Charles Spedding (born 19 May 1952 inBishop Auckland,County Durham) is anEnglish formerlong-distance runner.

Spedding was fourth in the10,000 metres representingEngland, at the1982 Commonwealth Games inBrisbane,Queensland,Australia.^[1] and was England's Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) 10,000 m champion in 1983 in a time of 28:08.12. His first marathon was theHouston Marathon in 1984, which he won by "the thickness of a vest".

Spedding followed this bywinning theLondon Marathon in 1984 and the bronze medal forGreat Britain in themarathon at the1984 Summer Olympics held inLos Angeles,United States, finishing just 2 seconds behind silver medallistJohn Treacy.^[2] Although it was the first British Olympic marathon medal for 20 years, and the last won by Britain (male or female), the performance was one of 16 British medals in athletics that year, and it possibly did not get the recognition it deserved.^{[citation needed]}

In 1985 he set a PB and English Marathon record of 2:08.33 (which stood until 2014) when he finished second behindSteve Jones in theLondon Marathon. As of August 2024, he is the seventh fastest British marathon runner of all time. He representedEngland in the marathon, at the1986 Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh,Scotland.^[3][4]

In 1987, he finished 8th in the London Marathon in 2:10.32. He also competed at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, South Korea, finishing 6th.

Spedding was a pharmacist by trade and worked inFerryhill, County Durham.^[5] He is a real ale enthusiast and in 1976 co-founded the Durham branch ofCAMRA.^[6] In September 2009, he published an autobiography of his running career calledFrom Last to First.^[5]

He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Sunderland in 2012.^[7]

In November 2019 he published a bookStop Feeding Us Lies: How Health and Happiness Come to Those Who Seek the Truth which examines dietary recommendations and lifestyle approaches which he analyses as being causes of high levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other illnesses.^[5]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Great Britain
1984	Houston Marathon	Houston, United States	1st	Marathon	2:11:54
	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	1st	Marathon	2:09:57
	Olympic Games	Los Angeles, United States	3rd	Marathon	2:09:58
1985	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	2nd	Marathon	2:08:33
1986	Chicago Marathon	Chicago, United States	3rd	Marathon	2:10:13
1987	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	8th	Marathon	2:10:32
1988	London Marathon	London, United Kingdom	10th	Marathon	2:12:28
	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	6th	Marathon	2:12:19

• Charles Spedding atWorld Athletics
• Charles Spedding atEuropean Athletics (archive)
• Charles Spedding at theCommonwealth Games Federation (archived)
• Charles Spedding atOlympics.com
• Charles Spedding at Olympic.org (archived)
• Charlie Spedding atOlympedia
• Charlie Spedding: We're running out of time for legacy in the Independent
• Article from 2003 in theEvening Chronicle
• From Last to First
• Power of 10 UK Men's Marathon Rankings
• Charlie Spedding atPower of 10
• Stop Feeding Us Lies

• 1952 births
• Living people
• 20th-century British pharmacists
• 21st-century British pharmacists
• 21st-century British autobiographers
• Sportspeople from Bishop Auckland
• English male marathon runners
• British male marathon runners
• Olympic athletes for Great Britain
• Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
• Commonwealth Games competitors for England
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1986 Commonwealth Games
• London Marathon male winners
• People from Ferryhill
• People educated at Durham School
• Alumni of the University of Sunderland
• Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)
• Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics
• English autobiographers
• English pharmacists

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