FOR a man who only took up running seriously ten years ago, David Butler had more than made up for lost time.

The 57-year-old will make his debut for England tomorrow when he competes in the British and Irish cross country international.

Butler, from Billericay, and his English teammates will line up against competitors from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland in the 8km race in Dublin.

It caps a remarkable few months for the Billericay Striders athlete.

In early September, Butler ran the fastest 5km time on the track for his age group in the country.

His mark of 16.21.7 was also the fourth fastest ever recorded by an athlete in the over 55s category and led to his England call-up. On top of that, he also set new personal bests on the road over five miles and ten kilometres.

In fact his five-mile best, set at Wix in the Essex championships for that distance, was nearly one minute quicker than his previous best and, incredibly, fourth fastest in history for his age group.

Not bad for a man who may have taken up running ten years ago, but only started taking the sport seriously four years ago.

“I was a late starter, but I seem to be getting better with age,” said David, who runs for Billericay Striders.

“I was quite a good runner when I was at school, but never really took it any further. Then about ten years ago I started it up again, but even then I didn’t take it seriously until I joined the Striders four years ago.

“I’ve improved a lot since then, but these past few months I’ve progressed really quickly. I had some time off in late August and early September and really put some hard work into training and that seems to have paid off.”

Now Butler intends to make the most of his international experience.

“It’s easy to keep running in local races and not get the chance to test yourself against opposition from further afield and this allows me to do that. It will be a great experience.”

Such is Butler’s form, he finds himself keeping up with runners many years younger than him in local races.

“It’s nice to win my age group category in races, but I don’t compete to win my particular category,” Butler said. “I race to do the best I can against everyone.”

So, the million-dollar question, what does Butler put his success down to?

“Running takes its toll on the body,” he said. “I’ve come into the sport late and I’ve not had the same stress on my joints as those who have been doing it for many years.

“I am quite lucky too because I have a frame built for running. I am tall, but not very heavy. I've never put much weight on and that is a big advantage.”