David Bedford collects OBE

Former 10,000m world record-holder and London Marathon director David Bedford collected his OBE today (4) for services to athletics and charity fund-raising.

The 64-year-old received his honour from the Duke of Cambridge at Buckingham Palace after being named in the 2014 New Year’s Honours List.

“I had an exciting and eventful athletics career,” said Bedford, who recently stepped aside from his race director role at the London Marathon to focus on assembling the elite field.

“But I’m more proud to be part of an incredible event whose fundraising has totalled over half a billion pounds for charitable causes since its inception and attracts the world’s best distance runners to London each year.”

Also named in the New Year’s Honours List earlier this year was long-serving athletics photographer Mark Shearman, who was awarded an MBE for his services to sports photography.

A veteran of 13 Olympics, the 70-year-old has been photographing athletics for more than 50 years.

IAAF