Keith Anderson (born 10 August 1957) is a male British former runner who was the national fell running champion and competed in the marathon at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Athletics career

Anderson did not take up running until he was thirty, at which time he was overweight and had an unhealthy lifestyle. He made rapid progress and in 1989 won the Edale Skyline, Sedbergh Hills and Three Shires fell races. Also that year, he won the

Ben Nevis Race The Ben Nevis Race is a mountain race that takes place annually, from the foot of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in the British Isles) to the top, then back again. The course is 14km long and includes around 1,340metres of ascent. Up to six hu ...

, noting that losing three stones in weight had contributed greatly to his victory. In 1991, Anderson won the

British Fell Running Championships The first British Fell Running Championships, then known as Fell Runner of the Year, were held in 1972 and the scoring was based on results in all fell races. In 1976 this was changed to the runner's best ten category A races and further changes t ...

. He is popularly considered one of the best descenders in the history of the sport and an investigation of downhill running speeds found his sustained descent rate of 1.365 m/s in the 1990

Pen y Fan Pen y Fan () is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. At above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point ( county top) of the historic c ...

Race, when he descended 580m vertically in 7:05, to be the fastest recorded in any race for which relevant information was available. He made more use of science and technology in his running than many of his contemporaries, basing his training around heart rate and often having his blood lactate levels tested. He also did many of his speed sessions on a

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type o ...

in order to be able to complete them in a controlled environment. Anderson’s focus later shifted to cross country and road running. In 1994, he finished fourth in the

English National Cross Country Championships The English National Cross Country Championships is an annual English cross country running event which takes place in late February following the regional championships (Southern, Midlands and Northern) which all take place on the same weekend usu ...

and he won the Scottish National Cross Country Championships in 1995, his father being Scots. In one of his 5k road races in 1994, Anderson placed second to the future 3000m world record holder

Daniel Komen Daniel Kipngetich Komen (born 17 May 1976) Komen is rumoured to be three years older than officially recognised. is a Kenyan middle- and long-distance runner. Remembered for his rivalry with Haile Gebrselassie, Komen's most notable achievement ...

. Anderson ran the 1998 Boston Marathon in 2:17:08 and was selected to represent

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, Malaysia, in the marathon at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''( Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unpreceden ...

where he finished in tenth place at the age of forty-one. After his retirement from high-level running, Anderson became involved in coaching the sport. He still holds the course records for the fell races at Pen y Fan, Sedbergh Hills, Dunnerdale and the Black Mountains,Black Mountains Race.
/ref> all set in the early 1990s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Keith British male long-distance runners British fell runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England 1957 births Living people