0:00:02 > 0:00:06It's really a very simple story. Local lad Brendan makes good.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08When I think about him, I just have to smile.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11- COMMENTATOR:- This folk hero in the North-East adds another title.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Brendan Foster is a great athlete.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15What he's achieved on the track is incredible.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19- COMMENTATOR:- Foster, the gold medal for Britain. That was devastating.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21We've always had great competitors.
0:00:21 > 0:00:27Very few have gone on to put as much back as Brendan has.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30- He's a Geordie, and he's great. - Nobody didn't like Brendan.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32Everybody loved Brendan.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35MUSIC: Walk Of Life by Dire Straits
0:00:37 > 0:00:41Brendan, you only need to talk to people about why we're up here
0:00:41 > 0:00:45to talk to you, and they've all got a story about you as a lad, seeing you running.
0:00:45 > 0:00:48Tell us about your early running experiences
0:00:48 > 0:00:52and what it was like growing up in this area as a young athlete.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Well, before I was growing up as a young athlete,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I was growing up as Newcastle's next centre forward, really.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02My dad brought me to St James' Park with my brother.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04And in this part of the world, football was everything.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06So I wanted to be the next Jackie Milburn.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08- COMMENTATOR:- Milburn. It's there!
0:01:09 > 0:01:14A couple of years later, Derek Ibbotson broke the world record for the mile
0:01:14 > 0:01:16on a Friday night at the White City
0:01:16 > 0:01:20and the next day, he came to Hebburn, where I lived, where I was born.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Meeting this guy who was, like, a real legend,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24the world record-holder for the mile,
0:01:24 > 0:01:25that kind of started my interest.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28And then I watched the 1960 Olympics.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32I used to run home after school and get home in time for the athletics.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35I'll never forget Peter Snell in the black vest of New Zealand.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37- COMMENTATOR:- Peter Snell wins the gold medal.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42I was inspired by him, but then I saw Abebe Bikila, and there were these
0:01:42 > 0:01:45grainy pictures of Abebe Bikila running through the streets of Rome.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49And the track was lit by candles on the side of the Appian Way.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51And he's padding along in bare feet.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53You know, all these other things were
0:01:53 > 0:01:56stimulating my interest in sport and in running.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58But this was, like, real inspiration, that was like...
0:01:58 > 0:02:02I almost decided, "That's what I want to be, I want to be a runner."
0:02:04 > 0:02:08Brendan comes from a working-class family, the oldest of six children,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11with the grades to get himself selected for a grammar school
0:02:11 > 0:02:14where, quite by chance, there was a teacher able to discover
0:02:14 > 0:02:16what this lad was good at.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19We had a teacher who came along, who was interested in athletics,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21found that I was reasonably good at it.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27From then on, it was, like, my football career was stuttering.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30I had met my coach, Stan Long, who was a real inspirational figure.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Let's just talk about that relationship with Stan,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35because it would seem to me, looking through your life,
0:02:35 > 0:02:38that you're brilliant at helping other people.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43But it's also apparent that you really like a mentor yourself,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46whether it's later on in your broadcasting career with David Coleman,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and the first person perhaps who fulfilled that role was Stan Long.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53- How important was he? - He was fundamental.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57Stan came along to me, watched me in a school race, and I finished second.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59And he got me. He said, "Come here, young 'un.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02"Why don't you come and join Gateshead Harriers?"
0:03:02 > 0:03:05So I joined Gateshead Harriers and I met Stan
0:03:05 > 0:03:07and worked with Stan and trained with Stan.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Later on, I met guys like Lindsay Dunn, who encouraged my career,
0:03:11 > 0:03:12and has done the same with lots of athletes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15And people like John Caine, who were inspiring.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17And then Charlie Spedding was another one.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18So it became like a unit.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21MUSIC: Children of the Revolution by T.Rex
0:03:21 > 0:03:25I joined Gateshead Harriers as a kid in 1963. So what's that?
0:03:25 > 0:03:2855, 54 years. When did you get to know him?
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Oh, it must have been about three or four years later.
0:03:32 > 0:03:36And he tripped me over. That was the first time I know who he was.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39He tripped me over. It was an accident.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41When he did it later on, it wasn't.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43THEY LAUGH
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Well, I'm younger than you lot, of course.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I first joined Gateshead Harriers about '69 or '70.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I didn't know who he was. I just remember him taking the mickey out of everybody
0:03:51 > 0:03:52the first time I met him.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55We just had a stupid sense of humour, I think, we got on really well.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58And I remember his sister, we used to do a training session,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01and we'd get a huge plate of chips cooked by his sister
0:04:01 > 0:04:03after every run.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06- He still likes a plate of chips, doesn't he?- Yeah.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07THEY LAUGH
0:04:07 > 0:04:09We were like real amateurs.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12We didn't know about running, so we had to read about it.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13We used to read everything we could
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and try to meet these international athletes and ask them questions.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21We learnt empirically, we learnt just by practice.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And at that time, we were little, tiny, little Gateshead Harriers.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And, you know, we kind of became on a bit of a mission.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29And eventually, we won the national championships,
0:04:29 > 0:04:32we won the national cross-country, won the national road relay.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And suddenly, Gateshead Harriers had a little chapter.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42That group of youngsters in the 1960s grew up together,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46competed together and got better together.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50And, eventually, Bren was the best of the bunch.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54I get up at 7.30 in the morning, and then I'm out on the road.
0:04:54 > 0:04:59In terms of time spent running, I would say about three hours a day.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03And then the rest of the 24 hours I spend thinking about running.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06He'd done nothing to make anybody believe
0:05:06 > 0:05:08he was going to be a great athlete.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11And he believed at that stage that he'd make the Olympic team.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15And that's easy to say, but I knew he utterly believed it.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I don't know where that confidence comes from.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Getting fitter and getting faster as an athlete,
0:05:21 > 0:05:24thousands, if not millions, of runners do that.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27But it was the development of his belief in himself.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And it happened, and it started getting better and better.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34And he started going to major championships from 1970 onwards.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Would you say that was a moment where your perception
0:05:39 > 0:05:41changed about what you could do in this sport?
