It's been a long time between drinks, but after a 23-year absence from The Canberra Times Fun Run, Des Proctor is ready to pound the pavement once again again.
Now a running coach, the Kambah resident will return to the event for the first time since he won the run on his first attempt in 1996.
The 52-year-old said while he may not be as fast as he used to be, he's looking forward to making a comeback to the run, which takes place on November 10.
"The last time I ran down Kings Avenue for the event, it was surreal," Mr Proctor said.
"There were 3000 people in the race, and I wasn't the favourite to win at the time.
"Being new to Canberra, the atmosphere was great."
The win more than 20 years ago came just after Mr Proctor moved to Australia from the US.
He said he was a keen runner during his high school and college days while studying in Virginia, before making the move to Canberra.
"I ran at university as part of a sporting scholarship, and running was a big part of my life."
While he surprised everyone, including himself, with his fun run win, further attempts at running the 10-kilometre event were put on hold after a foot injury.
"It was a nerve-related issue, and back then the event was only a 10-kilometre event, and my foot couldn't handle [the distance]," he said.
In the years following his injury, Mr Proctor turned his attention to athletics coaching.
As part of his own athletics training group, he has helped to coach athletes in long-distance running and triathlon, even coaching some to the World Cross Country Championships.
"I guess when I used to coach myself, I used to train too hard, so I tend to hold back [my athletes] a bit," Mr Proctor said.
"Runners tend to be compulsive by nature, they always got to do more, so my job is to hold them back and give them long-term goals and not try to rush."
After getting back into running himself, this time with slightly shorter distances, Mr Proctor decided it was time to give himself a long-term goal of his own and return to the fun run that give him his victory in 1996.
He said he's been training five or six days a week, often running between 25 and 30 kilometres over the space of seven days.
This year, he'll be doing the five-kilometre event, and said his own athletes will be bringing him extra motivation.
"I've got about 15 or 20 athletes of mine running the event, and some of them will want to beat me," he said.
"I think I can get a time of under 17:30, which is pretty good for a 52-year-old."
- The Canberra Times Fun Run is on November 10, beginning at 7.45am with staggered starts for each distance.
- To register, visit canberratimesfunrun.com.au
