Pretty sure Garry Henry was on the dole during that 79/80 period.
His training log is an insane read. Often 3 a day , lots of 1 k reps. High volume, high quality.
I think Chettle was on the dole during his buildup to his 2.10.20 2d place at Fukuoka. He was doing 250 plus kms of high quality running inthe leadup.