0:05:41 > 0:05:451970 was like the first time I ever represented Great Britain
0:05:45 > 0:05:51or England. I'd struggled to get into the trial race to be selected.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54And then I finished second in the trial race, I was on my way there.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56So I went to the Commonwealth Games, I'll never forget.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59The guy that, two years earlier,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04had been sitting in a student flat in Brighton watching a television
0:06:04 > 0:06:08that we didn't even pay a licence for, we opened the cupboard to watch
0:06:08 > 0:06:12the Olympics in '68, and Kip Keino winning the gold medal in the 1500.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17And here I was in 1970 running against Kip Keino.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- COMMENTATOR:- Quax, New Zealand lead, Keino, Kenya, second.
0:06:20 > 0:06:21Brendan Foster of England is third.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24I couldn't take my eyes off him, you know, I was like, "Oh."
0:06:24 > 0:06:27- COMMENTATOR:- Magnificent frontrunning by Keino.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29He wins the title for Kenya.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31And a tremendous fight for third place.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36And Brendan Foster just beats Peter Stewart for bronze medal.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38My friends and family travelled up to Edinburgh.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Here I was on the rostrum. The Queen was there watching as well.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45So it was like, "My goodness, you know, I think I've arrived here now."
0:06:47 > 0:06:51This lad really has had a fantastic first international season,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Brendan Foster of Gateshead.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57When I went on to do other things and win other medals,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01and gold medals, I do remember that my wife
0:07:01 > 0:07:04and I were never more excited than the first one.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Did you come back home and think,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08"OK, I've got to be aiming for Olympic Games now.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12"I've got to be aiming for bigger and better things"?
0:07:12 > 0:07:13No, it probably wasn't that.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18It was probably more like, "OK, now you're on the first rung of the ladder."
0:07:18 > 0:07:20And I realised you had to work hard for this thing,
0:07:20 > 0:07:22and that was the lesson I took.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Brendan was born within sight of Gateshead, in Hebburn,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32part of the sprawl that sprang up alongside the great River Tyne
0:07:32 > 0:07:35during the Industrial Revolution.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40I think what people saw in Brendan, in the North-East, was just
0:07:40 > 0:07:41he was one of them, you know,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46he spoke like a Geordie and he just seemed as though
0:07:46 > 0:07:50he wasn't a super gifted, you know, sportsperson
0:07:50 > 0:07:52who was swanning around or anything.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55He was real in the sense that he had to graft for what he was getting.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58You know, it wasn't glamorous, it was that, "Get stuck in."
0:07:58 > 0:08:03And when he raced, his head used to roll. You know, it looked hard work.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06And that's what the people of the North-East see in themselves.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11I would class us Geordies as very hard-working.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Very, very loyal.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Very supportive. Demanding, honest.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22And I think that's us in a nutshell,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24and I think that's Brendan in a nutshell.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26They love to see people doing well,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29and they love to see people giving it everything they've got.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30And that's what Brendan did.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33You know, when you think about it, as a runner, when I used to
0:08:33 > 0:08:35watch him, you know, he didn't always win the race,
0:08:35 > 0:08:37but you know something, there was nothing left in his tank
0:08:37 > 0:08:40when he finished. He gave it everything he'd got.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I suppose my first memory of Bren was
0:08:43 > 0:08:47the European Championships back in 1971 in Helsinki.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54- COMMENTATOR:- The Britons battling like mad.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56And Arese is going to take it, Italy's medal.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58And Szordykowski second, Foster gets third.
0:08:59 > 0:09:04That was a fine 1500 metres by any standard.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07He started to really develop as an athlete,
0:09:07 > 0:09:11and I guess the thing I will always remember Bren for was
0:09:11 > 0:09:15his win in the European Championships in Rome in 1974.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19It was such a huge year for you. What was going on at that time?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Why did the stars align then?
0:09:22 > 0:09:28Well, I had been training hard and I'd moved through from 1500 metres.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31I ran the Olympic Games in '72 in the 1500 metres, finished fifth.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Which was a credible performance, you know, that said, you know,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39you're kind of in the world-class but you're not world-class.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41And I realised then, you know,
0:09:41 > 0:09:43I was getting better over longer distances.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- COMMENTATOR:- And away they go.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48And then '73, I went to Crystal Palace
0:09:48 > 0:09:54and broke the world record for two miles, which was my first real kind of step forward.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56MUSIC: I Believe in Miracles by The Jackson Sisters
0:09:59 > 0:10:03- COMMENTATOR:- Brendan Foster of Gateshead adds another notch to a remarkable belt.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Did you notice a difference in your fame then,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10when you broke a world record like that, in front of a home crowd?
0:10:10 > 0:10:14We were amateur athletes, we weren't attention...
0:10:14 > 0:10:18We didn't brush our hair and wear smart kit, we were runners.
0:10:18 > 0:10:19That's what we were.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21But in those days, athletics was a very popular sport,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23people watched it hugely.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27We talk about the golden area of Coe, Cram and Ovett,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30but really, before that, you had Bren and Dave Bedford,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33who were really kind of showing the youngsters coming through
0:10:33 > 0:10:35what you could achieve.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40And I know for Crammy then coming through later, Bren was a big mentor in
0:10:40 > 0:10:45just how to behave in training, on the track and off the track as well.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49I had this what at the time was this big star, you know,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51kind of really accessible, really close.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56So inevitably, I looked up to him from a very,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59very early age as somebody who I wanted to emulate.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04- Angela Pigford, five-star award. Well done. Great.- Thank you.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The thing for me with the training and the social interaction
0:11:07 > 0:11:11in the club and the kids being able to rub shoulders with the top athletes,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15and at that time, we've got Brendan Foster who's winning gold medals and breaking world records
0:11:15 > 0:11:18in the same changing room environment with all these
0:11:18 > 0:11:21young lads who are starstruck and just wanting to be like him.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26And all the mickey taking that's going on all the time, and the banter.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31It's pretty difficult for somebody to sort of develop
0:11:31 > 0:11:33an aura of superiority.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35You had to have respect for what he was achieving
0:11:35 > 0:11:39if you were an athlete or an athletics fan, which everybody had.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42But it didn't make him different when you were with him.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Do you remember the national at Luton, national cross-country?
