Briton Fran Scott and American Robert Thomas are brothers. Maybe not biologically, but in spirit. Both are in their 40s and run the 400. Fast. Fran won a 4×4 gold in Riccione. Robert won silvers in the 2 and 4. But what really unites them is their dedication to the sport and how they’ve overcome obstacles to pursue their solitary passions. In Fran’s case, it’s liver cancer. In Robert’s, it’s living without a full-time income. Check out Fran’s story in the South Manchester Reporter and Robert’s story in the Indianapolis Star.

Here are Fran and Robert’s stories, in case the links go dead:

A race for life
A VETERAN athlete has taken on and beaten some of the world’s best runners while fighting cancer.
Fran Scott, 49, won gold in the over-45s’ 4×400 metres relay in the recent World Masters Championships in Riccione, Italy.
The World Masters is contested by the best senior athletes on the planet and Fran’s gold added to a huge medal haul that has seen him shoot to seventh in the UK 400m senior rankings.
The father-of-two from Chorlton, who runs for Great Britain and Trafford Athletics Club, was diagnosed with secondary liver cancer last year. He also has a slow-growing brain tumour which affects his vision and had another tumour removed from his bowels in 2003. Last November Fran was prescribed Glivec, a special cancer drug, but it failed.
He then turned to sutent – the life-prolonging cancer drug that was used by music mogul Tony Wilson before he succumbed to the disease last month – but was told he would only have 12 months to live if it didn’t work.
The 400m runner, who only started track-and-field at the age of 27, believes his general fitness – he trains four times a week – has helped him remain healthy enough to compete against theworld’s best senior athletes.
Fran, who lives off Oswald Road, said: “I’m probably reaping the rewards from all the training I’ve done. As long as my health holds I can only hope that they find a drug that can keep me on the planet a bit longer. For the time being I’m just trying to get on with it. If it gives others with cancer a little bit of hope that you can lead a relatively normal life and still do what you enjoy doing, then it’s definitely worth it.”
In 1999 Fran came second in the over-40s’ 400 metres at the World Championships in Gateshead and won gold in the 4x400m relay.
But in 2003 his world came crashing down when doctors discovered a large tumour in his bowels, forcing him to call a halt to his burgeoning athletics career.
“I was competing in the World Masters in Puerto Rico when I fell ill,” said Fran. “I had to drop out of the tournament and my sports psychologist Steve Peters got me back home. I’ve basically been making my way back ever since.”
Since he started competing in the seniors nine years ago, Fran, who has been married to wife Maria for 27 years, has won 10 gold medals and two silvers in the world and European championships.
Back in March this year Fran struck gold in the 4×200 metres relay at the European Indoor Championships in Helsinki.
He went out in the semi-finals of the individual 400m in Riccione with a time of 54.14 seconds. His personal best is 50.82.Fran said. “I’ve not had a good year health-wise and I was feeling tired in Italy. At one stage my consultant wasn’t going to let me compete; he said my foot would fall to pieces.”
Instead of throwing in the towel, Fran, with the help of Steve Peters, decided to modify his training schedule. “All I think about is getting a quicker time,” he said. “Next year I’ll be right up there.”
Olympic & Amateur Sports: David Woods
Masters runner Thomas still scaring younger sprinters
September 26, 2007
This would all make sense for a pro athlete.
Robert Thomas, who is single, said he doesn’t date much because that interferes with training. He paid for a massage therapist and chiropractor to accompany him to a track meet at Riccione, Italy.
Except Thomas is no pro. Moreover, he quit a job so he could travel to the meet.
In case the links go dead, here are the stories:
The 41-year-old Indianapolis resident is one of America’s top masters athletes, and he has no intention of abandoning an ascetic lifestyle.
“This is what I do. This keeps me sane,” Thomas said. “Some people want to go to the bar and drink. I want to go to the track and train.”
Thomas, 5-10 and 160 pounds, recently returned from Italy with world masters silver medals in the 200 and 400 meters in the 40-44 age group. His respective times of 22.41 and 50.07 seconds weren’t his best, partly because of training time lost to illnesses in spring and summer.
He has won nine world medals, indoors and outdoors, including a gold in the 400 two years ago in Spain.
Thomas set an age-40 American indoor record of 49.60 in the 400 on Feb. 16 at Bloomington, finishing fifth against 47 collegiate sprinters. He ran a 200 in 22.20 on April 13 at Walnut, Calif.
Thomas ran in the 1980s for North Central High School. Thomas then ran two years for Southwestern Michigan Community College.
He was out of the sport for about five years. He was motivated to resume by Sunder Nix, a 1984 Olympic relay gold medalist for Indiana University who became a masters athlete. By age 32, Thomas was as fast as he was in college, clocking 47.32 in a 400.
Thomas, an electrician, said he took a buyout from General Motors, allowing him more time to train. He coaches some high school athletes during their offseasons.
He acknowledged some college sprinters “get nervous” when they see him because they don’t want to lose to the old guy. Inevitably, Thomas beats them.
“That’s what fuels me, to be able to compete at such a high level,” he said. “When I get to a point that I’m not competing at a high level, that’s when maybe I’ll do something different.”