Jimmy Watkins (runner)

Last updated

James Watkins
Personal information
Born (1982-10-30) 30 October 1982 (age 43)
Sport
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Sport Athletics
Event
 800 metres

Jimmy Watkins (born 30 October 1982) is a sometime Welsh 800 metres runner. [1] [2]

In 2006, Watkins won the AAA Indoor Championships 800 metres in Sheffield and qualified for the IAAF World Indoor Championships, where he came 6th. [1]

Two years later, he gave up running and decided to pursue a career in music. He joined the rock band Future of the Left although left after all the other band members felt "there were things [they] couldn't do because he was in the band" [3] Later, Watkins joined The Vega Bodegas, although he quit after a couple of years. [4] [5]

In 2019, Watkins returned to running, now combined with his love of music. He joined the club Running Punks, which had been founded by his former friend Rhodri Morgan. [6] He has also maintained a social media presence with his videos reviewing albums and singles as he runs. [7]

On 25 July 2025, Watkins posted a twelve-minute rant on various social networks explaining why he is quitting Running Punks. In the video he accused Rhodri Morgan of pushing him out of the group and sidelining him. Additionally, Watkins made several statements about Morgan's ability to run a company according to its legal requirements. [8] Despite Watkins accusing Morgan of disloyalty and trying to push him out, it was actually Watkins who sought to assert himself as "The Running Punk" in September 2023, after setting up a company called "Jimmy the Running Punk" with his mam. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 "James WATKINS". World Athletics .
  2. ↑ Adharanand Finn (10 June 2024). "Episode 38: Interview with running punk Jimmy Watkins". The Way of the Runner (Podcast).
  3. ↑ Bell, Steve. "Andrew Falkous Explains The Power Inherent In Fusing The Conventional With The Unconventional". The Music. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Mulkeen, Jon (14 January 2020). "Jimmy Watkins: running, rock 'n roll and The Ritz". World Athletics .
  5. ↑ Wales, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Runner (2 December 2020). "The Rock 'n' Roll Runner". Sport Wales .
  6. ↑ "How it began". Running Punks. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  7. ↑ "Twitter: Athlete Jimmy Watkins' running music reviews a hit". BBC News . 4 August 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  8. ↑ 65 reactions · 27 comments | LONG VIDEO WARNING! It's a bit mad that it's come to this, but after a lot of thinking and talking to those close to me, I've decided to put out a video statement to explain why I've not been engaging as much as I'd like with Running Punks for the past two years! I know this community can be beautiful and supportive, but my experience recently has not been a reflection of that. It's been tough and it's been heartbreaking, and it's got to the point where I can no longer let this eat away at me. Thank you to all those who've been supportive over the past few years! Hopefully I'll find joy in running again after this! 💜 | Jimmy Watkins. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "JIMMY THE RUNNING PUNK LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 December 2025.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.