Powering After Lanc
At the age of 76 Norman Poole runs for thirty minutes three times a week, as well as powering his way through up to three weight-training sessions, to keep himself fit for the two nights a week and Saturday mornings as he coaches potential Olympic middle-distance track athletes from all over the North West.
The nationally recognised, Manchester-based endurance coach has contributed to the careers of high-profile runners including Steve Cram and Kelly Holmes during the seven years he spent as the UK National Event Coach in 800m and 1500m. He has also accompanied several of his personal athletes including Diane Modhal, Mike Rimmer and Craig Winrow to compete in various Olympics and World Championships for over 40 years - until recently balancing it against day jobs in technical product design and physics.
His physics and physical balancing act started at Lancaster University in 1967, when Norman (previously sixth in the all-England schools’ senior cross country) began his undergraduate studies in Applied Physics. The North Manchester Grammar pupil had chosen Lancaster because it had one of the few physics departments in the country at the time, was not far from Manchester and had a strong sports presence.
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He thoroughly enjoyed his time there and says: “For me Lancaster offered me a good social life and sport, alongside a thorough and enjoyable academic grounding.”
When he left, he was able to benefit from Lancaster’s links with industry. On recommendation from a visiting professor, Sir Derek Roberts from Plessey, he obtained a research job at the same company. He went on to set up his two businesses - one in alarms and the other in the design and manufacture of specialist lighting - all the time coaching some of the UK’s most talented runners including working as the UK’s National event coach for the 800m and 1500m in the 1980s and 1990s.
The quietly confident teenager who arrived at Bowland Hall as a ‘fresher’ easily found his feet on the small campus. He remembers his first week making the most of gatherings of clubs and societies, and immediately joined the athletics and cross- country societies, which formed the bedrock of his social life at Lancaster.
He was following advice given by his own coach, which he shares with the youngsters he coaches as they go to university: “Make as many friends in the first week as you can - they are the ones you are likely to keep for the whole of your time at university. So it’s very inspiring.”
Norman laughs as he remembers how ‘mind blowing’ he and his fellow physics students found Einstein’s theory of relativity, because it gave a working formula for understanding how the world worked. He says: We’d sit there with a cuppa discussing it!” he muses.
Academically, Norman says he ‘ticked along’ enjoying most of his courses, but he enjoyed the research best of all. However, a bad bout of glandular fever in his last year which led to his missing a whole term, meaning he had to ‘work his socks off’ to pass his exams.
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