ORGANISERS of the weekly Bryn Bach Park Run will this week celebrate a Blaenau Gwent hero as they pay tribute to British marathon record holder Steve Jones.

It’s the record even Mo Farah couldn’t break and on October 21 Jones, who was born in Tredegar and brought up in Ebbw Vale, will have held it for exactly 30 years.

It was at the 1984 Chicago Marathon that Jones, then aged 29 and a fighter aircraft technician for the RAF, completed his first marathon in a time of 2hrs 8min and 5sec.

That smashed the world record of Australian Robert de Castella by 13 seconds.

And, although Jones lost the world record to Portuguese star Carlos Lopes the next year, he won in Chicago again in 1985 in 2:07:13 – a time that has yet to beaten by any British athlete.

The former Newport Harrier, who had finished eighth in the 10,000m at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, went on to win the London Marathon in 1985, took bronze in the 10,000m at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and won the 1988 New York Marathon.

But it is for that stunning run one Sunday in Chicago almost 30 years ago that he’ll be remembered.

“Sometimes I thought it was the worst thing I ever did, breaking the world record that day in Chicago. But for the most part it was the best thing I ever did,” said Jones.

“I never wore a watch in races and I didn't know what the record was,” recalled the 59-year-old, who now lives and coached athletes in Boulder, Colorado.

“The splits didn't mean much. Early on it felt easy. After 19 miles I was out on my own.

“I remember Chris Brasher, the race director from London, was there, and at about 23 miles he shouted at me, 'Two more five-minute miles and you'll get the record!'

“I thought he meant the course record. So I just kept my head down and carried on. The crowd was going crazy and people were jumping up and down but I wasn't sure what was going on.

“After the finish it was like being in a dream. Yes, that day in Chicago did change my life forever.”

This weekend runners of the Bryn Bach Park Run will be joined by Jones’ sisters Kathleen Jervis and Christine Hopes as they celebrate the fabulous feat and they are also inviting Newport Harriers athletes to take part.

The free 5km event is held every Saturday morning at 9am at the park near Tredegar and is open to runners of all standards.

Visit parkrun.org.uk/brynbach for more details.