James ran to County standard as a junior, making a reserve list to the National Championships once (sprints). After breaking his leg at 18 he took up distance running when recovered completing a Sport Aid Run for charity back in 1984. He completed his first half marathon in 1987 and has competed in over 60 marathons around the world since so he has a bit of experience and knows how hard it is to start running and to recover from injuries. James is a Level 2 and LIRF and First Aid accredited coach and has been running the Crowborough Beginners & improvers group at the track in Crowborough for three years