0:11:45 > 0:11:49So I'm last onto the bus, trying to get my bag in.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51There was loads of bags there, so I couldn't get it in.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54So I climbed partly in to push it in.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57The next thing I hear is the door slamming behind me.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02And somebody shouts, "OK!" The next thing, we're going up the motorway.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06- I'm in the boot. And... - With the suitcases?- Yeah.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Nobody would admit who it was.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11And do you know what, he admitted it two years ago.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15- Took him 40 years to admit...- That he'd locked you in the boot?- Yeah.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20When Brendan first reached towards the highest
0:12:20 > 0:12:24honours in athletics, his first world record in 1973,
0:12:24 > 0:12:27he was a schoolteacher, an ideal job for an athlete.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32- Tell us what the job was like? - We were amateurs.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34Normally, I would run to school and run home.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36The only people in it were people who loved it, who were there
0:12:36 > 0:12:38because they wanted to be runners.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41And they all had jobs and then they found time
0:12:41 > 0:12:44here and there to fit their training in.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48I mean, the sport was almost designed
0:12:48 > 0:12:50to stop you from earning money.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I mean, I broke the world record at Crystal Palace in 1973.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56I didn't get paid for it, the sponsors decided,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58"It was such a good performance, we should give Brendan something."
0:12:58 > 0:13:02So they gave me a silver salver, you know. "OK, great."
0:13:02 > 0:13:06In '74, Gateshead Council put on a function at the town hall
0:13:06 > 0:13:09where they gave me an award for breaking the world record.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12We'd heard a rumour they were building a tartan track.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16And after a couple of drinks, I get up and reply to the guests,
0:13:16 > 0:13:20as the guest of honour, and I remember saying,
0:13:20 > 0:13:23"If you do refurbish the track and make it into a tartan track,
0:13:23 > 0:13:25"I'll come and I'll break the world record."
0:13:25 > 0:13:28A typical piece of Geordie bravado,
0:13:28 > 0:13:31but the people of the North-East really bought into that.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34He challenged, as he often does,
0:13:34 > 0:13:39Gateshead Council to turn what was a pretty dilapidated stadium
0:13:39 > 0:13:42into a venue that could host world-class athletics.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Because he basically said, "You build the stadium,
0:13:44 > 0:13:50"you put the money up, and I'll get the athletes to come." Simple.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51I was working in London at that time,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55I drove from London to Gateshead to watch that meeting.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58And I remember the stadium being absolutely jammed.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I ran one of my best physical races
0:14:01 > 0:14:07ever in that race and broke the world record by a couple of seconds.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12The world record smashed by 2.4 seconds, a present to Gateshead.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16It was a difficult time in the North-East of England.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The shipyards were closing, mines were closing.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22It was quite a depressing place to live.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Gateshead, a town of the Industrial Revolution,
0:14:24 > 0:14:26suffering from unemployment.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29And houses which stand back-to-back
0:14:29 > 0:14:33because they seem to be ashamed to look each other in the face.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35This is old Gateshead.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The reason why it's particularly valuable for a sports centre is
0:14:38 > 0:14:41because of the great number of people who are living here.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44So far, the new running track is the only part of the plan
0:14:44 > 0:14:45that has been finished.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48It's not just for big games, it's part of the concept that
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Gateshead encourages sport for all its citizens.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56This is the stadium.
0:14:58 > 0:15:03This is where it all started, really, in terms of your track life, wasn't it?
0:15:03 > 0:15:07- And it didn't look like this when you broke your world record.- No.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11- Unrecognisable, really.- And there we go, that's what we've come to see.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14The council has kindly... Let's see if I can...
0:15:15 > 0:15:18Can't get it off, so it will have to stay.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Thank you.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26So, tell me, when you walk out here, what kind of emotions
0:15:26 > 0:15:28and feelings and memories come to mind?
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Great memories, because there's been some great occasions here.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35Great athletes have come here.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39You know, we've had Linford Christie running against Carl Lewis here.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43It was so busy that day, they had to import stands from the Open golf
0:15:43 > 0:15:45and put them on the far side.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I think I've probably always felt part of what
0:15:48 > 0:15:50we should do is bring the very best to the region
0:15:50 > 0:15:54because you inspire people to take part in events by seeing them...
0:15:54 > 0:15:55Everybody taking part.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58But you inspire excellence by seeing the very best.
0:15:58 > 0:16:04I mean, you're literally standing here in the fourth lane here.
0:16:04 > 0:16:08That's the lane where Asafa Powell broke the world record for the 100 metres.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- Wow.- And that's a little bit of... That's a little bit of history.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Because there aren't many stadiums in the world
0:16:14 > 0:16:16where the 100-metre record was set.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21You have just seen the fastest man on earth.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Wow!
0:16:23 > 0:16:28You would be doing track sessions here regularly ahead of your big events.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31You would have been down here putting in those hard sessions
0:16:31 > 0:16:33that you were learning and picking up from the best in the world.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I probably was never in lane four. I probably was always on the inside.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Lane four was only for you and world-record holders.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42For the slow joggers on the outside.
0:16:42 > 0:16:44Yeah, we used to come here and we used to have jogging.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Even then, we were encouraging participation.
0:16:47 > 0:16:49People used to come to the stadium to jog on the track.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Jog on the outside lanes.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53The Commonwealth Games in '74 were out in New Zealand
0:16:53 > 0:16:55and I set British records
0:16:55 > 0:16:57for 1500m and 5000m
0:16:57 > 0:17:01and narrowly lost the 5000m in one of the great 5000m races.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03It would have been greater if I'd won it but...
0:17:04 > 0:17:07Jipcho coming. They've got about 50 metres left
0:17:07 > 0:17:08and Foster's coming back.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12The lap runner may be in the way, but Jipcho's getting it.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14For Foster, the silver.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17When I went to the European Championships, I was favourite,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18but I was running against Lasse Viren,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20who was a double Olympic champion.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23And I thought, "The only way I'm going to beat him
0:17:23 > 0:17:24"is to make it hard all the way."
0:17:24 > 0:17:28So I had a couple of guys sharing a room with me and I said,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32"Look, don't tell anybody, but I'm going to try and break away from the field.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34"So if you go in the back straight
0:17:34 > 0:17:36"and take the bedsheets from the room,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40"when I get a good enough gap, start waving the bedsheets,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43"then I'll know that I've got a good enough gap and I can just keep going."
