Brenda Walker may have finally lost one of her Manx track records at the weekend but the road racing record book (above) is likely to remain dominated by her name for some time yet. Her athletic career could hardly contrast more with Sarah Astin’s who, subject to ratification, broke Brenda’s 5,000 metres record on the track.

Sarah has a fabulous record as a junior (see the link to the 2012 feature below) whilst Brenda only started running in her 30s. Brenda hit gold in the 1989 Island Games (see above) and competed for the Isle of Man, on the track, in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand. Her peak years followed, including her single marathon run, which was sub 2.40 in Rotterdam, but she had to withdraw through injury from the 1994 Commonwealth Games.

She then switched to fell running where the records she set have taken almost as long to replace. The photo above is from the 2003 Isle of Man Bank Sports Awards.

Brenda Walker, Steve Partington and the late David Teece – the 1990 Commonwealth Games athletics team