John Campbell, New Zealand

Narf

This story ran in Sports Illustrated in 1991. Sorry, I don't have any way to link it, so I'm just copying it in below:

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS 42 YEARS, John Campbell has nothing to

do but run. The former milkman, shopkeeper and fisherman from New

Zealand has found a place to stay in Charlotte, N.C. There is a golf

course across the street on which to jog and miles of hilly roads. No

longer must he be on the water at dawn or stocking shelves long

after dark.

Campbell sounds somewhat surprised at his situation, at once

pleased and a touch defensive. ''It seems a bit unreal,'' he says.

''But then the effort I put into running is the same as I put into

any job. I'm not scared of the ( work.''

If anyone has earned this life of unaccustomed focus, it is

Campbell. In the past two years he has established himself as the

best masters (over-40) distance runner in the world. During an

astounding 1990 season, Campbell went undefeated as a master in 22

races, including the Los Angeles, Boston and New York City marathons.

He set masters world records at four miles (18:31), 10K (29:04), 10

miles (47:55), 15K (45:10), the half marathon (1:02:28) and the

marathon. He has started off '91 just as impressively. In February,

Campbell set a masters world record for the 5K (13:55), and on March

3 he won the over- 40 division of the Los Angeles Marathon in

2:14:33, a time that placed him fourth overall.

''John is forcing us all to rethink the whole notion of what aging

means to a runner,'' says Don Kardong, 42, a former Olympic

marathoner, now president of the Association of Road Racing Athletes

and himself a masters runner. ''I mean, my god, he's on a new

level.''

Never was that more clear than at the 1990 Boston Marathon.

Gelindo Bordin of Italy, the '88 Olympic champion, won Boston that

year in a near-course- record time of 2:08:19. Campbell finished

fourth overall, in 2:11:04, the fastest marathon ever by a runner

over 40.

Campbell's time, run on an unseasonably warm day over a demanding

course, broke by 15 seconds the record set by Jack Foster in the 1974

Commonwealth Games, a record that during its 16 years of existence

had come to be viewed as unmatchable. ''John Campbell did it. He

actually did it,'' began the article on his race in National Masters

News, a monthly publication for over-40 athletes.

Campbell admits to being impressed with his Boston run. ''To know

that I did it at Boston, on a day that wasn't perfect, is quite

pleasing, actually,'' he says. Campbell, however, is anything but

content with his accomplishments. ''I'm not ready to lay down just

yet, thank you,'' he says. ''You do what you do, but then you get on

with the job.''

You get on with the job. One suspects that those words are branded

on John Campbell's heart. In a sport ruled by the work ethic,

Campbell may be the ultimate toiler. The second of a factory

foreman's six children, he was born in Ravensbourne, a hard, hilly

town on New Zealand's South Island. As a boy, he juggled a newspaper

route and three different milk routes. ''I don't remember playing

much,'' he says.

He does remember running: first, every morning with the papers and

his old wooden milk cart; later, at King Edward Technical College

in nearby Dunedin, for sport. He kept at it, even after he left

school at 14 to work full time. By the time he was 19, Campbell

seemed headed for a world-class career. He qualified for the 1969

New Zealand cross-country team that traveled to Glasgow, Scotland,

for the world championships.

For Campbell, it was to be a disillusioning trip. ''Here I was

with all these older guys, guys I'd looked up to, and they just

wanted to go out and get drunk,'' he says. ''They got me drunk for

the first time in my life. I remember thinking it was all pretty

silly.''

The race, he says, was an almost forgotten issue. Campbell

finished 69th. He quit running. ''I had to start thinking about

other things, about making money,'' he says.

Back home, Campbell married, fathered two children and got

divorced. He jogged occasionally, but always he worked -- as a

janitor, as a milliner, as a deliveryman. He bought his own milk

business. And he became a fisherman. For 15 years he worked the seas

off South Island, first as a crewman, later with his own boats.

He made a brief comeback to competition in '73, inspired by the

fact that the Commonwealth Games were to be held the following year

in Christchurch. After a crash training program, Campbell came within

a second of qualifying for the New Zealand squad at 5,000 meters,

then promptly quit running again in frustration. ''Well, I'd given it

a go,'' he says.

Campbell was a spectator in Queen Elizabeth II Park arena when his

countryman Foster, 42, finished second in the marathon to Ian

Thompson of England, and set the masters record that would last for

16 years. ''It didn't really register,'' says Campbell. ''I might

have thought, Good on ye, Jack. But I didn't know anything about

masters running. No one did. Anyway, I was an ex-runner by then.''

Ask Campbell to recall the date of an an event in his life, and

his response is more than likely to come in the form of a question --

''I don't know, 1977? '78?'' -- like a kid guessing on a history

test. But there are incidents that demand recall, if not precise

dating. Like that midwinter morning -- ''I don't know, 1976? '77?''

-- Campbell and his skipper, Colin Gamble, were on a 35-foot steel

trawler three miles off South Island, hauling lobster pots. One of

the pots snagged, and the boat overturned, dumping the two men into

the 50 degrees water. Gamble drowned. ''I never saw him,'' says

Campbell, who was ^ able to scramble onto the upturned keel and stand

there until the boat sank beneath him. Now with no choice, he began

to swim toward land.

He took one last look behind -- ''just saying goodbye'' -- and

there was the life raft. It had worked free from under the boat and

popped to the surface. Campbell spent nine hours shivering in the

raft before he was spotted and picked up by a rescue helicopter.

