 He once ran a marathon over 26 gut-wrenching miles and won by one inch - just about the width of his vest. Can you imagine that? One inch after two hours, 11 minutes and 54 seconds of sheer slog and it turns out to be worth £84,000. Untold wealth to an amateur. That was Charlie Spedding's first ever marathon race in the space city of Houston, America. His second brought another glorious victory in the London Marathon. And his third an Olympic bronze medal finally confirmed before 92,000 folk in the Los Angeles Coliseum Stadium and a worldwide television audience of two billion. Spedding was 32 years of age and the first eight months of 1984 were pure vintage for a County Durham long-distance runner who held down a day job before shamateurism gave way to full blooded professional millionaires. North East athletics was at its zenith - Steve Cram and Mike McLeod also medalled in LA - and now all three are to defy creaking limbs to chase a $5,000 top prize in a golden oldies half marathon in Bristol come September. A time of nostalgia, to bathe in an era of great local success on the world scene? Or a ridiculous challenge for Spedding, now 51 and out of serious training for the last 12 years? Probably both if the truth were faced. "Oh I won't win it," Charlie told me, peering over his owl-like spectacles. "My old rival Mike McLeod is still running competitively so where does that leave me? But it has given me something to aim for, a reason to do some regular training and get relatively fit again." The name McLeod is inevitably inter-woven with that of Spedding in North East sporting history and Charlie laughingly calls it "an Alf Tupper story" that two working-class lads hit the Olympic jackpot against all odds in the showbiz glitz of Los Angeles. "It really was extraordinary," insisted Spedding. "We'd run against each other since the age of 16 when we took part in local youth age group races and there we were on an Olympic rostrum. Neither of us had been given a chance but Geordie grit won through for us. "I might easily have run in the 10,000 metres myself if I'd blown up in Houston. But as it was Mike finished third in the final and ended up with the silver medal when the Finn Martti Vainio was found to be a drugs cheat and I ran the race of my life in the marathon." This was a man killer, run in searing temperatures that touched 110 degrees but Spedding unbelievably defeated Australia's world champion Rob de Castella, Japan's Toshihiko Seko and world record holder Alberto Salazar of the USA. They were the marathon thoroughbreds but Charlie, a rookie who had by his own admission been nothing more than a "rank and file" 10,000m international, swept them off the medal board. Portugal's Carlos Lopes took gold, John Treacy of Ireland silver and Spedding bronze. "My wildest dream had come true and I'd performed to the very best of my ability," he told me. "What more could I want? "I was deeply satisfied. This was the most satisfying race of my career. I couldn't have done more - the other two were better than me. But I beat some very big names." Spedding returned 2hrs 9mins and 58secs - 37 seconds behind Lopes but only a tantalising two seconds behind the green-vested Treacy, with whom he battled the final miles. "No one went crazy at the start which was good because it was pretty hot," recalled Charlie. "I got to 20 kilometres and was waiting for de Castella to make his move but when I looked round he wasn't even there and I thought it was time to get rid of some of the others so I started shaking it up. "If the likes of de Castella and Salazar are struggling it does you the world of good. You feel less tired." Spedding, Lopes, Treacy and Kenyan Joseph Nzau suddenly hauled themselves away from the elite pack but Charlie didn't hit his brick wall until the 24-mile mark. "I really began hurting and was awfully tired. But this was the Olympics. I ran with caution in Houston and London, testing myself over strange territory, but in the Olympics you have one shot and give it everything. "My whole life I had dreamed of a moment like this. I was seen as an outsider but I had convinced myself I could get a medal. "Before the race I concentrated on one thing - positive thinking - because if you don't believe it can happen it won't. It's no good kidding yourself. It has to be for real. You have to believe with all your heart." The build-up to his glory run had been extremely difficult - the aftermath a glorious party shared with the world. "The marathon is traditionally the last race and slowly the Olympic village completely changed," Spedding told me. "With the passing of every day athletics were beginning to party as their event was over but we had to remain focused and detached. We couldn't join in - I couldn't celebrate with Crammie or McLeod. "But we marathon runners are good at being isolated in a world of our own. The place was very noisy but I was totally focused, locked away with my thoughts. "However, when it was all over we had the best medal presentation of all because it marked the beginning of the closing ceremony. "The podium was set upon a specially-constructed stage surrounded by fountains and fronted by a 60-strong symphony orchestra." Whereas a most acceptable amount of money had been gathered in by Spedding at Houston and London the return in Los Angeles wasn't to be gauged by cash. When you receive an Oscar a pay cheque doesn't go with it. However, I suggested to Charlie that winning an unexpected Olympic medal must have had considerable spin-off effects. "Not really," he insisted. "Remember this was an era when Britain boasted Steve Cram, Seb Coe and Steve Ovett head to head, Daley Thompson and Tessa Sanderson, so an Olympic bronze medallist wasn't going to suddenly become a millionaire. The spin-off was colossal for some but not for me." Maybe not, but in his mind Spedding was rich beyond his boyhood dreams. "I only wish I'd had longer as a marathon runner," admitted Charlie. "It took me 16 years of toil and sweat to get to an Olympic medal. I'd begun running seriously when I was 16 and I was 32 when I had my glorious year in 1984. But the wait only made it that much sweeter. "I'd given my all as a 10,000 metres runner. I was an international and AAA champion but nothing better than that. Then along came the marathon and the world stage. "I eventually got where I wanted to be. I ran in two Olympics - I was sixth in Seoul - and I competed in four London Marathons. I'm proud of my record." Page 2: Why Spedding is not too keen on collecting his full prize.... | 
