Positive vibes: Why Chris keeps winning in race of life . . .

Tuesday 25th November 2025

Chris Upson brings a positive outlook to his running and races whenever he can (photo by Bobby Gavin)

Scottish Masters savour European medal moments in Madeira

By Katy Barden

A newsletter article from earlier this year (That’s Runnable, January 2025) asked the following question of readers: ‘If your (extrinsic) reason for running disappeared tomorrow – whether it’s a medal, a finish line photo, or the approval of others – would you still lace up your shoes?’

For recently crowned European Masters M60 5000m and 10,000m champion, Chris Upson, the answer would be Yes, without doubt.

The newsletter author goes on to write how easy it is to lose sight of our true purpose when chasing external validation, however, reconnecting with intrinsic motivations reminds us that fulfilment comes not from comparison, but from finding meaning and joy in our own journey.

And that is what is special, unique even, about Upson; a frequent and successful competitor, his intense racing schedule is driven not by a desire to impress, but by inquisition and opportunity.

‘I definitely race a lot,’ admits the 62-year-old who, at the time of this interview, had raced 238 times – ranging from a mile in London to a 45km mountain race in Greece – since retiring from his job as an engineer with BAE Systems in 2022.

‘But I don’t race to impress anybody. It’s more like, ‘What haven’t I done yet in my life?’. People don’t realise how lucky they are when they have time and health . . . I don’t want to ever put something off down the road by thinking, ‘Oh I’ll do it next year’.

‘I just think, ‘I’ll do it now’. It might look mad, but you just don’t know when it’s going to be over.’

Athlete of Year short-lists

Chris in action and with medals at the European Masters recently

Friends reunited and national pride at Masters International XC

There are many stories of Scottish athletics role models and their positive impact across our sport: the joy on the faces of young athletes as former World 1500m champions Josh Kerr (2024 Olympic silver medallist) and Jake Wightman (2025 World silver medallist) returned to their roots at Edinburgh AC following their global successes; the excitement at Giffnock North AC when Neil Gourley turned up to take questions from inquisitive juniors after his World Indoor silver medal (and again on his return from this summer’s World Championships in Tokyo); and the collective amazement as Olympians Megan Keith (Inverness Harriers) and Andy Butchart (Central AC) took part in the Lindsays National Cross Country Relays in Cumbernauld, inspiring fellow competitors and enthralling spectators as they helped guide their teams to victory.

Upson’s own motivation to improve has come from the achievements of fellow high-achieving masters athletes like Paul Forbes and Alastair Walker and his belief that, ‘If they can go out and absolutely defy the ageing process, then why can’t I?’

‘I basically saw what Paul and Alastair were doing (in training and competition) and I thought it was unbelievable,’ he says.

‘They decided what they wanted to achieve and then they worked back from that. They were incredibly methodical about it.

‘It sparked a little thing. I followed quite a bit of Alastair’s training, he was doing quite a high mileage and he was doing some very specific track sessions – I saw him doing a lot of back-to-back 200m – and I just thought, ‘Why can’t I do it?’, he’s just another guy!’.

‘An interesting thing is that they both chucked it for about 40 years then came back to it in their 60s. One factor (in their success) is that they haven’t trashed themselves for 40 years. They still have that competitive edge from when they were 20, but I don’t have those times because I didn’t start running until I was 37 or so.

‘I didn’t even do track races then (I started out on the hills and mountains), so it’s only fairly recently I’ve added the track.’

Keep on Running: Our inspiring story from Masters athlete Hilary

Chris with his Cambuslang team-mate, the late Colin Feeechan

‘None of this Masters stuff would have happened without Colin Feechan who encouraged me to take part in the World Masters in Lyon in 2015 – running the half marathon.

‘Colin sadly passed away on 12 October 2025. The day I ran the XC in Madeira.’

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Rather than chase external validation, though, he is focused on getting the best out of himself.

‘I try to enjoy it,’ he says. ‘I don’t take any of it for granted, and with every race I’m mindful of what sort of performance I’m hoping for. I try to be realistic. I don’t mind where I finish in the race, I just want to know I gave it my best effort. It just has to be good enough; it doesn’t have to be absolutely brilliant.’

Growing older is a privilege and Upson is enjoying retirement and the opportunities it affords him.

He looks forward to training sessions at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena with a mutually supportive but diverse ‘little gang’ of runners, and he enjoys meeting new people, wherever in the world running takes him.

Just prior to this interview he’d completed a trio of races at the 2025 World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Italy, and most recently he won double gold (5000m and 10,000m), silver (cross country), and double bronze (10k and half marathon) at the European Masters Athletics Championships in Madeira.

He is living life to the full, and in doing so is a role model for others.

‘I’m always mindful of longevity; people fizzle out for various reasons, but it’s nice to be one of the survivors if you can be,’ says the Cambuslang Harriers athlete who has been short-listed in our Masters Athlete of the Year category ahead of the 4J Annual Awards.

‘It is important not to limit yourself. If you believe in yourself and give yourself a chance you just never know, there might be a better version of you down the road.

‘There’s always the danger that people will think, ‘I’m not as good as I used to be’, but hopefully Masters athletics isn’t like that because there’s always a new age group.

‘It’s like glass half empty, glass half full; you might think you’re getting older and slower, but then there’s another age group to move into!’