marathon but was pictured vomiting at the roadside part way through. However, later in the same year he did manage to win the London Cross Country title at the age of 31. Post retirement In 2003, Bedford was involved in a legal dispute over the alleged portrayal of his image by the directory enquiries company The Number for its 118 118 service. The company had used a pair of athletes wearing red socks and Bedford's distinctive moustache and hair cut. He was quoted as saying, "The bastards! You can use that word and say I said it. [They] used my image then said they had never heard of me. When they were told they couldn't use it any more they said 'Oh no it was all a big misunderstanding'. To get to that stage took £60,000 in legal fees."<ref>'Recognise David Bedford? If so, it could be because of those 'cheapskates from 118', 'The London Paper, 20 April 2007, p. 36.</ref> In January 2004, Ofcom's Content Board ruled that The Number had breached rule 6.5 of the Advertising Standards Code, by caricaturing him without permission. However, it declined to issue an order banning advertisements in question on the grounds that a ban would be disproportionately damaging to The Number compared with any harm to the feelings or reputation of David Bedford suffered as a result of the advertisements. In 2004, Bedford crashed the launch of a new 118 118 TV ad campaign. Photos of Bedford being removed made the covers of The Times and Financial Times. Bedford was president of the Road Runners Club from 2003 to 2006. Bedford now hosts the Radlett Rotary Fun Run every year. In 2011 Bedford received an honorary doctorate from Middlesex University.Runner's World'' described Bedford as "a key architect" of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Course. Bedford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to athletics and charitable fundraising. References External links Sporting-Heroes.net 1949 births Living people Athletes from London English male long-distance runners British male steeplechase runners English male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics International Cross Country Championships winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Alumni of St Mary's University, Twickenham Officers of the Order of the British Empire