Lydiard's marathon long runs

denton wrote:

But we also know doing the waitaks run isnt exactly flat....its a natural change of pace fartlek ala bill squires....an unstructured sort of canova.

That's an excellent point which should get a lot more attention than it does. After that last post I thought that I should have mentioned it but didn't. Thanks

Actually he coached Barry Magee - bronze in Rome at the 1960 Olympics, Jack Foster (fine athlete runner who didn't start running till in his 30s), Lorraine Moller (4 time Olympian and bronze medalist in the Marathon at age 38) and Silver at the Commonwealth games, Dick Tayler (10,000m gold at the 1974 Christchurch commonwealth games) and also not much of a marathoner but Lasse Viren.

Arthur never really coached Jack. They knew each other and Jack was familiar with Arthur's system but mostly did his own thing which certainly had elements of Arthur in what he did. It's hard not to. In an old interview Jack actually said that Percy Cerutty was his main influence. The fastest marathoner Arthur ever coached was Paul Ballinger at 2:20:15

Just noticed your name. You may have known that last bit.

2:10:15.

Yeah Dad did run 2:10:15 and Arthur was an integral part of getting him into this form and helping him since he was in high school. When talking about his career, he ALWAYS brings Arthur into almost every story, reiterating how important he was to his success. I have great memories from my childhood going up to Auckland to visit Arthur, always fascinated by his big screen TV and great sense of humour. I would have never thought in a million years that 20 years later I would be following his training programmes and hunting down my fathers times...

I read an interview a year or so ago with Michael Aish who said the in his early days he did some running with your dad and that every now and again this old guy would come by and give advice about their training. He didn't know who the old guy was until later and found it was Arthur.

One year the Los Angeles Marathon had an international team race. They scored the first two runners from each country. I don't know what the prize was or how New Zealand did but one of the running magazines wrote that New Zealand's team of your dad and John Campbell probably had the most unusual jobs in the field. They listed Campbell as a fisherman and your dad as a chicken farmer.

How's your dad doing? Does he still do any running?

OP wrote:

I've also got about 7-10 pounds of extra girth that, once shed, should move things along.

I'm curious how someone can run upwards of 50 miles/week and still have extra weight? I'm 58, run barely over half that and have always weighted the same since age 21. Sounds like you have dietary issues?

G-Spotter wrote:

OP wrote:ll

I've also got about 7-10 pounds of extra girth that, once shed, should move things along.

I'm curious how someone can run upwards of 50 miles/week and still have extra weight? I'm 58, run barely over half that and have always weighted the same since age 21. Sounds like you have dietary issues?

Good question. I'm not a distance runner by nature; played American football in high school, rugby in college and can still put on muscle quickly with very little upper body work.

I've stopped the lifting over the last few months and am watching the diet a bit closer but my weight varies within a 7-10 pound range whether I'm gluttonous or very careful. 160 lbs. at 5'10 is very skinny for me with the waist at 32 inches and the chest at about 42. I'll never be mistaken for a Kenyan.

Upper body strength does, however, become an issue at my age. It becomes a use it or lose it proposition. It's a bitch to get sore or injured simply from doing yard work like moving stones for patio.

Yeah, Aish was my babysitter in the mid 90s, i remember seeing Leonardo in Romeo and Juliet for the first time as a little kid.

Dad used to do the chicken farm, it worked well for his career as a runner as he could leave overseas for marathons and races around the country and get his brother to fill in while he was away, also helped to fit training in doing that job as opposed to working an office job or something...

He is doing well. He mostly cycles these days as its easier on his knees. He gets out in the trails maybe 2-3 times a week though for a 50-60min "shuffle" as he calls it, just jogging.

He overlooks my training programmes now that i get from my coach up in Auckland. Pretty good to have someone with his knowledge and experience overlook my training...

Glad he's doing well and still shuffling along a bit. Hope your running works out as well.