Iva was a member of Bedford Harriers Athletics Club from its very early days. She had taken up running later in life, at the age of 55 (British women weren’t allowed to run in official marathon events until the 1970s), and discovered a love of longdistance events. Iva was one of the women who took part in the first London Marathon in 1981 and she was also a competitor 35 years later in the 2016 London Marathon, where she was the oldest runner at 88. In her final attempt at the distance, she ran the first 14 miles before taking the tube to Westminster, where she walked the final stretch to the finish line.
Steve Crane, chair of the Bedford Harriers, told the Bedford Independent that Iva called the Harriers her family. The club website announced Iva’s death in 2020, saying: “Iva was a member of Bedford Harriers from the early days and only stopped running a few years ago. As well as being an ambassador for the club, Iva also encouraged, and was an inspiration to, many older and younger runners.” Iva was honoured to take part in the 2012 Olympic torch relay in Bedford, as it made its way to London and, despite atrocious weather, it was Iva’s smile that lit up the section in which she ran. She was an incredible ambassador for her running club as well as an unstoppable fundraiser, especially in the Bedford region, raising money for Macmillan, Marie Curie, Keech Cottage, Bedford Hospitals Charities and Veteran Forces Project 65.
Her energy and kindness resulted in Iva getting the British Empire Medal in 2018 for her services to charitable fundraising in Bedford. Iva dedicated her life to raising money for charities and she was highly respected for all she achieved on marathon routes and off them. She was a real local hero in the Bedford area.