0:17:45 > 0:17:46He just demolished the field
0:17:46 > 0:17:49and you're talking about Lasse Viren in the field.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52You know, he was the Mo of his era
0:17:52 > 0:17:57and right in the middle of that era, Bren took him on and took him apart.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01Foster, the man who has led from gun to tape.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Foster the gold medal for Britain.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Brendan was a very tough and formidable athlete.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08I think if you were racing Bren,
0:18:08 > 0:18:12you must have known that you were going to have a hard race.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16And I think we forget a little bit, until you look back at clips,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19just how well he judged races.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22That was my best year, '74,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and I won the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26I cut myself shaving just before the programme
0:18:26 > 0:18:29and I had a plaster on my cheek.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- But it wasn't...- Classy!
0:18:31 > 0:18:33But it wasn't showbiz, it was different.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35It wasn't showbiz in those days.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Howay the lads! Brendan Foster.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It was a big programme, it was a big show.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50It's an honour to win it, especially when you look at the names next to you.
0:18:50 > 0:18:51It's been a fantastic year for athletics
0:18:51 > 0:18:55and I accept this award on behalf of my sport
0:18:55 > 0:19:00and also on behalf of the North and the North-East of England, who I represent.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It was great, but the thing about it was the next morning,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07I'd be out training because that's what we did.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12So when you talk about celebrity and showbiz, this was the '70s.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16But you must have had some occasions that you found yourself at
0:19:16 > 0:19:19where you thought around that time, "This is amazing."
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Funnily enough, I was invited by Harold Wilson to Number Ten
0:19:23 > 0:19:24for some kind of function.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26At the end of the sort of rather dull affair,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29a tap on the shoulder and, "Harold would like you to come up
0:19:29 > 0:19:33"to his private rooms upstairs for a nightcap."
0:19:33 > 0:19:36So my wife, Sue, and I went upstairs to his room,
0:19:36 > 0:19:37we were standing around.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41There's a piano in the middle and suddenly the door opens,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43in walks this little guy, comes up to the piano
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and starts playing the piano and it was Frank Sinatra.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Did he ask you for tips on his running?
0:19:49 > 0:19:51No, but you would have thought he could have said,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55"Brendan, can you just sing My Way and I'll accompany you," but he didn't.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58TELEPHONE RINGS
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Hello?
0:20:00 > 0:20:02Yes, Alan. It's about this fixture at Gateshead...
0:20:02 > 0:20:04You were working for the council.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07- So you'd stopped teaching at this point.- Yeah.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09And I think that's what a lot of people at that period
0:20:09 > 0:20:13saw you as somebody who was an activist almost, I suppose.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Because once you get into a political role like that,
0:20:16 > 0:20:19you champion causes, don't you? And you see how things work and...
0:20:19 > 0:20:21That's an interesting point.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23I'd never thought of myself as an activist,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26but there weren't that many people running. It wasn't like it is now.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- You were on a mission.- It wasn't like a political mission or anything like that.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33It was like, "This is good fun, it's good for you.
0:20:33 > 0:20:34"Why don't you try it?"
0:20:34 > 0:20:39He started inviting me to the international meetings
0:20:39 > 0:20:42that he organised and I remember having supper with him and Sue
0:20:42 > 0:20:47and I must have spent the whole evening just quizzing him about his mileage
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and what he did in training and his attitude and all that sort of stuff.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54So if there is one single person beyond the inspirational training
0:20:54 > 0:20:59of my father, who got me to understand just what it was going to take
0:20:59 > 0:21:02to become a world-class athlete, it was Brendan.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06And for that, I will be eternally and mountainously grateful.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10I used to go and see him regularly in his office as a teenager,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14when I first started to go well and he was my mentor.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17He'll be supportive but, on the other hand, he'll never kid you.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20You know, he'll be straight and that's how he used to run.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23There was no fluff and nonsense with Brendan.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26You know, when you go and perform in the world arenas,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29there's 600 million people watching you running in the Olympics,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33you know, you've got to be a brave man to actually step out there to begin with.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37You know, if you make a fool of yourself, then you're a pretty famous fool.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39I first met him when I was a junior.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I remember one time I walked in the BBC and said,
0:21:42 > 0:21:46"I was supposed to do well in that race, but I didn't do it as well."
0:21:46 > 0:21:47I went and knocked on the door and said,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49"Are you going to interview me?"
0:21:49 > 0:21:52And then he was like, "Erm, maybe when you win medals."
0:21:56 > 0:21:59All over Britain, there are men running through the night.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Amongst them is one man with real hopes
0:22:02 > 0:22:06of doing what no British athlete has ever done before -
0:22:06 > 0:22:10win an Olympic gold medal in one of the three classic distance events.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16How important was an Olympic medal to you at that point?
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Well, in '76 when it came to the 10,000m, I was one of the favourites.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26Lasse Viren was the big favourite and I was...
0:22:26 > 0:22:27Judging by everything I had done,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I was in a position to challenge Lasse Viren.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33And everyone else thought that as well.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34I think he's the best in the world
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and I think he's going to win tonight.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41If he does win, I hope they build a bigger stadium for children.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45That night, it wasn't only the lads of Gateshead who went home to watch the telly.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48600 million people around the world tuned in
0:22:48 > 0:22:51to this strange bowl in Montreal.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55He was never one for excuses, he never made excuses.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58But in Montreal, he had a really bad stomach upset.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
0:23:05 > 0:23:10He told me later that after he'd gone five or six laps,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13he really felt he couldn't do another lap.
0:23:13 > 0:23:14So he just told himself,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16"One lap at a time."
0:23:16 > 0:23:18And he still hung on for another 20 laps.
0:23:20 > 0:23:21Just let him get a medal.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27So Viren wins his third Olympic gold medal
0:23:27 > 0:23:30and he's the 10,000m champion once more.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32Lopes in second place.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36Brendan Foster, for Great Britain, comes in with the bronze.
0:23:39 > 0:23:4420 million people watched your final on television in the UK.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48That's right. I mean, that was a huge audience in that year
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and the first thing I felt was disappointment.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55You know, I felt as though I'd let those people down.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Third - Brendan Foster.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Great Britain.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04I didn't run well and I was disappointed with that.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08But, you know, I came away with Britain's only medal that year.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13The greatest athlete in this country that's been produced
0:24:13 > 0:24:16in the middle distance by a long way.
