Andrew Davies has been running through the Welsh countryside from a tender age and, still, he is competing at an international level.
Andrew first began running as a junior, growing up in Newtown, a small town in Wales. The 43-year-old has represented his country at world championships and Commonwealth Games and his sights are firmly set on the upcoming World 50km Championships taking place in India this November.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Andrew told Fen Regis Trophies. “It should be good, although I’ve been checking out the temperatures, so I don’t think it’s going to be a PB course!
“It could be another one like the Commonwealth Games in Australia. It’s going to be a big battle out there and whoever takes it the best, with the weather conditions, will do well.”
Falling in Love with Running
Growing up on a farm, surrounded by beautiful Welsh countryside, there was more than ample opportunity for a young Andrew to get his running trainers on and explore. He explained that his local running club, Maldwyn Harriers, set him on his way.
“Maldwyn Harriers are our local club in Newtown, mid-Wales,” he said. “There was someone that used to come and do sessions with the club on a Wednesday night.
“That helped quite a lot. I started to get into trail running, as it’s quite a hilly place around here.
“Trail running took over, along with cross-country in the winter.”
As well as the club itself, Andrew also spoke highly of his old coaches who helped to inspire him to put in the hard miles.
He said: “There was a local man called Peter, who was enthusiastic about running and getting people involved. Peter was the main man back then.
“Dave Peters was also a big inspiration to me in getting things going and keeping me interested.”
Caersws FC
For a time, running was not Andrew’s priority as he spent more than 10 years playing in the Welsh Premier League for Caersws FC. Playing in most positions across the pitch, Andrew did actually experience playing in European competition as his side contested an Intertoto Cup tie against Bulgarian side Marek Dupnitsa in 2002.
“We lost 2-0 in Bulgaria and drew 0-0 at home,” Andrew explained. “That was a good experience.”
On his time as a semi-professional footballer, he said: “I had a bit of a crossover between running and football when I was 16 to 18.
“I started taking football quite seriously, playing in the Welsh Premier League for about 10 years, so it was quite a high level.
“When I was quite young, my brother was running 60 to 70 miles a week to be a full-time runner and that wasn’t for me at that age.”
Andrew added: “Caersws is only a local village team, but we did quite well considering all the players were local.
“We had a good team bond and we did quite well.”
Commonwealth Games and World Gold
At the age of 32, Andrew began to consider life away from football as his levels began to drop, along with simply not enjoying travelling up and down Wales during the wet and cold winter months. Running was soon back on his radar with a belief that he could make the Commonwealth Games.
“I knew that I hadn’t much longer left [in football] and there was a possibility, if I got the right coach, I could make the next Commonwealth Games,” he said.
In 2013, Andrew linked up with Steve Vernon who became his first senior coach. Vernon is a former England and GB international runner, specialising in cross-country, and provided Andrew with the approach and experience he needed to achieve his dream of representing Wales.
“I was told years before that I had the potential to run at the Commonwealth Games,” said Andrew. “Those words were ringing in my ear and, fortunately, I managed to get to the Games.”
He added: “Qualifying for the marathon was pretty incredible…going to my first Games, I had to pinch myself!
“I went travelling to Australia in 2006 for the Commonwealth Games and I was just in awe of all the athletes, so to realise the dream of being a Commonwealth Games athlete was pretty special.”
As well as competing at both the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, Andrew’s crowning glory came at the 2018 World Masters Mountain Running Championships. The Welshman came home with the gold medal in the men’s 35-39 category running through the mountains in Železniki, Slovakia.
“Where I’m from, we do love mountain running. I love going back to it as well, and I’ve managed to do a bit of it this year.
“To get the gold medal, that was very, very good.”
Looking Ahead
Though the days of competing at Commonwealth Games and setting PBs may be past Andrew, he is still looking forward to setting new records in the future. Having seen his British over-40 Marathon record broken by a certain Mo Farah at the 2023 London Marathon, he is keen to stamp his authority on the over-45 category.
“I won’t take things too seriously,” he said. “I know some people get very involved and focused on everything…even at elite level, I don’t take it too seriously. If I get a PB, it’s a bonus.
“One target I have, as I will be 45 next year, is to try and get the over-45 marathon record.”
The current British over-45 marathon record is held by Ian Leitch with a time of 2:17:26 set in 2021. If Andrew can maintain his PB pace of 2:14:23, which he ran in Seville in 2022, he will be on course to put his name back into the British athletics record books.
Even if he doesn’t manage that feat, there is no doubt that Andrew will be perfectly content running through the Welsh countryside, whatever the weather.
By Aaron Gratton
