Joseph Conlon
me, myself and I...
Life
I grew up in Whitley in Reading and attended Christ the King Primary School there before going to the (now closed)
Douai School for secondary school. My parents still live in Reading; my mother is recently retired as a physics teacher and my father did a Maths PhD before a career as a software engineer.
Mathematical precocity saw me take my maths A-levels at 13 followed by a part-time university degree at the University of Reading, done alongside schoolwork. I then went to Cambridge at 18 to do a `regular' degree in Natural Sciences at the normal age, returning to more conventional academic track.
I am married to Lucy; we live in Didcot and have two boys.
Chess
Once upon a time I used to play lots of
chess (see this at 3:07). When other boys wanted to be professional footballers I wanted to be a professional
chess player. I was a three times British junior champion with a highest placed finish of =7th at the 1993 World U12s. My ECF (English Chess Federation) grade and rating history
can be found here and the history of my FIDE rating
here ( a very dormant 2211). I hold the FIDE title of Candidate Master.
After many years away, I recently returned to over-the-board chess and occasionally play for Didcot Chess Club. Nonetheless, chess is not as good a game as physics and I have no regrets that I did not pursue chess to the full level of my potential.
Running
I started running in my late 20s and discovered, somewhat to my surprise (having always been a `tried hard but no ability' at sports), that I was good enough to make it fun to make
it fun to put some effort in. Age and family commitments have reduced the time available but I still enjoy running although I no longer train for performance.
My current PBs (which I doubt will ever improve on) are 5k 17:50, 5M 28:52, 10k 36:30, HM 78:25 and M 2:51:45.
My full running profile is here .