Rob Hadgraft

Born in Luton, England, in 1955, Rob Hadgraft spent 16 years working in regional newspapers as a news and sports reporter and sub-editor, before a spell in public relations in London. He turned freelance in the year 2000, and by 2015 there were 19 sports books published in his name, 14 of them focussing on football club history, plus a series of five acclaimed biographies of famous runners of yesteryear. His study of Arthur Newton ('Tea With Mr Newton') was long-listed in the William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards in 2010, and his books have twice won the same competition's jacket design prize. Most of his books are also available as e-books for kindle.Hadgraft, nowadays based in North Essex, is a club runner himself, having completed more than 1,000 road and cross-country races in roughly 30 years (at the last count!). This has inevitably taken a toll on various key joints, leading to the launch of a blog called 'Diary of a Clapped-Out Runner' in 2012 (www.clappedoutrunner.blogspot.com). More info on Rob's books can be found at: www.robhadgraft.com