Best runner in history?

Nice photo of Matt London there.

I saw people run faster at my high school meets. Anyway, the best runner ever is Kipchoge. He runs a marathong at under 4:40 pace.

You have to go with dominance of era when talking "best of" in sports. What runner was more impressive than what Lon Myers accomplished as we saw above?

Don Hutson is still considered to be the best WR in NFL history, yep, nobody ever dominated their era like he did.

Always look at vs same era competition.

Who is Matt London?

Nobody was running in that era except rich white people so the competition was garbage.

Here ya go rookie....

Until the 1880’s the sport of track in America was not viewed as entirely legitimate. Other countries called into question the tracks and timing used in America. Therefore times or records set in America were often not ratified or accepted around the world. Track and Field in America would never reach legitimacy from the rest of the world until these problems were resolved. The NYAC tried to remedy this by building the first cinder track used specifically for track and field in America. In addition to this a Swiss stopwatch, which were invented in 1844, that could time with up to 1/5 of a second precision, became widespread in the 1870’s (Sears 2001). However track in America was not seen as genuine until a great American runner could run as fast as the Europeans. This occurred when Lon Myers came around in the 1880’s. He beat all competitors from Britain and established world record times on both American and British soil. Lon Myers domination of the sport finally changed the British view that running in America was inferior because of the belief that the difference in atmospheric pressure in America made it impossible for runners to run fast there. With the acceptance of track in the U.S. more and more meets popped up. In fact indoor races became popular with the using of Madison Square Garden as an indoor track facility in 1885 (Sears 2001). As a sport the momentum kept growing all the way until the foundation of the modern Olympics in 1896. Although held in Athens, the Olympics served purpose to develop standardized distances and competitions throughout the world. Although Americans would not accept the metric distances run in their own competitions, their imperial equivalents became the standard in American competition. With the advent of the Olympics professional running slowly gave way to Amateur competitions.

I guess I should have said Most Important Runner....as we can see that was Lon Myers

I woulda smoked this guy in high school, no shot he's the greatest

Pheidipodes

No brainer. First race that meant anything

Don't think ya get how this works.

Nick Gray, Eric Harrison, Deshaun Marshall, Len Willis, Jimmie Lee Harris, Tony Cole were all Ohio State sprinters, ever hear of any of them, let me guess....nope! Ever hear of fellow Buckeye......Jesse Owens? All those guys would have smoked Owens, it simply doesn't matter because it doesn't work that way and you should know this.

Jesse Owens is a legend in the sport a real big deal and he hasn't ran since the 1930;s, all about his accomplishments. Lon Myers is a real big deal in the history of the sport as you read above.

Dude, this...I could whip him.....hahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!

How did he do in his second run?

More about the great Lon Myers

This is the story of Laurence E. Myers, a track star whose blazing speed brought American track and field out of the dark ages of sack and three-legged races and legitimized the sport. Whose epic 1882 duel against Britain’s best miler mirrored the race for global supremacy between the U.S. and England. Whose go-for-broke style dazzled audiences and critics alike. It’s also the story of a man who raced to the top, only to slip into obscurity.

He traveled to England hungry. A lean and ropy young man who stood 5′8″ and weighed 112 pounds, Lon Myers was 23 years old that summer of 1881, and the pride of the Manhattan Athletic Club. He ran with his bony arms held low, his skull wrapped pirate-style in a bandanna, and he held national titles in the 100 and 220, and world records in the 440, 880, and 1,000 yards. He had no equal in the U.S.

So in June, he sailed to England for that country’s amateur track championships. Modern athletics was born there in the 1850s when pubs built cinder tracks on their grounds, attracting drunken hordes bearing tankards of ale and smoking cigars as they wagered on gaunt harriers. By the time Myers boarded his ship, the British ruled the track—as they did much of the world, with their colonies as far-flung as Bhutan and Fiji—and held nearly all the world records. One British track authority scoffed at the foreigner’s dazzling times. “There isn’t a man in America who can properly hold a watch,” he sniffed. “Let Myers come. He will go back a sadder but wiser man.”

Instead, Myers trounced the Brits, winning six of his seven races. He finished one 440-yard race running sideways, taunting his foes. Spectators were awestruck. The London Land and Water raved, “It is impossible to speak too highly of Myers’s style and pace

Looks like he ran in penny loafers.

German Fernandez or Fanny Blankers Koen

Hmmm?

Image:images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images...

Both great but can't compare to this...

National finals15 United States, 10 Canadian, and 3 British national championships
Highest world rankingWorld records at:250 yards
(26.0 seconds; 1882)
350 (36.8; 1881)
400 (43.625; 1882)
440 on grass (49.4; 1885)
500 (58.0; 1880)
600 (1:11.4; 1882)
660 (1:22.0; 1880)
800 (1:44.4; 1882)
840 on grass (1:48.6; 1885)
880 on grass (1:56.5; 1885)
1,000 (2:13.0; 1881)

28 National Championships

Now add American records at 50, 100, 200

Every time this topic comes up I remember reading about this fella named Deerfoot.

Wiki:

en.wikipedia.org

Deerfoot

Deerfoot (1828 – 18 January 1896, Cattaraugus Reservation) was an American Seneca runner. His most noted achievements took place in England. Biography Deerfoot–Red Jacket, or Hut-goh-so-do-neh in his native tongue, was born i...

Link:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deerfoot

I'll have to admit, I don't think I've ever heard of Lon Myers before. He has quite the resume.

I always thought Deerfoot was the "Man" during the 19th Century. Now I'm rethinking my thoughts. That was a great post! Keeping posting obscure things from the past. It's really what the sport needs. We should never forget the guys 150 or so years ago that made our sport what we have today.

I coached high school track 15 years ago. None of the kids, and I mean all of them, didn't know what the school or world record was for their event. My h.s. team mates and I knew the school/world records because we were fans of t&f.

I'm not sure what the future is for track if kids don't know/care what school records are. However there is a record that kids want to own. The PE Mile. Mostly the girls. Yep, for some reason that means more to them than qualifying for State. Go figure. If they qualified for State, they'd leave after their event was over. I'd ask them why didn't they want to stay and watch the rest of the meet. Answer, "I don't know anybody else competing." For F sake, it's the State Meet! They were good at their event, but weren't a follower or fan of their sport. I've always had a difficult time understanding that.

Who is Ron Clarke… ?

who is Jim Ryun..?

who is Eliud Kipchoge ..?

who is Kenenisa Bekele..?

Good one and well aware of Deerfoot, but he wasn't as versatile, check out Canadian Tom Longboat, he came a little later.

Thanks on the compliment, appreciate it. Yep, love the history.