0:24:16 > 0:24:18And I think everyone's proud, not only in the North-East
0:24:18 > 0:24:20but surely all the country. They must be.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27He went to every major Games from 1970 to 1976,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29and every time he went,
0:24:29 > 0:24:33he either came back with a medal or a British record.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35He never didn't deliver.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40It was then that I thought, "Right, keep going. Do the same again."
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And I managed it at '78, won the Commonwealth Games
0:24:43 > 0:24:47in the 10,000m, so I'd had bronze in my first Commonwealth,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50silver in my second Commonwealth, and then gold in the third.
0:24:50 > 0:24:51Got the full set.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55So this man, who's really a folk hero in the North-East,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57adds another title.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Foster wins the Commonwealth Championship.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04In 1980 in Moscow, which was a difficult time,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07difficult Games, I was disappointed with my own performance.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11I finished 11th and I should have been in the first three or four.
0:25:11 > 0:25:12And that's when I retired.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Did you set out at that point thinking,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19"I'd like to be a broadcaster now"?
0:25:19 > 0:25:23I finished in 1980, and I finished in the 10,000m,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and then the head of BBC Sport came to see me.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27He said, "We've got the big Coe-Ovett race
0:25:27 > 0:25:29"coming up in a few days' time."
0:25:29 > 0:25:31And I'd been sharing a room with Seb.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34And he said, "Would you come into the BBC commentary box
0:25:34 > 0:25:38"and join David Coleman, and give your view of the race and tactics?"
0:25:38 > 0:25:40And I said, "Oh, that would be quite good."
0:25:40 > 0:25:43So I went to see the head of the British Olympic Association,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45and he said, "Once you're safely back to London,
0:25:45 > 0:25:48"I can discharge you from the British Olympic team,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50"and then you can come back to Moscow, and..."
0:25:50 > 0:25:52- And work for the BBC. - "..join the BBC."
0:25:52 > 0:25:54I said, "Hang on. They're just over the road there.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56"Why don't I just go from here to there,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58"and they'll sign bits of paper, and you sign bits of paper,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02"and then I can commentate on the biggest race of the century?"
0:26:02 > 0:26:03"No, no. You can't do that."
0:26:03 > 0:26:06So I got to London, rang them up, said, "I'm not coming back."
0:26:06 > 0:26:08So I didn't.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12So my first commentary would have been Coe versus Ovett
0:26:12 > 0:26:14in the Olympic final...
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- Wow.- ..in 1980.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18And Coe gets the revenge he wants!
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Did you feel at that point that there was this exciting
0:26:23 > 0:26:25crop of runners coming through, and the sport was in good nick?
0:26:25 > 0:26:28It was great at the end of my career,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31because I'd been in the Olympics in the 1500m in '72,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33as the only Briton in the final,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37and then here I was in 1980 where Coe and Ovett were the rivals,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40and a young Steve Cram in the same race,
0:26:40 > 0:26:43which is why one of my favourite ever race commentaries
0:26:43 > 0:26:47was in 1984 in Los Angeles, when,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49coming down the home straight with a lap to go, there was
0:26:49 > 0:26:53Coe, Ovett and Cram all vying for the lead,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56and I thought, "If that's anything to do with me having been
0:26:56 > 0:26:58"influential with these guys in those early years,
0:26:58 > 0:27:01"then I'll take that one."
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Sebastian Coe, back at his best, is the Olympic champion again.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07Cram gets the silver.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- COMMENTARY:- Sebastian Coe,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13establishing himself as the world's premier 1500m runner again.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16It was an incredibly glamorous Games, wasn't it?
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Funnily enough, and I'll bring you back to earth, here,
0:27:19 > 0:27:21because the first ever commentary I did
0:27:21 > 0:27:24was with David Coleman at a cross-country
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- in Gateshead in November. - I'm not saying you didn't do the groundwork.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28No, no, no, no, but the reason I'm saying it is
0:27:28 > 0:27:31because we met for a drink, and then at eight o'clock,
0:27:31 > 0:27:32"Right, that's it, I'm off,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35"so I can study the form on the runners."
0:27:35 > 0:27:37So I went home that night, thinking,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40"Here's the greatest commentator who's ever lived,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44"and it's a cross-country in Gateshead in November of 1980,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48"and he's going upstairs to his room to learn about what's happening
0:27:48 > 0:27:49"and who's running, and all of that."
0:27:49 > 0:27:52And I thought, "I didn't realise it was like this."
0:27:52 > 0:27:54I thought it was like showbiz, you know? Then he said to me...
0:27:54 > 0:27:57on the day, he said, "And just be a bit careful." I said, "Why's that?"
0:27:57 > 0:28:01He says, "Don't speak until you've got something to say." And I said...
0:28:01 > 0:28:02I thought, "Yeah, OK..."
0:28:02 > 0:28:05And I didn't realise that was a great lesson.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07- COMMENTARY:- A very testing course.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09If someone can come out of this winning it
0:28:09 > 0:28:12in convincing fashion, then he could sort of clinch himself a spot
0:28:12 > 0:28:13maybe as number one in Britain.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16- INTERVIEW:- Commentating on something which you love,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18and that you know a little bit about,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21is a total honour and privilege.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23There's so many great moments for you to look back on
0:28:23 > 0:28:27through your commentary career. Where would you start?
0:28:27 > 0:28:30Where would you be compiling your top list?
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Actually, that's a really... That's a really good question.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36It probably would be Coe, Ovett and Cram in the 1984 Olympics,
0:28:36 > 0:28:39but that'll be different if I say it again in a week's time.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41- COMMENTARY:- The great Mo Farah.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43He really is one of the greatest of all time.
