AN Urmston dad is dusting off his trainers for the Great Manchester Run – two decades after competing in the Olympics.

Retired 400m hurdler Peter Crampton threw away his running spikes after achieving a lifelong ambition of competing in the Olympics in 1996.

Marking the 20th anniversary of his Atlanta appearance, the father-of-two is back on track, this time for the Greater Manchester Run on Sunday May 22.

The 46-year-old is one of a 25-strong cohort of runners from Barclays Bank, in Spinningfields, running in aid of Seashell Trust, a charity for children and adults with complex and severe learning disabilities.

The former athlete said: “I’d always wanted to do an Olympics Games and just missed out on a place in the Great Britain team in Seoul in 1988. I wasn’t running well at the time of the Barcelona Games four years later so to get selected in ‘96 was a great honour.

“I didn’t get through the first round of heats which were pretty brutal. My race was at 9am and there were 90,000 spectators inside the Olympic Stadium watching.

“The atmosphere was amazing but I decided that was my last race and then threw my spikes in the bin. My son Luke was born soon afterwards and I’d had been very fortunate and seen a lot of the world through athletics.”

Peter won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, in 1994 as a member of the British 4x400m relay team, a race notable for a heroic final leg by Du’aine Ladego.

Peter added: “I still enjoy running and cycling and the Great Manchester Run is a great occasion for the city. I’ve done voluntary work at the Seashell Trust with colleagues from Barclays and it’s a wonderful charity.

“The bank is matching every pound raised so there’s a great incentive to raise as much as we can through sponsorship.”

To enter the Greater Manchester Run (10km) visit greatrun.org/Manchester. To raise funds for Seashell Trust, contact jo.barber@seashelltrust.org.uk.