Nobody to Somebody!
MIKE BAXTER, born near Leeds on the 28th of May 1945, was the most prominent athlete to compete for Leeds City Athletic Club
in the earliest days of the clubs history although, Ron Pannell, Richard Musgrove and John Lunn, were there at the start of the
club as were a few others. The reason Baxter’s name had such resonance was because he would finish in the first two in local
and area races. In 1968 he was fourth in the AAA’s 5000m and it was in the winter of 1968/69 he had his breakthrough when
he came 2nd to Trevor Wright in the Northern and sixth in the National at Parliament Hill, behind the winner Mike Tagg. It
was in the Winter till the Summer of 1970 that Brendan Foster moved to the area with his studies and trained with Mike and
Lindsay Dunn. They used to run together, 3 or 4 times a day.
Certainly before 1969 Mike Baxter had not been considered as an international class track runner, but then, quite suddenly,
later in the year that all changed. As Mike Baxter explains himself about his race in the 1969 European Games, in the hot
weather in Athens. “It was a complete disaster”
(It was his first race on tartan.) “Before that I was not
in contention for a place in the 5000m. It was at the very last minute Dick Taylor decided he did not want to double up. He
was just going to do the 10,000 and it left a spot in the 5000m. ‘British Athletics’, organised a trial race with such
athletes as McCafferty, Mike Tagg & John Caine and all these guys and, I won it. Because, I was a NOBODY and the fact I
had won it as a trial for the team, they said
‘Oh! No’ we will have another trial. For the next trial
they put me in my first International against France, at the White City Stadium, along side Dave Bedford & Allan Rushmer,
for another run off for third spot and, I won that race (13:50.4). They could not leave me out then!
The trouble was I had that many races at such a level and, I was wrecked. When it came to the European in Athens I was past
my ‘sell by date’ I had just gone and, just faded
(He had an early lead then fell to the back of the field for a
14:19.0 - As a matter of interest he was chosen for the Commonwealth 5000 in Edinburgh in 1970 and was 7th in the heat in
14:9.8 and 14th in the Final in 14:03.0). Earlier than the Commonwealth Games in 1970, he had run his best ever time for
5000m of
13:35.2. That was in June of 1970, then after the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he had a blood
test which showed he had been suffering with glandular fever so obviously, that was why he was not a serious challenger in
the 5000 race.
It was in 1971 he was 11th in the European Final in Helsinki over 5000m in 13:43.2 that was after he won the
AAA’s
5000 Final at Crystal Palace in 13:39.6.
Going forward to 1974. That was the time Mike Baxter ran to a personal life time best for 10,000. It was on the 23rd of
May. “I ran
28:16 as my best ever race. It was my first race of the track season. There was a huge field. I
won it with a last 800 in 1:59. I was absolutely flying”
(First Six:- 1 Mike Baxter (GB) 28:16.0; 2 Ewald Bonzet (RSA)
28:16.2; 3 Mark Smet (Belgium) 28:18.2; 4 Wolfgang Kruger (West Germany, GFR) 28:20.8; 5 Leon Schots (Belgium) 28:23.2;
6 Frank Grillaert (Belgium) 28:23.4).
“10 days later our first child was born. My training just went down, as you just don’t get any sleep. My wife Jill was
brilliant and looked after my daughter Carolyn.
I just went over the hill that year and did not make the European, even though I had run 28:16. From then my running went
down hill because I got a job working for Adidas at trade shows so, could not train properly.
Having looked at his interesting comments about his track racing, that appeared a roller coaster, I wondered what
surface and event he preferred most.
“I came from a cross country background so I have to say cross country.’
Now for some of his outstanding cross-country performances and there were quite a few.
Remembering the ‘Old World Cross country’ was called ‘The International’ till 1973 when it then became a World
cross country Championships.
(However in those old days you still had countries like France, Belgium, New Zealand,
Spain, Morocco; USA, Tunisia and Canada taking part)
In 1969 Mike Baxter was sixth in the National cross country in 49.29 behind the winner Mike Tagg who ran 47:47 but, ahead
of some very good runners Mike Freary, Gerry Stevens, Gerry North and Ron Hill. England won the International team wise but
the race was won by Gaston Roelants, the 1964 Olympic steeplechase Champion from Dick Taylor, who was the first of the
winning England six, all inside 17 of 107 that ran and, Mike was 32nd in that one in Glasgow.