0:28:43 > 0:28:46I never, ever thought I'd see the day we'd witness
0:28:46 > 0:28:48a sight like this in London.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Paula Radcliffe, on her way to a famous victory.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Gebrselassie won this race because he doesn't know how to lose.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00There goes David Rudisha, a proud Maasai warrior.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02That's the best I've ever seen, and it's better than that.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04It's better than anything I've ever read about.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07It's been a pleasure watching you. Well done, Catherine.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08Why, thank you, Mr Foster.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12You hear him before you actually see the events.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14You know, you could be off making yourself a cup of tea or coffee,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18and that voice just booms through your television.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20I just love listening to him
0:29:20 > 0:29:23and Crammy alongside each other for the long distance races,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26because they brought such passion to it,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29and Brendan, particularly, was almost telling us the tactics,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32reliving the race as if he was running it as well.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35The secret of distance running is unfolding here,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38and every inch of the way, he's getting faster.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42He's honest, when he commentates. He tells you how it is.
0:29:42 > 0:29:44It does help you a lot, when you look back and go,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46"Yeah, you were right, Brendan."
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Gather yourself again, Mo.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Looking over his shoulder's not the thing to do.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52You've got to look ahead of yourself.
0:29:52 > 0:29:58I think Bren enjoys seeing good athletics. He's just a fan,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01and I think sometimes when you hear in his commentary
0:30:01 > 0:30:03how he gets excited,
0:30:03 > 0:30:05you can see it's because he has that huge passion for the sport.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07I can see when Brendan
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and I are getting almost emotionally involved in it, because
0:30:10 > 0:30:14we know how good it is, we know what we're watching, we're enjoying it,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18hoping that you are all enjoying it at home as well.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21If nobody's listening, though, we're having a great time.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25Farah is going to make it two gold medals for Great Britain!
0:30:25 > 0:30:26Beautiful!
0:30:29 > 0:30:30The place erupts.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35Mo Farah, double Olympic champion. I'll never get tired of saying that.
0:30:37 > 0:30:38When you do the London Marathon,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42so many people say they can hear Brendan Foster. Paula said it.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45- She can hear you in her head. - That's a bit scary, isn't it, that?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Well, no. I mean, that's because...
0:30:47 > 0:30:50I was privileged to have done every London Marathon,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53and it was from the first, when I thought it was really exciting
0:30:53 > 0:30:57and all that, to all those years of a wonderful event.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03When I first joined the athletics team, it was all new to me,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06and the one person I could rely on was Brendan.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10He not only gave me support, but gave me so much information,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12and for someone to be that generous
0:31:12 > 0:31:16when they're already busy themselves just meant so much to me,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20and we just became incredibly close friends as well.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23So the training is over. It is now time to deliver.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26- So, Brendan...- Thank you very much.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28That wasn't very nice, the way you said that!
0:31:28 > 0:31:30When I think about him, I just have to smile.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33You know, when I came into the team, the BBC sport team, he was one
0:31:33 > 0:31:37of the first people to make me feel very welcome, welcome me in, um...
0:31:37 > 0:31:39Showed me the ropes.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40He likes to guide people.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42He likes to be the man in charge,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46but he does it with such a lovable, caring way.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49My first memory is of being invited into the commentary box
0:31:49 > 0:31:51up in Durham at the cross-country,
0:31:51 > 0:31:54and being invited in with David Coleman and Bren,
0:31:54 > 0:31:56and I was watching out of the window,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58and Bren asked me a question and I wasn't looking
0:31:58 > 0:32:00and paying attention, and he told me off for that.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05I think he's at his very best whenever there's an issue,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08or something happens at a major Games.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10I've just been handed a piece of paper here that,
0:32:10 > 0:32:12if it's right, it'll be the most dramatic story
0:32:12 > 0:32:14out of these Olympics or perhaps any others.
0:32:14 > 0:32:17You've been there throughout those highs and lows in athletics.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20There've been times, obviously, with great controversy.
0:32:20 > 0:32:221988 was when all of the rumours
0:32:22 > 0:32:24about what was going on
0:32:24 > 0:32:26in the sport actually came out.
0:32:26 > 0:32:27It's Johnson away...
0:32:27 > 0:32:29and the world record
0:32:29 > 0:32:31has gone again!
0:32:31 > 0:32:34And Johnson's answered everybody.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37You sometimes wonder whether the damage is irreparable,
0:32:37 > 0:32:38because, at the end of the day,
0:32:38 > 0:32:41when Ben Johnson won the Olympic 100m gold in Seoul,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45and then was banned, he destroyed that Olympic Games, really.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49I know how strongly he feels about people doing...
0:32:49 > 0:32:52doing the sport properly.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55You know, he came through a system where if you made it to the top,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58you made it to the top because it was hard work.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01You had good natural talent.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04And I know Brendan has a real problem with people that just
0:33:04 > 0:33:09don't see the sport as being based on those fundamental pillars.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Men's 100m final.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Well, I think there was a lot of tension,
0:33:14 > 0:33:18a lot of emotions at play in that stadium in Beijing.
0:33:18 > 0:33:19It was kind of like the good
0:33:19 > 0:33:23and the evil of the sport racing against each other.
0:33:23 > 0:33:24When Usain Bolt won,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28that erupted into almost like a reggae festival in the stadium,
0:33:28 > 0:33:33and so Bren just, as we all did, I think was really caught up in it.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38He was dancing, and I videoed it, and I think I tweeted it.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42I have to say, I didn't think he had the moves myself, but he surprised
0:33:42 > 0:33:44a few people, and it went viral,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46much to the delight of his granddaughter.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51The only time ever in my commentary career where
0:33:51 > 0:33:53I ever got emotional was a few years ago.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56We had Haile Gebrselassie, Mo Farah,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59and Kenenisa Bekele, running together in the Great North Run.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03- COMMENTARY:- These three athletes running past Gateshead Stadium...
0:34:03 > 0:34:05It warms my heart, actually, watching them.
0:34:05 > 0:34:08It's absolutely fantastic to see. They're three of the greatest.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11I was very proud that there they were doing it on the road
0:34:11 > 0:34:15out there, passing the stadium where it started for me.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18I think the Great North Run will be the thing which, you know,
0:34:18 > 0:34:22people will always associate with Brendan, his vision
0:34:22 > 0:34:27and his dream for what was possible, and again, no barriers around,
0:34:27 > 0:34:29"Hey, why don't we do it in the North-East?
0:34:29 > 0:34:32"We've put a track in place. We've brought world-class athletics.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35"We've done that. So why don't we go the next step with this?"
