Phillip Howells

MBA Part time, 1993

I am MBA graduate of the 1990s and at the age of 74 I completed my 300th marathon and the earned rare achievement of the UK’s 100 Marathon Club ‘Triple Crown’ award. I started my marathon adventure over 40 years ago when I set myself the goal of completing two marathons during my thirties. After a huge life change when my wife sadly passed away, I returned to running. Despite several set-backs along the way, I have run 9,192 miles during 100 road marathons, 100 trail marathons and 100 ultra-marathons.

As well as achieving totally unexpected athletic fulfilment in advancing years, more so than in a lifetime of relatively successful sporting activity, I am also unexpectedly fulfilled in achieving political success long after I felt it was likely after again, a lifetime of ambition. I had stood 6 times for election, twice as a prospective parliamentary candidate, but after never being elected and so deciding that was it in 2018 and I would not stand again, I was approached and persuaded by my local LibDem party to stand for them. In short measure, I became a Ledbury Town Councillor in 2018 by just 3 votes. Then in 2019 elected not only again as a Town Councillor, but also a Herefordshire County Councillor, then became the Mayor of Ledbury and the Herefordshire North Parliamentary Candidate in the 2019 general election, being one of only 5 LibDems who came second out of 58 seats in the West Midlands. This year I am the Deputy Mayor of Ledbury and recently elected as the Chair of the important Children and Young Person Scrutiny Committee on Herefordshire Council.

Could only have dreamed of achieving both levels of sporting and political success 10 years ago. Goes to show, never too late to aim for achieving goals or to reach the summit of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivational pyramid.