Tim Johnston

Tim Johnston was educated at Bedales School in Hampshire from 1954-59 before going to Trinity College, Cambridge. While Bedales specialised in the arts, it was not noted for producing sportsmen and women, but Johnston was the exception: an outstanding athlete whowas twice the Hampshire Schools mile champion. He was also a keen cyclist. During his last term at Bedales, Johnston joined the Portsmouth AC.

At Trinity, Johnston went on to win his athletics Blue and was soon identified as a top cross-country runner. He used to train with the 1960 Olympic 1500 metres champion Herby Elliott, who was at Cambridge at the same time. Johnston won the 1963 and 1965 CAU Inter-Counties Cross-Country titles and was second to Mel Batty in the 1965 English Championships. Johnston came close to winning a AAAs title in 1964 when he finished third in the steeplechase. He was a double champion in 1968, however, when he won both the AAA marathon and 6-mile titles, the latter in a British record 27:22.17. It was the last time the 6-mile was held, because it became the 10,000 metres from 1969. He was also 3-times the Southern Counties Cross-Country champion and competed in the International Cross Country-Championships five times between 1963-69, finishing second to Gaston Roelents at Barry, Wales, in 1967. In 1965 Johnston set a 30,000 metres track world record 1-32:34.6

Johnston qualified as a solicitor in 1967 but, having won the Olympic marathon trials, he spent a large part of 1967-68 in Mexico City acclimatising himself to the demanding conditions of the forthcoming Games. He competed in the marathon and gave a good account of himself before getting a “stitch” at 25 km, but still managed to finish a creditable eighth. Johnston was hoping to compete at the 1972 Olympics but an Achilles’ tendon injury ended those hopes and, in 1976, he came close, at the age of 35, to gaining selection for the Montréal Games.

Despite qualifying as a solicitor, Johnston enjoyed history and languages more. He taught English for a while and then got a job as a lawyer-linguist with the European Economic Community (EEC) and later worked as a legal translator for the International Court of Justice in The Hague, before eventually retiring at the age of 65. He continued running well into his 40s, taking part in veteran’s races and won European Masters titles. He was the Seniors’ World Marathon champion in 1982 and 1983.

In 2016 Johnston wrote His Own Man, the biography of Otto Peltzer, champion athlete, Nazi victim, and Indian hero. The book was illustrated by Don Macgregor, the 1972 Olympic marathon runner.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-15:26 (1968).