John Fowler-Dixon

John Fowler-Dixon was one of the last surviving founder members of the Amateur Athletic Association in 1880. He represented the North of the Thames Cross-Country Union at that inaugural meeting. Fowler-Dixon would later serve the sport in many administrative capacities, and eventually became a president of the AAA.

As a competitor, Fowler-Dixon excelled at both long distance running and walking, and set records from 50-100 miles. His time of 4-46:54 for 50 miles running, set in 1884, was still standing at the time of his death 59 years later. He also set a 50-mile walking record 6-18:26.5 that stood for 28 years. Fowler-Dixon was a long-time member of the London Athletic Club (LAC) and was appointed their president in 1912. He went to the 1906 Olympics and whilst he was registered a non-starter for the Marathon, he did take part in the Games as an athletics judge. Fowler-Dixon was a member of the Council of the British Olympic Association for the 1912 games, and also officiated in 1920 and 1924

The cup presented at the AAA two miles walking championship was donated by Fowler-Dixon, who became a life-president of The Centurions, a body set up for walkers who had competed 100 miles in 24 hours. When he joined the “club” Fowler-Dixon did so with three-and-a-half hours to spare. After retiring from competitive athletics, he decided that on his birthday each year he would either walk or run a mile. One of the last recorded instances came on his 75th birthday when he walked a mile on the Stamford bridge track in 11:55.