Nigel Gates moved to Sussex at the end of 1988, having sold his gym in Bath, to manage the leisure facilities at the new Buxted Park Hotel. At 35 he had already enjoyed a long career running at National level and he joined Brighton and Hove AC with a view to winning team titles with the Bristow brothers, Dave Knight and Richard Carter among their top Seniors.
Paradoxically, Nigel enjoyed his greatest success while in Sussex as a world class Masters athlete.
Nigel had loved distance running from a young age but apart from breaking Roger Bannister’s City of Bath Boys School cross country record as a Year 7, didn’t make the Somerset team for the English Schools Championships until he was 15 in Year 11 in 1968. Two years later he placed 3rd in the ESAA Cross Country Championship and 1500m clocking 3.54,3.
Nigel won three Midland Cross Country Championships (1976/77/86) and in 1980 was part of the Bristol team that set the still standing record for the National 12 Stage Road Relay. In 1982 Nigel came 3rd in the Inter Counties Cross Country, won the first Bath Half Marathon in 63.01 and in 1985 ran a road 10k best of 28.19. Nigel travelled a lot through his running and many of his best results were in Cross Country and Mountain races in France, Switzerland and Italy.
When Nigel came to work in Sussex at the end of 1988 he was married to Julia and many Sussex road races saw them finish first man and first woman. Julia had gained Commonwealth selection for the Marathon in 1986 and had best times of 15.51 for 5k, 33.29 for 10k, 56.08 for 10 miles, 72.48 for half marathon and 2.36.31 for the marathon. They parted in 1992 but both remained in Sussex.
In 1989 Nigel came 6th in the Southern Cross Country and 16th in the National but team success evaded Brighton, and in the Southern 6 stage Brighton had to be content with silver medals. At the end of the year Nigel won his first Sussex Cross Country title at Lancing clocking 46.51 from Richard Carter.
In January 1990 the Brighton team finally hit gold at the Southern Cross Country but it was not without incident. Nigel travelled to Parliament Hill through London and became stuck in traffic due to a protest march. Navigating through side streets, he eventually ended up on the wrong side of Hampstead Heath.
“I jumped out of our car in my spikes and ran flat out across the Heath” said Nigel. “I got to the top of the hill and below me was the race field lined up ready to go. Thinking I had just missed the start I ran down the hill anyway, undressing at the same time. I got to the team and with a Bristow pinning each corner of the number to my vest, I turned round and the gun went. Father Jason was the fourth Bristow but it was mum Hazell who had thought to bring everything to the start in case. Andy Bristow won, I managed to come 8th and we won the team race”.
Later in 1990 Nigel won the England trial for the World Mountain Championships but rather than take up the 
place, he led a Brighton team that took part in the never to be repeated Sun Life Great Race. This was a Tour de France style 22 stage race that traveled from Glasgow to Westminster over three weeks. In a race packed with world class talent, Nigel enjoyed the experience by winning the King of the Hills competition.
In 1990 Nigel claimed another first when he was appointed the Sussex Athletics Development Office, the first ADO to be appointed in the UK to be funded by a County Association. These were exciting times in athletics developing young talent, with the elite Sussex Athletics Development Squad and working in schools, particularly promoting Sportshall athletics. The enjoyment of working with young people led Nigel back to a role teaching at Ringmer Community College. An additional venture was the collaboration with Peter Wilkes to set up Uckfield Runners, now a thriving running club.
Being a new member of the large all-embracing Sussex County Executive Committee Peter Masters from Lewes AC proposed that key athletic activities at county level should be undertaken by small executive groups. As part of this initiative Peter in 1990 took this to the next stage and raised the funds in to enable Sussex to employ the first Athletics Development Officer in the country. Nigel Gates was appointed in June 1991 and within these new organisational arrangements he was able in 1992 to help the County to draw up and adopt its first Athletics Development Plan.
Nigel passed the post on to Olympic Bronze medallist Mark Rowland in 1995.
Commonwealth Games hurdles champion but before her Olympic Gold medal Sally Gunnell performed Nigel’s 
inauguration supported by Joe Townsend, the Mayor of Brighton & Hove and the Chair of East Sussex CC plus several leading Sussex Athletes at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
In December 1991, Nigel won his second Sussex cross country title at Crawley in 39.57 from Andy Bristow (40.45) and the following summer won the Sussex 5000 in 14.41.0.
In 1993 just weeks before turning 40 Nigel achieved his best National Cross country placing of 9th at Parliament Hill. After his 40th birthday he won the Sussex senior 5000 in 14.26.3, set a UK V40 10,000 record of 29.43.54 in 13th in the AAA Championships, and raced in the USA, winning the over 40 division of the Cascade Run Off 15k at Portland, Oregon. Back in the UK, Nigel was part of the Brighton team that won the Senior South of England 6 stage road relay at Aldershot. Continuing into 1994, Nigel came 4th in the Southern Cross Country behind Andy Bristow’s silver medal and set a World O40 Indoor 3000m best of 8.20.8 in the AAA championships. Later in the year Nigel won the World Masters Road 10k in Toronto, his first of 20 World Masters titles on track, road, cross country and mountain running.
Brighton already had a strong Veterans team lead by Peter Witcomb, but even with Nigel joining their ranks it was not until 1998 that they won the British Masters Road Relay at Aldershot. Turning 45 that year, Nigel set a World Masters O45 record of 8.27.7 in the South of England Championships at Withdean. He also set British O45 Records at 5000 and 10,000m. The following January Nigel became the oldest winner of the Sussex Cross Country at Lancing in 43.04 from Kevin Holland in 43.15 at the age of 47years and 7months.
After winning an international V45 Master indoor 3,000m event in Malmo in 1999 he won the World Masters 10,000m cross country championship at Chester-le-Street in August and also took the M45 5,000m title.
Not long after this Nigel succumbed to his first serious injury and the Achilles problem saw years of more time out than competing. He did set a World best O50 Indoor 3,000m record of 8.49.37 in 2004, but in 2009 he returned from the World Masters in Finland with Gold medals in the Cross Country and 5000, but with a more serious Achilles injury and these wer
e his last World Masters victorious.
Deciding to prioritise health he transitioned to multi-sport and in 2013 he won British over 60 Triathlon and Duathlon titles and a European Duathlon title.
In 2015 Nigel and his wife of now 27 years, Patricia, moved to Dorset as a phased retirement from working as the Special Needs Coordinator at Ringmer Community College. Still enjoying his running in the Dorset countryside, Nigel has returned to Master’s competition and in 2019 he set British over 65 records at 3000 (10.16.2) and Road Mile (5.18).
Nigel and Patricia retain links with Sussex and both their sons, Grant and Eliot, live in Eastbourne.
Nigel’s best performances as a Sussex Athlete and it must be remembered that he was 35 when he came to Sussex. I have noted his pre Sussex performance in brackets: 1500m: 3:57.2s 1993 (3:48.8 1974) 3,000m: 8:20.16i 1994 (8:00.27s 1984). - 5,000m: 14:26.01s 1994 (13:50.8s 1978.) - 10,000m: 29:43.54s (29:27.3 1983). - ROAD One mile 4:18 1993. - 10m: 49.14s 1991. – Half-marathon: 64:59s - Marathon: 2:48:15s 1983)