We are sad to report that Dr David Michael Turner (1959), Mike, passed away in early January.
Mike came up to Queens' from Liverpool College in 1959 to read Estate Management, graduating in 1962. He was an incredibly gifted long distance runner, participating in the Varsity Matches of 1959 to 1962 in which Cambridge won on all four occasions. Mike's incredible time for his 1963 3000m race still remains unrivalled as the CUAC club record: 8:10.00, June 1963.
He was an active member in College life, playing hockey, singing in the Chapel Choir and a member of the Roos Society.
Along with Mike's many years of athletics glory at Queens' in the 1960s and 1970s, he later had a rich athletics and cross-country career culminating as UK athletics team manager at the Seoul Olympics. His legacy also includes excellence as an international athlete and major involvement in British Athletics: he was elected to captain the English Cross Country Team, 1969-70, and president of the Hare & Hounds from 1976-2006.
Mike was well-known in Cambridge as both a lecturer in the Department of Land Economy and Junior Bursar at Peterhouse.
The following is an extract from a longer obituary which can be found on the Northern Athletics website.
For most of his running career, Mike was based 200 miles away from Liverpool, but he travelled to race for the Club whenever and wherever he was needed. He competed from 800 metres upwards on the track, ran many superb road races (from relays to the marathon), and occasionally raced over the fells and trails, but cross country was his speciality: the harder the course, the better he liked it! He was one of the country’s top cross-country runners for a decade, winning many titles, and captaining the England Cross-Country team.
While studying at university, he won the annual Oxford v Cambridge cross-country, took the British Universities title twice, and gained the nickname “Wilson”, after the hero of schoolboy fiction. He was served as president of the Cambridge cross-country team (“Cambridge University Hares and Hounds”) for an amazing 30 years.
The 1960s was a highly successful decade for Mike. His progress was steady, and his consistency was impressive. In 1963, he made a trip to Blackburn for the Northern Cross-Country Championship and won, over a treacherous course, to become the first Liverpool Club member to take the title since 1887. Mike’s training régime was extremely tough, and without compromise. He trained at 7.30am, and again before lunch, and often ran on the morning of a race! Unusually for an athlete at Mike’s level, he did not have a regular coach, but he did have access to the experiences of the likes of internationals Bruce Tulloh and Tim Johnston, along with coaches Denis Watts and Allan Malcolm, as well as having top physiologist Griff Pugh at hand. He certainly became very knowledgeable, and anyone talking to him would be impressed at how much thought went into his training and race preparation.
He continued to perform at the highest level for several more years; captaining England for the first time, to a team victory in the International Cross Country Championships in 1969, the road relay team won the AAA 6-stage Championships in 1974/5/6, with Mike still the perennial strong man in the squad, running fastest lap of the day in the AAA 6-Stage on several occasions. On the track, Mike ran for British Universities, Lancashire, England, and Great Britain ‘B’, and finished third in the AAA 10 mile. He had best times of 13mins 52secs for 5,000m, and 28mins 33secs for 10,000m. He was inspirational for the Club’s British League team, often winning the 5000m and the Steeplechase.
Veteran competition (now known as Masters) presented a new challenge for Mike, and he rose to that challenge brilliantly, as you would expect! Perhaps his best performance was setting a UK Veterans 5000m record of 14:22 in June 1979, during a BAL race for his Club! In July of that year, he took the British Veterans titles at 1500m (4:06) and 5000m (14:42). Later that month he finished second to long-term rival Mike Freary in the World Veterans 10k road race.
Mike also put a lot back into the sport: he was a team manager with the 1988 Seoul Olympic Team, served a period as treasurer of the BAAB, and authored the “Turner Report”, which defined the way British Athletics should be organised. His story has been an inspiration to many – whether youngsters starting off in the sport, or mature runners who gained from his knowledge and enthusiasm.