Ron Hill: Running into the History Books
Thanks to Otter Burn Life for writing this article.
It’s not often that I discover a story so inspirational that the article writes itself, but in the case of Dr Ron Hill MBE – arguably Britain’s greatest marathon runner – I think I’ve found exactly that. You see, Ron used to be a competitive athlete. He was the first Briton to win the Boston Marathon. The first man to break the 2:10 mark in a marathon and the only man to have ran at least one mile, every day, for the last 47 years. So if there ever was a poster boy for endurance running Ron is it and I wanted to take a look back at the long forgotten hero of British running.
So where did it all begin? Well, if you look back over Ron’s life most of the important events fell on 1970. Early in that year Ron had won three long distance endurance events and was invited to take part in the Boston Marathon. The only problem was that he couldn’t afford the air fare and so the little town of Accrington, where Ron was born, passed around a collection tin and raised the money they needed to send their local hero to Boston.
Ron Hill winning the Boston Marathon in 1970.
Courtesy of Boston Athletic Association
When Ron arrived he had to find somewhere to stay and was offered a bed at the race director Jock Semple’s house. He must have slept well because the following day Ron went on to win the Boston Marathon and even shattered the course record by over three minutes. What an achievement.
Off the back of that win, Ron became the favourite for the British Commonwealth games that were being held in Edinburgh that year and achieved the greatest goal of his career. For the first time history Ron broke the 2:10 mark for a marathon with a time of 2:09:28 and 40 years later that time has only been improved upon by about 6 minutes. Ron returned home to Accrington a hero.
But Ron isn’t just a runner. He also graduated from Manchester University with a degree in textile chemistry which is where he noticed the suitability of synthetic materials for runners. As a result he set up his own company, Ron Hill Clothing, where he pioneered many sporting items like mesh vests, water-bottle backpacks andreflective strips which have all become staple accessory for many athletes.
At one point Ron even managed to exceed £6 million in sales – an achievement in itself – but eventually had to close down due to financial difficulties. He does continue to act as ambassador to the brand though and now he runs a modestly successful technical sock company called Hilly Clothing.
Since his record breaking run and worldwide brand, Ron has become better known for his Streak which he began in Dec 1964 and has continued over the last 47 years. It all began after a 10 mile training run in which he made the decision to run every single day and, not unlike a British Forest Gump, has continued ever since.
In the 90s it looked like his streak was going to end after he was caught up in a head on collision which broke his sternum in two places, but luckily he had already been out for a run that morning and was released the day after. It wasn’t until his wife left the house that he decided to sneak out and manage that all important mile. “I could feel the bones moving around,” Ron said, “but even a head on collision wasn’t enough to stop me.”
Ron out enjoying one of his daily runs.
Ron’s last marathon in a fitting tribute to his win 40 years before was the 100th Boston Marathon and his 115th marathon overall. A fitting end. Since then Ron aimed to compete in 100 countries around the world before his 70th birthday which he was able to complete. Now Ron averages somewhere between 20-30 miles a week which is remarkably impressive for a man of his age and for most people around the world. So I’ve taken it upon myself to channel my inner Ron Hill and run every day for the next month to up my yearly goal. I hope you will too.
