AN INSPIRATIONAL grandfather rolled back the years with a sprint finish in a 5km run on his 90th birthday.

Hugh Foord took part in the Hove Park Parkrun on Saturday, where he was cheered to the finish line by fellow runners.

He started running with Brighton Harriers, now Brighton Athletics Club, in 1943 at the age of 14.

Then when he was in the Parachute Regiment, serving in post-war Germany, he started to enter and win races, and had a distinguished running career.

He has kept going with his lifelong hobby, and at the finish line on Saturday he said: “I felt like I was in my twenties again.”

The park run event marked its 600th weekend with as many as 600 runners taking part, and there was a celebration for Hugh at the finish line.

Hugh said: “I don’t feel 90, I really can’t believe it, I’m not old, I’m older, but I don’t feel any different.

“With all the people around me, I felt like I was in my twenties again, though I wasn’t running quite as quickly.

“I felt like a proper runner, and that’s why I keep doing it. My wife Mary and I run every day.”

In his running career he won 30 Sussex Championship medals and was the Sussex Cross-Country Champion in 1955. He has won scores of other medals in veterans competitions too.

After the race he said: “I was a bit leggy about half way through, but I had support all the way around. I still get the buzz, and I liked to get keyed up before a race.

“In these races you get the adrenaline rush, so when you are physically tired, it keeps you going.”

Hugh said there is a great camaraderie among runners, and his pal David Rutter, 83, who was his best man, presented him with a medal at the finish line, praising him for his “character and humility”.

He said: “Years ago Hugh would have won this race, now he is near to being last, it’s funny how age takes its toll. He is a hero of mine, so I hope that today he sets the fastest time for runners over 90.”

Son Roger Foord, 55, who is himself a distinguished runner who has completed more than 500 park runs, said: “He is an inspiration, he makes you want to carry on doing it yourself.

“Normally we start off towards the back of the runners here, but today we started on the front row of runners. He kept a steady pace all the way around, then managed to put in a sprint finish. You could feel he was increasing the pace towards the end, he still has all the old techniques.”