Amongst the runners from last weekends event was Dr Ron Hill.
The legendary Ron Hill, Britain’s first runner under the magical 2Hr 10 barrier as well as winner of the Boston Marathon, European Championships and Commonwealth Games during the halycon days of the 1970’s.
Ron was the 2nd person in history to crack sub 2Hr 10, a winner of the Boston Marathon as well as winner of both the Commonwealth and the European Championships. No mean feat.
Born in Accrington, the industrial town in the East Lancashire region of the UK, Ron took a strong interest in running from childhood. His childhood hero was Alp Tupper, ‘the tough of the track’, a comic magazine hero who Hill would emulate in his career by becoming a stallwart of athletics in every sense. He joined a Lancashire athletics club in 1953 and has not looked back since.
The Accrington athlete would set 4 world records over 4 distances, never the 42K and would be a force to be reckoned with attending 3 Olympic Games Marathons, Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972, unfortunately without success, failing to peak on the ultimate stage.
Andy , quite sure he would be delighted with your photo below!What a pleasure to have him amongst our midst last Saturday.
Nick.
