SIR Roger Bannister will always be remembered as the first man to run a mile in under four minutes back in 1954.

He went on to enjoy a distinguished and long career in medicine which was his main love.

But the two men who as pacemakers helped him achieve his athletics success were no less remarkable than Bannister both as runners and in the rest of their lives.

Christopher Chataway ran an epic race only a few months later in the 5,000 metres against the Russian world record holder Vladimir Kuts.

Watched by a capacity crowd of 40,000 at White City in London, Chataway won by the narrowest of margins and broke the world record himself.

I was appalled and impressed to see that he celebrated his victory by smoking a cigarette. Chataway went on to become a television executive and the Conservative MP for Chichester. He seemed to be successful at almost everything he did.

Chris Brasher was less gifted as a runner yet enjoyed athletics success denied to the other two. At the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, he gained a rare gold medal for Britain by winning the steeplechase.

Brasher, who was disqualified and then reinstated the following day celebrated well before receiving his medal and claimed to be the only winner to have been blind drunk at the ceremony.

He lived in Kensington at this time and the Royal Borough decided to mark his success by starting a fund. But it raised only £180 and was soon forgotten. A few years later as a young reporter I discovered it languishing in a dusty file.

I was running a cricket club at that time and we were very hard up. I decided to ask Brasher if we could make use of the cash. Impressed by our spirit, Brasher agreed that we should buy a minibus to take members to matches and to lend it to other sports clubs in the borough.

The bus lasted for many years and was invaluable. Brasher agreed to become our president.

Always entrepreneurial, Brasher went on to start a sportswear business and he also founded the sport of orienteering.

But his greatest achievement was when, with others, he started the London Marathon in 1981. This was an immediate and unqualified success. It inspired many other cities in Britain and worldwide to start their own marathons or improve the ones they had.

Brighton is among them and its marathon is now second in size only to London in the UK.

The London Marathon also spawned hundreds of smaller events ranging from five kilometre park runs to half marathons.

I ran the London Marathon three times and found it hard work. I much preferred the Seven Sisters marathon which I did nine years in a row. The five and ten kilometre races I found a bit short and the distance I really liked was the half marathon. I must have completed more than a hundred of these including several in Brighton.

Thousands of runners will take part in this year’s Brighton Half Marathon which is on Sunday. Sadly I shall not be among them, old age, injury and illness having taken their toll.

My favourite half marathon was at Barns Green near Horsham where the village had a carnival atmosphere including a fairground and runners on a figure of eight course.

The best race I ever ran was a half marathon at Chichester which I completed in one hour and 32 minutes, more than three minutes up on my second best time.

Normally I was a bit of a plodder but I had the rare feeling that day of running on air.

My worst half marathon was at Seaford College near Petworth. I took my bike by train to Chichester but seriously underestimated how long it would take to ride the 14 miles to the course. I arrived as the race was just getting under way. Flinging down my bike and bag, I joined in only to be afflicted by terrible cramp.

Somehow I staggered round in one hour and 55 minutes but recovered to ride back to Chichester.

I loved running right from those heady days when Bannister, Chataway and Brasher were household names. It was a huge part of my life and at its peak I ran at least four miles each morning without missing a single day. I liked the knowledge that if I had a pair of trainers with me I could run wherever and whenever I liked.

The growth in running is not solely down to one man. Many other people were involved. I hope that as thousands pound the pavements this Sunday they will spare a thought for the man who more than anyone else made running popular.