0:34:35 > 0:34:41They come from all parts of the world to run in it, to enjoy it,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45not just the professionals, but people running it to have fun.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49For Brendan to have created all of that is one hell of an achievement.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52Everything stops for the Great North Run,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56and when you've got such a vantage point, it's a shame to waste it.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00The question that we have to ask is, "Why? How? Where?"
0:35:00 > 0:35:02Where do you get off coming up with this idea that you're
0:35:02 > 0:35:06going to take thousands of people from Newcastle to Sunderland
0:35:06 > 0:35:08on a run?
0:35:08 > 0:35:09Well, like all good ideas,
0:35:09 > 0:35:12you've got to copy it from somebody else, haven't you?
0:35:12 > 0:35:15So I was in with Dave Moorcroft.
0:35:15 > 0:35:18We were in New Zealand in 1980, training for the Olympics,
0:35:18 > 0:35:20and we were invited to run in a race called
0:35:20 > 0:35:22Round the Bays in Auckland, and there were about
0:35:22 > 0:35:2310,000 people running.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25He's running along, and he says, "This is great.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28"We finish at the beach and everyone's having barbecues
0:35:28 > 0:35:29"and picnics. It's wonderful.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32"I'm going to organise one of these when I pack in next year."
0:35:32 > 0:35:35We'll have a run starting in the city, in Newcastle,
0:35:35 > 0:35:40and we'll finish at the seaside, just like Auckland. It's like...
0:35:40 > 0:35:41- Sorry.- You're not supposed to laugh.
0:35:43 > 0:35:44The first obstacle was,
0:35:44 > 0:35:47"How do you get to the beach without going over the Tyne Bridge?"
0:35:47 > 0:35:48"Yeah, yeah. We'll get to that."
0:35:48 > 0:35:51Isn't it true, or is it an urban myth that you didn't actually get
0:35:51 > 0:35:54permission, did you, for the first Great North Run?
0:35:54 > 0:35:58That's a very raw point, because we still don't have permission.
0:35:58 > 0:36:00I wrote a letter to the Chief of Police, saying,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03"We're thinking of organising this fun run,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06"and we may need to close a few roads," and his reply was,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08"We don't normally encourage activities like this
0:36:08 > 0:36:10"on the highway."
0:36:10 > 0:36:13So when we've gone back in recent years to find out
0:36:13 > 0:36:15the paper trail, there isn't a paper trail.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18It stops after the Chief of Police saying, "No, you can't do it."
0:36:18 > 0:36:20So I don't know how it happened, but it happened, you know?
0:36:20 > 0:36:23To get to the point where you've had the millionth finisher,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25that's pretty incredible, isn't it?
0:36:25 > 0:36:27Yeah, well, the Chief of Police wouldn't stop us now, would he?
0:36:29 > 0:36:32One million! One million runners.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36One million stories, and a million smiles as well.
0:36:37 > 0:36:42You've had this rich heritage of starters who have always...
0:36:42 > 0:36:44- You've tapped into North-East icons, haven't you?- Well, look.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47I mean, to be honest with you, it's amazing.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50The first starter was a guy called Mike Neville,
0:36:50 > 0:36:51who was our local TV...
0:36:51 > 0:36:54He was our local TV hero, and from then on, you know,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Bobby Charlton and Jackie Charlton, and Alan Shearer and Bobby Robson...
0:36:58 > 0:37:00- Sting.- ..Jonathan Edwards, Sting...
0:37:00 > 0:37:03And believe it or not, and they'll deny it when they see this,
0:37:03 > 0:37:07but Ant and Dec asked me if they could start, and they're, like...
0:37:07 > 0:37:09They're icons of British entertainment.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Well, they looked at the list and thought, "Why are we not in there?"
0:37:12 > 0:37:14- COMMENTARY:- I tell you what - the first marathon prize of the day
0:37:14 > 0:37:15has got to be for Ant and Dec.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17I mean, they literally have clapped
0:37:17 > 0:37:20and shaken hands with a hell of a lot...
0:37:20 > 0:37:22He's weary now.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24That's Dec. Sorry, that's Ant, Steve.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27- STEVE LAUGHS - Oh, dear.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Mark Knopfler from Dire Straits,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34obviously a huge band from this area, and Local Hero, is...
0:37:36 > 0:37:37..synonymous with the whole city,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39but especially with the Great North Run.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42He's told me since that when he hears it on the Great North Run,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44he sees all those people running across the Tyne Bridge,
0:37:44 > 0:37:46the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
0:37:46 > 0:37:51MUSIC: Going Home by Dire Straits
0:37:51 > 0:37:53- People called it a fun run at the time.- I don't know.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55If you ever do it, the last thing you think about is fun.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58It's a long way, 13.5 miles, I don't care what you say.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02I got this kit design where I was half Newcastle and half Sunderland.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06I've never run it. I have no desire to run it at all.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10I couldn't, because of my knees and my ankles and back.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- That's my excuse, anyway. - I'd got some new shoes,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16and I got about four miles into the run, and they were killing me,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19so I stopped, and there was a kid at the side of the road
0:38:19 > 0:38:22with his dad. He'd be about 10, 11 years old. I said, "Will you swap?"
0:38:22 > 0:38:27He said, "Yeah," and I took his shoes. I took this kid's shoes,
0:38:27 > 0:38:31and I ran the rest of it in comfort in his shoes.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34I don't think I'll be playing football this year again.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37You used to be able to take part in the Great North Run...
0:38:37 > 0:38:39You know, they have on the Saturday where you do the one mile,
0:38:39 > 0:38:43two mile events, and one day I said to him,
0:38:43 > 0:38:47"Brendan, I'm going to win the Great North Run one day.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50"I'm going to cross that bridge, be in the lead."
0:38:50 > 0:38:53And he's like, "OK, I look forward to that day," and ever since then,
0:38:53 > 0:38:55you know, I turned up,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and I've got a hat trick now, Shearer-style.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01I wasn't aware of what he did, and then all of a sudden,
0:39:01 > 0:39:05my phone went berserk. He did the one-armed celebration.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08He got a great reaction from the North-East public.
0:39:08 > 0:39:11I'm not going to pretend that everything Brendan does
0:39:11 > 0:39:13is altruistic in the sense that, you know,
0:39:13 > 0:39:15"I want to do something for the community."
