'Sprinting monk' who takes two buses to attend parkrun wins 400m race - aged 81

Dubbed the 'sprinting monk', Father John Gribben ran the 60m, 200m, and 400m sprint races in aid of poor children in Africa.

The pious pacer has raised £6,000 for the Tariro charity, which helps young people in Zimbabwe.

On Saturday, February 22, Father John beat out the competition to take gold in the 80+ category at the British Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London.

He completed the race in two minutes, three seconds, 190 milliseconds. Following the race, Father John said: "I always sprint the last 100 metres no matter where I'm running or what I'm running, and that uses up all the energy I have.

"The first thing I did was a good big grunt, and when I looked behind and they were still just coming over the final line, there is a slight sense of euphoria, 'I don't believe this has happened,' almost."

Despite the unexpected win, Father John says he doesn't believe there was any divine intervention behind his win, instead crediting it to his hard work and the support others have given him.

He added: "I'd hate to think that I was using something that gave me an advantage of the others other than my training and my strength.

"But, the encouragement that comes from my faith is a great help. There have been bad nights, or nights when I've had too much to eat, when I'm not in the mood for going out for a run.

"I just say to my saviour, 'if you go with me, I'll go running', and then I start to get my gear on and go out. As to being given an extra surge of energy or strength, I'm not sure that would be fair."

The sprightly monk takes two buses every Saturday to attend a local Parkrun in Huddersfield, before making his way back home to his Monastery - taking time to stop for a bacon butty first.

As well as his gold in the 400 metres, Father John also achieved bronze in the 60 metres with a time of 13.16 seconds, and in the 200 metres with a time of 47.66 seconds.

Father John joined the Community of the Resurrection in Mirfield, in 1979, after moving from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

He discovered the monastery on a visit to Liverpool in 1966, while he was watching Brazil play in the World Cup, and was taken by its beauty he made the move 13 years later as there was a lack of Anglican churches in Ireland.

He's since devoted his life to prayer, worship, and ministry. For the last 10 years, he's found solace in running and keeps fit by training six days a week, involving a mixture of running around the monastery, at his local Parkrun and hitting the gym.

Visit https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/27360 to donate to Father John's fundraising efforts.