He's ahead of them all, a-meetin' the test, following his legend right into the west.

Not Davy Crockett, but that well-loved king of the sporting frontier Jim Peters.

Tomorrow the famous distance runner will reach 80 years in the marathon of life.

"I was the best in the world..." mused Jim, of Thorpe Bay, when the Vestall Vergins club, of which he is president, took him out to breakfast at the Southend Leisure Centre.

As he coasted down the home straight to his birthday this week, Jim happily recall 1954 and the day he set a new world record - 2hours 17minutes - in the Poly Marathon, from Windsor to Chiswick.

That was in July - and in August, ominously close, at the Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, came the event for which the champion is best remembered.

With the finish in sight, and 20 minutes ahead of his nearest rival, exhausted Jim collapsed with only metres to go. It was 86 degrees in the shade.

The next man in, Joe McGee, took first place. Sportingly, he later admitted: "I won that medal under false pretences. It should have gone to you."

It was a milestone. Jim took a step back from his training to spend more time with his wife Frieda and three-month-old baby and quit racing for good.

Now he stays in touch with sport, but from the sidelines.

The Vestall Vergins are proud to have him as their president. He has acted as starter for the club's popular annual half marathon.

Chairman Noel Kelleway said: "He is an inspiration to us all. He is still well remembered and respected by British athletics as a whole. I saw marathon champion David Bedford the other day, and he asked me to pass on his best wishes."

n Record breaker - champion runner Jim Peters still takes an interest in running at 80

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