In 1970 Mike was fifth in the National in 43:36 behind the winner Trevor Wright who ran 42:48. England won handsomely in the
International that year at Vichy. Mike was 14th and the sixth scoring man
He explains “It was Trevor Wright, Dick Taylor, Mike Tagg, Ricky Wilde, Mike Turner and me. John Caine and Ron Grove,
who were sixth and 7th in the National did not make the counting six that day or did the young Dave Bedford”
When did it all begin for Mike Baxter, who comes across as a really cheerful person?
“I was 11 at school. The games master found that I could run a bit rather than play rugby so; I took up running for 3 or
4 years at school. Then I joined a club called Leeds & St Marks Harriers. Back in the 1960’s there were three clubs in
Leeds. Leeds St Marks and, we amalgamated in 1967 with Leeds athletic club and Hare hills. Then we became
Leeds City
Athletic Club.”
He was and is coaching many talented runners. He has become somebody special, rather than a ‘Nobody’ when
you realise who he did and, who he coaches now.
Andy Rodgers to multiple English Schools titles.
John Doherty from when he was 16 to nearly 23. He won the National Junior at Parliament Hill in 1981 and ran 13:14.17 for
5000 and was 9th in the Olympics at Seoul.
I coached John before he went to America. In those days there was no way of contacting people, No mobiles or skype. He
decided then that he knew what he needed to do and continued to coach himself on the principals I coached him at. He was a
‘Star’. Mike then said “When I got early retirement from work I took on James Walsh, when he was 28/29 and got him down
from 14:09 to 13.39 for 5000. “
There are others he coached like Phillip Aukett who is now retired.
He currently coaches Rachael Bamford, who got to the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
Perhaps we will mention one interesting case about Claire Duck who Mike coaches now. She was 4th in the Cross
Challenge Final/Inter-Counties and was 2nd in the National in 2016, as well as winning the Northern Championships and the
Home international.
Mike comes in here “She is 30 now. I started coaching her 4 years ago. She retired from athletics in her
mid 20’s. She had been to an American college and they crucified her. She came back totally disillusioned, drained, broken
and packed in athletics for 18 months but, then about 4 years ago, she just jogged to keep fit. She got in touch with Lindsay
Dunn. She said I want to start running again ‘Is there anyone in the Leeds area you can recommend’. Lindsey, who is a
friend of mine, said ‘Get in touch with Mike Baxter. She had to spend a couple of years working through the time she was
still broken. She managed to get her job sorted out and was able to then run after work as with her job, with the NHS, she
was working in the Radiology department, doing night shifts and trying to train round that so, she never really fulfilled her
potential. She qualified as a sonogropher in 2015. What that means is she now has no shift work and works the normal 8.30 to
5.30 job. She trains consistently and the result is at the age of 30 she was second in the National and fourth in the Cross
Challenge Final. Now she has come on and has the confidence to challenge some of the better girls, even though she is 30,
she will still be able to have another good three or four years”.
Does Mike really like coaching?
“I love it’
he says. All the 7 years I worked at adidas and 14 years at Nike and 4 at Fila, always
travelling around with the companies I could not coach or could get involved which was disappointing in one respect but,
I had to do it because it was my job’
‘When I retired I had nothing to do. I did not play golf. I still kept running a little bit.’
’I do all my coaching at Leeds Met Carnegie. The atmosphere there it is not central with any club but good groups of
athletes. We get on and all talk about sessions.
I had only been going up there for 2 or 3 weeks when one of the first coaches I met was, a guy called
Malcolm
Brown, who coaches Alistair and Johnny Brownlee and, he knew James Walsh. In only a couple of weeks he was letting
me take the sessions
he had prepared for Alistair and Johnny Brownlee. He would say ‘Go and do the session Mike
set’ that much mutual respect there was. He said ‘I want to Look after the girls, you look after the guys’ James Walsh,
Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee were in the group for the sessions I took.’
That shows Michael Baxter, as a coach is really somebody and certainly not a nobody in athlete’s minds as, he helps
so many to reach their potential.
Alastair Aitken
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