Dave bought his first (and to date only) racing wheelchair in 2004, an import from the US. It was a Top End Eliminator, a decent model, but was second hand. On arrival it seemed to fit well enough, but he soon discovered that it was a bit tight across the ribs and since he is short in the arms he struggled to fully engage the pushrims.
Despite the tight fit, Dave decided to give racing a go and entered the Taunton 10K in September 2004. As the only wheelchair entrant he was started at the back after the main field had headed out but was soon passing many of the slower runners. He recalls the difficulty of having to pass so many people on winding country lanes, particularly on the downhill sections where his speed was regularly over 20mph. But 7K in disaster struck. A tight right hand bend at the bottom of a steep downhill section had him crash out into the hedge, buckling a wheel but with fortunately no more than a few cuts and bruises. The bent wheel would barely turn, but he soldiered on, being passed by about a hundred of the competitors that he had overtaken earlier, finally coming home in 55 minutes.
The following year he cycled round the course the day before, just to check on where the turns and slow sections were...and completed the course without incident in around 41 minutes. That gave him a taste for racing, so he decided to try something a little harder and entered the Cardiff Half Marathon in October. Another eye opener, he found the distance a challenge and finished forth of four in a time of 1:31. This was a realisation that Wheelchair Racing wasn't really his thing. An ill fitting chair, short arms, a small stature and advancing well into middle age are not really the ideal makings of a top wheelchair athlete.
"Not being able to win races doesn't mean you shouldn't try." So Dave has persevered in his racing chair, reducing his pb in the Taunton 10K to 37 minutes and his half marathon by 9 minutes to 1:22, which included a win at the 2009 Bristol Half Marathon (against only one other marginally slower competitor it has to be said). Dave still hopes to purchase a new racing chair suitably sized, which will hopefully bring his times down further still.