A few days earlier, aged 27, Paul Davies-Hale had run his first marathon - the Chicago Marathon. And he’d won it.

Now he was lugubrious in a large armchair, contemplating whether he would, or should, run another.

And contemplating also whether he should hang on to his job as a plumber.

Back in 1989, when every day the sun was cloaked by chimney smoke and industrial fumes and beer was so cheap that  some pubs even paid you to drink it, the Chicago Marathon - which very nearly enjoyed a women’s world record yesterday to match the one it produced three years ago - was recovering from a bad patch.

Having lost its sponsor in 1986, it had been unable to stage a race the following year. But by 1989 it had a new backer, Old Style beer, and the prize for both men’s and women’s winners - very enlightened in those days - was $50,000.

That would have represented very many fixed sinks. But as he stared out of the window at the occasional passing car or pedestrian, Davies-Hale didn’t look reassured as he assessed his future.

A promising cross-country runner in his native Rugeley, in Staffordshire, he had become a 3,000 metres steeplechaser, representing England at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, where he was 12th in the final, and Britain at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, where he reached the semi-finals.

In 1985 he had moved part-time to Boulder, California to prepare himself for longer distances. 

He narrowly missed qualifying for the 5,000m at the Seoul 1988 Olympics. A year later, however, a career on the roads was beckoning, richly. But this dark, slight figure was not rushing into anything…

Even in the manner of his victory, Davies-Hale had been low key. In what was the second-hottest race in Chicago history after the 1978 running, with temperatures around 20C and humidity at more than 50 per cent, he paced himself conservatively.

He moved up from the third main group to the second after 13 miles, briefly conversing with the pre-race favourite, fellow West-Midlander Steve Binns, who had dropped back from the lead group.

"I asked Binnsie who was in the first group, he told me, and I went," Davies-Hale said after the race.

At 22 miles the Briton held a lead he would not lose and he went on to finish in 2hr 11min 25sec, with his nearest rival, the Soviet Union's Ravil Kashapov, almost two minutes behind, and Davies-Hale’s fellow Briton, Dave Long, a little way back in third.

It was the slowest men’s race since 1981; but Davies-Hale was always going to be on for a pb…

"I wanted to run a five-minute pace all the way,'' he told reporters after following his plan impeccably. His average time per mile was 5min 00.8sec.

He did admit to having felt disquiet over forecasts of high race temperatures. 

''I brought Gore-Tex clothing, thermals, gloves, everything,'' Davies-Hale said. 

''I was panicking in the middle of the week when they said the temperature would be 77.''

Asked, inevitably, about his plumbing job, he replied lightly: "I’ll still do the odd washing machine . . . good rates."

Despite his reported bemusement at the accolades - and the prize money - Davies-Hale added: "I don't think they'll be too shocked at home. 

"A few people knew I could run a good marathon. 

"I would have liked to run 2:08, but given the weather, I'm quite pleased.''

"Quite pleased." Very British. Very Davies-Hale.

"I may run another marathon next year," he added. 

"But I really want to get back on the track…"

As things turned out, he did run some more marathons. Three years later he finished 41st at the Barcelona Olympics, clocking 2:21:15. 

The following year he finished 31st in the London Marathon. In 1994 he was 20th in the Berlin Marathon. 

For this talented track and road athlete, October 30 1989 was, arguably, the high point of his career.

In recent years he has organised numerous races, including the Action Heart Race, an annual contest first staged in 1978 to raise money for the Action Heart centre at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

One of those whose life has been saved at that centre over the years is Rob Hawthorne, who recovered from a double heart and cardiac arrest in 2004. 

Three years ago, aged 44, he raised money for the centre by running the Chicago Marathon - 30 years after it had been won by the current Action Heart race director, who was able to support him in his ambition.

Davies-Hale, clearly, has found and followed his path in life.

He could probably still sort out your broken washing machine though. Good rates…