Tony Wright from St Agnes has been selected for the England Masters 10k road running team after finishing first in the Vet50 category at a recent 10k qualifying event in Chichester.

Tony, Business Development Advisor at Truro and Penwith College, has been selected after finishing first in his category at an open qualifying event in Chichester last month with a personal best time of 32:46 and will now compete for England at the Simplyhealth great Birmingham 10k in May.

The results show that the Chichester 10k provided particularly high quality competition this year with hundreds of runners trying for places on the team, and the fastest 100 completing the race two minutes faster than the previous year.

“I’m really proud of my achievement in the qualifying race,” began Tony. “As well as finishing first in the Vet50 category, I also reached an all-time personal best which is quite amazing at my age. Being selected to represent my country is such an honour and is something I never thought I would achieve.”

Tony started competing with Newquay Road Runners in his thirties, representing Cornwall in cross country. After taking a break from the sport in 2007, Tony joined the Vets team at Cornwall Athletic Club (AC) in 2016 and is no stranger to international competition having previously won gold in the Vet50 category for England at the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International in 2017.

As part of his training routine, Tony regularly takes part in Truro and Penwith College’s Health, Wellbeing and Sport (HWS) sessions and has credited much of his success to the award-winning programme.

“The HWS sessions at the College have been really beneficial to me as they enable me to train within my working day,” said Tony. “I attend the circuit sessions during Monday lunch time and have occasionally joined the lunch time run on a Thursday. I’ve also found it very useful having access to the College gym before work as well as the sports massage facilities. As an organisation, the promotion of health is really encouraging.”

Tony is continuing to train six times a week for the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k in May but is also hoping to complete the London Marathon in April. Despite running several marathons in the past, this will be the first one as a Vet50 (aged 50 - 59) and Tony is aiming for first place within his category.