s between us was hugely rewarding – we must have inspired each other’ he added.
Matthew won the Championship with a total of 6798 pts, whilst Gary, Steve and Michael, who had been training for 10 months, having never done any athletics before, managed to accumulate 2269, 2171 and 2143 pts respectively.
Download official results excel spreadsheet