0:39:15 > 0:39:17He's a businessman, you know, and he's a very,
0:39:17 > 0:39:20very good businessman, but there's nothing wrong with that,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22because the result is something that the North-East of England
0:39:22 > 0:39:24is incredibly proud of,
0:39:24 > 0:39:29and year on year has grown into an event
0:39:29 > 0:39:32that is renowned around the world, and that is something which I think
0:39:32 > 0:39:36even Brendan probably didn't see in those early days.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39It was one of the most popular events that I did in my career.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42It was such fun. A moving event.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46- So many wonderful human interest stories.- It's huge.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48It's the most successful half-marathon,
0:39:48 > 0:39:51not just here in the UK, but in the world, and that really has come
0:39:51 > 0:39:56from that single man's enthusiasm and his desires for his community.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58I'm really proud to say that I know that man.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02I'm most proud of the fact that it will be here in 50 years' time.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04- That's...- That's real legacy.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10In an area, historically, with some quite deep-seated, you know,
0:40:10 > 0:40:14challenges - economic, social, certainly health - I think Brendan
0:40:14 > 0:40:19has made a seismic contribution to the health and fitness agenda,
0:40:19 > 0:40:20and I think if you pressed him on that,
0:40:20 > 0:40:23he'd probably tell you he's prouder of that than anything
0:40:23 > 0:40:27he did in winning Commonwealth or European titles.
0:40:27 > 0:40:28It really is the greatest
0:40:28 > 0:40:29half-marathon in the world, isn't it?
0:40:29 > 0:40:31Apparently.
0:40:33 > 0:40:37I was so sad when Brendan phoned me to say that he was retiring
0:40:37 > 0:40:41from the commentary box, because it just won't be the same without him.
0:40:41 > 0:40:44Brendan's told me about four times he's retiring.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48In 2012, we stood up, quite emotional, to be fair,
0:40:48 > 0:40:53after Mo had won the 5,000m, and he said, "This is it for me.
0:40:53 > 0:40:55"This is... It cannot get any better than this."
0:40:55 > 0:40:58- I would do the Mobot, Mo, but... - MO:- Can you do the Mobot now?
0:40:58 > 0:41:00- SUE:- Go on, Brendan. - I'm not flexible enough.
0:41:00 > 0:41:01- How do you do it?- Come on, Brendan.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05I think he had a bit of a rethink, quite naturally,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07and he's thinking, "Hang on. Mo Farah?
0:41:07 > 0:41:10"I'm going to see more of Mo Farah." We all want to see more of Mo Farah.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13I wanted to commentate with Brendan on Mo Farah,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and, thankfully, we've had a few more years of that.
0:41:16 > 0:41:22- COMMENTARY:- He's a one-man world superpower. It's gold for Farah!
0:41:23 > 0:41:25- For me, that was the best ever. - That was the best ever.
0:41:25 > 0:41:30The best ever, his last ever 10,000m in a championship
0:41:30 > 0:41:33in his favourite stadium and, Steve,
0:41:33 > 0:41:36there's nowhere in the world you would rather be tonight.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40It's been brilliant, for me, anyway, in the last 20 years or so
0:41:40 > 0:41:42and all of the time before and thank you
0:41:42 > 0:41:44for all of your wonderful moments.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Thank you for being here with me and we'll be sad to see you go.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49We'll miss you incredibly.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Brendan, that's definitely it, is it,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53when that microphone goes down tonight?
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Well, I tell you what, I'm enjoying this little bit so who knows?
0:41:56 > 0:41:59Frank Sinatra had plenty of comebacks, didn't he?
0:42:02 > 0:42:06I sometimes jokingly raise the topic with him.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09"What are you going to do when you retire?"
0:42:09 > 0:42:10I don't know any hobbies.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12He isn't going to go gardening, he's not going to do DIY,
0:42:12 > 0:42:15and he sure as hell isn't...
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Driving. He isn't going on driving holidays.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Oh, his driving!
0:42:19 > 0:42:21- It's appalling, isn't it?- Mm. Mm.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23We were working together at Gateshead Council,
0:42:23 > 0:42:25and he went home one winter's evening in this VW Beetle,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29and it was snowing like hell, driving through Low Fell,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33and not only did he hit a pedestrian in the snow,
0:42:33 > 0:42:36but he hit a pedestrian on a zebra crossing.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39And this bloke bounced off the front of the car,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42landed on the road, and Bren jumps out the car, goes round.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46The guy's lying there in the snow, and he recognises Bren.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49This is at the peak of his fame, breaking world records.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53And he says, "Hello, Bren. Can I have your autograph?"
0:42:55 > 0:42:56I think he'll miss it.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59I think we'll miss him more, but I'm hoping,
0:42:59 > 0:43:03and I believe, that he will still be heavily involved in athletics,
0:43:03 > 0:43:04certainly in this country,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06and we'll still see him at a lot of the big events.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08He's loved in the sport,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11so we certainly don't want to lose that kind of insight.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15He's a very important conscience for the sport as well.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19He's prepared to say things that others won't say.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22He's a lovely man, and I'm going to miss his commentary,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25but I'm always going to value him as a great mate.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29He's somebody who, even if the young people never saw him run,
0:43:29 > 0:43:30they know who Brendan is, you know?
0:43:30 > 0:43:33He's that man off the telly or he's the man who organises
0:43:33 > 0:43:34the Great North Run,
0:43:34 > 0:43:38he's somebody who sort of permeates North-East culture and tradition,
0:43:38 > 0:43:41and if you said to anybody walking down the street in Newcastle
0:43:41 > 0:43:45or Sunderland or Middlesbrough or Alnwick or Hexham or wherever,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48"Name me three famous North East people,"
0:43:48 > 0:43:51I'd be gobsmacked if his name doesn't come up in there.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58- You're still in love with the sport?- Oh, I love it.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00It's been my life.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02It's in our DNA.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Now he comes home to take the gold medal.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07It was my hobby.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09The world record smashed -
0:44:09 > 0:44:12a present to Gateshead.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14It wasn't for fame and riches.
0:44:14 > 0:44:15The North East's a proud area.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18Brendan Foster's done us well.
0:44:19 > 0:44:20It's been a pleasure.