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BBC News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Runner, 61, beats record after 14-year break from sport
A runner who took the sport back up after a 14-year break, has broken a British record over 10 miles (16.1km).Sarah Gee, 61, from Warfield, Berkshire, gave up road running in 2010 to focus on her family but restarted after losing her job as a medical writer last joined the Reading Roadrunners club and "refocussed" on masters records for people aged over Gee broke the 10-mile record for women over 60 at the Maidenhead Easter 10 race on Good Friday, clocking a time of 63 minutes and 49 seconds. "It shows that you can start again. You can pick things up where you left off," she told BBC Radio Berkshire."I got back into the spirit of doing things. Once you belong to a running group, you get involved with people of all levels."Ms Gee was also about 30 seconds off breaking the half marathon record for women aged over 60 at the Paddock Wood Half Marathon in Kent in said running can be enjoyed in different ways and does not necessarily need to be competitive."I love running on my own. I also love running and chatting with people," Ms Gee, who will be a marshal at Sunday's London Marathon, said."Some of us are competitive and run races with groups and others don't do the competitions but support."She said she was hoping to focus on her marathon and 10k (6.2 miles) times over the coming year. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
09-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Goring man's search for birth family 'blew my mind'
Bryan Urbick knew he was adopted from an early up in Seattle by a strict Catholic couple, Mr Urbick knew very little about his birth he had a nagging feeling that he did not "fit in", and, almost six decades later and settled in Goring, Oxfordshire, he decided the time had come for him to find some Urbick knew he was the result of an affair, and his mother, who had three other children, put him up for adoption to save her attempts to contact her in Washington state - which has strict laws about contacting birth family - were unsuccessful."I suspect she didn't want to relive the past," the 64-year-old told BBC Radio Berkshire."[But it was a] tough blow to be rejected again." His search was reignited after the death of his adoptive the funeral, a DNA test revealed he had a lot of cousins, which allowed him to figure out his father was a man called Boyd of Mr Urbick's newly discovered cousins, Craig Moe, told him he had grown up with his father, whom he called Uncle Mr Moe came to visit him in January 2025, the Henley Standard covered it - and from there, things started to snowball."The reporter... rang and said: Bryan, I have the most amazing news," said Mr Urbick.A man had rung the newspaper saying Mr Carter had been a family friend. The reporter put the two in touch - and Mr Urbick discovered the man lived less than four miles away from him, in Whitchurch-on-Thames."It just blows my mind a bit that this would happen so close to us," he Urbick is still yet to meet the man who got in touch, but said he had already learned so much about his dad, who died in said he learned his father was a perfectionist like him, that they both loved boats, and that their handwriting looked the same."And I have weird handwriting," he said. But he said learning more about his dad had been "emotional"."I don't think he ever knew that I existed," he also learned his dad had had another son, who had died aged nine."I wish that I had been able to be a son to him as well," he despite this, Mr Urbick said finding out about his dad had helped him feel connected to his birth family."I never fit and now I feel like 'gosh, I fit somewhere', and that's rather exhilarating," he said. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
23-02-2025
- General
- BBC News
Dyslexia: How Newbury man 'bluffed' his way through life
A man who left school illiterate in the 1980s due to undiagnosed dyslexia has said learning to read in his 50s was "one of the best things I've ever done".Stephen Oldfield, from Newbury, said he had "bluffed his way through life", spending nine years in the Army before becoming a delivery driver for the past 27 two years ago, he said no-one but his wife and two children knew he could not read or a road accident changed all that. "...while driving for work - a car hit me - and I had to do all the paperwork, it completely threw me," he told BBC Radio Berkshire."At the time, it was around Christmas, and [television presenter] Jay Blades was on TV with his documentary about being dyslexic and my wife decided, behind my back, she would put me forward to Read Easy UK."The volunteer-led group helps adults learn to read and Mr Oldfield was paired with coach Jessica from the charity's West Berkshire the space of a year, they would meet on a weekly basis to work on his literacy Oldfield admitted he was "very nervous" confronting the issue after so many years, but added: "It's one of the best things I've ever done. I wish I'd done it sooner, I'd recommend it to anybody with dyslexia, there's help out there."Mr Oldfield found school hard and said in the 1980s "dyslexia at that time was about but nobody knew much about it".He explained words would jump about on the page and blur before his eyes when he tried to read. 'There's help out there' After the school alerted his parents, he was seen by two different Oldfield said the first one told his mum and dad: "There's nothing wrong with his eyes, he's just lazy."The second said he had strained his eyes so much he was in danger of losing his sight, he said, adding: "From then, I never really caught up."In the Army, he said he did not tell anyone he was dyslexic for fear of being treated as the "class clown"."To be honest, I must have bluffed my way through life. If you can't read, it is one of the biggest struggles."Nobody knew until two years ago that I was dyslexic."Having an accident was not a very good thing but a positive has come out of it because it caused my wife to put me forward to learn to read."Mr Oldfield urged anyone struggling to read: "Don't be afraid to come forward and say that you've got dyslexia, it's not a disease and there's thousands of people with it."At the time, I felt I was the only person with dyslexia, you have that mindset that there's nobody else, it's only me."There's help out there. If I can do it, anybody can. It doesn't matter how old you are." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
BBC News
21-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Hunt praises Reading's 'underdog mentality'
Reading boss Noel Hunt has praised his side's "underdog mentality" as the club continues to battle on and off the pitch. On the pitch, the Royals are fighting for a spot in League One's top six, while away from the field, the club's long-term future remains unknown, with a number of attempted takeovers falling through. Distant owner Dai Yongge still owns the club, and in statements it has been detailed that he remains committed to selling Reading at the earliest opportunity. Hunt's side are four points outside the top six and have the third-best home record in League One this season."I can't fault these boys for their effort, passion and desire," Hunt told BBC Radio Berkshire."An underdog mentality is a massive thing that we have at the football club. We speak about out-fighting and out-working other teams; it's part of our DNA."It's important that we have that, and it's what we speak about to people that come into the building, so they understand what we're about. I think the boys have been great, and they have built a real togetherness."They all take ownership out there; in reality, there is one captain, but really we have 15 or 16 captains in this squad; they're all fighting for each other."Hunt took over as Reading boss in early December as Ruben Selles departed for Championship side Hull City. Since then he has won five league matches, with four of those victories coming at the SCL Stadium. "I'm just focusing on controlling what we can control," Hunt added."I just try to focus on the everyday and for me right now it's about Birmingham this weekend."I try to keep a short-term focus and I think it is suiting me quite well, I don't want to look too far into the future because in this game you don't know what could be around the corner."League One leaders Birmingham City travel to the SCL Stadium on have won nine of their last 12 home league games and will be looking to defeat a Blues side who are unbeaten across their last 15 matches.