''What was I thinking?'' says Campbell. ''I was thinking about

bailing.''

You get on with the job. Two days later, he was back fishing.

Campbell's second retirement from running lasted nearly a decade,

until the day in '83 when he decided he had to turn things around.

''I'd been doing some maintenance work on a fishing boat and I was

sitting there on the dock, a hamburger in one hand and a beer in the

other,'' says Campbell. ''A woman friend of mine said, 'Well, John,

you're about due for a heart attack.' '' The 5 ft. 10 in. Campbell

had ballooned to 190 pounds -- 45 more than his running weight.

''You lose track,'' he says. ''You're working hard, fishing or

whatever, but it's not the same kind of effort. I knew I had to get

back.'' Typically, Campbell went all out on his return to the sport

-- ''really flogging myself,'' he says -- and within six weeks, after

losing most of those excess pounds, he ran a marathon in the

startling time of 2:22.

Campbell was so encouraged by his performance that he sold his

fishing interests to concentrate on running. Of course, he continued

to work full time in the milk business just the same. In 1985

Campbell made his second world cross-country team and also ran a

2:12:38 marathon, at Invercargill in New Zealand. That performance

qualified him for a spot on New Zealand's 1986 Commonwealth Games

team. Suddenly, 13 years after walking away from running, he was back

at world-class level. For the restless Campbell, though, that status

was far from secure. He went out too fast at the Commonwealth Games

in Scotland, and after he was left off the New Zealand team for the

'87 cross- country world championships (''They said I was too old,''

says Campbell with disgust), he packed it in yet again. He had

remarried in '86 and, with his new wife, Sarah, he bought two new

fishing boats and went back to sea.

Campbell might be there still, but for an invitation that came to

run the Manila in January '88. It was comeback No. 3. Though 20

pounds overweight and again undertrained, Campbell ran well enough to

be inspired to resume serious training again. Two months later, in

the world cross-country championships in Auckland, he finished 37th

overall. As a result of being the best finishing Kiwi, he received an

invitation to the 1988 Boston Marathon.

At Boston, 10 months before his 40th birthday, Campbell ran

2:11:08, good enough for sixth place and selection to the New Zealand

Olympic team. Campbell's time convinced many people -- including

Campbell -- that, as soon as he turned 40, he would have a real shot

at Foster's record. ''I felt then it was part of my destiny,'' says

Campbell. ''For all the years I'd put in, here was my chance. All of

us have a little niche in life, and maybe this was mine.''

After placing a solid 12th in the marathon at the Seoul Games,

Campbell gave up his fishing boats. He and Sarah bought the White

Heron Dairy -- a 1,000- square-foot convenience store -- in Parnell,

a section of Auckland. There, around 16-hour days spent stocking

shelves and waiting on customers, Campbell fit in the hardest

training of his life, preparing for his 40th birthday, Feb. 6, 1989.

What has happened in the 32 months since Seoul seems to have left

Campbell a bit stunned. Not the races themselves or the records --

Campbell knows the work he has put in behind them -- but the

attendant changes wrought in his life. There is the money, which has

made it possible for him to devote himself full time to running. His

masters victories in the L.A., Boston and New York marathons, a hat

trick he scored in both '89 and '90, brought bonuses of $25,000 each

from race sponsors. ''Although there really isn't a fortune to be

made in running, I guess I'm making as much as anyone,'' he says.

There have been other, less happy, changes. Campbell's schedule

has kept him away from New Zealand for months at a time. After a year

of struggling with a long-distance marriage, he and Sarah separated.

Their 2 1/2-year-old son, Damian, remains with his mother, and the

rupture in Campbell's family clearly hurts. ''You feel a bit of a

failure,'' he says.

Finally, there is the attention. ''Every race I go to,'' says

Campbell, wonder in his voice, ''heaps and heaps of people come up to

me just to say hello. They say things like, 'You're my idol.' '' He

laughs. ''God, what am I, the Beatles?'' It is obvious, though, that

Campbell has given some thought to his stature in the running world.

''I know that I'm inspiring a lot of people out there,'' he says.

''That makes it worthwhile. You get a lot out of your sport. You

want to put something back.'' The normally taciturn Campbell has even

begun an autobiography. ''It's tough sorting through your life,'' he

says.

Campbell would prefer to run. And he is doing so -- better than

ever. Two weeks after his 2:14:33 marathon in L.A., he won the

Shamrock Masters 8K in Virginia Beach in 24:05. In late April,

Campbell won the masters division at the London Marathon in 2:17:22,

despite being forced to stop three times because of stomach

problems.

Campbell hopes that with Sarah's blessing Damian can visit for a

couple of months in the U.S. this summer. ''Damian can run for 15

minutes without stopping,'' says the proud father, before adding,

''but we don't push it.'' A moment later, though, Campbell is talking

of his summer racing plans and of bigger events beyond. He wants to

run in the '92 Olympics. By then he'll be 43.

Even Campbell can't hope to continue improving forever. One

wonders what this old runner will do in real retirement. ''One of my

dreams has always been to sail around the world,'' says Campbell,

sounding surprised at himself even as he says it. ''Maybe when I

finish on the road, I'll buy a yacht and tear off into the sunset.''

There is a pause. ''Or maybe I'll go back to New Zealand and open a

store. Or do some farming. Some fishing. . . .''

###

Thanks for the article - good info. Anyone else have anything?

I vaguely remember reading an article on him back in about 1989 in Runners World that said he put in some 200 mile weeks.

He made another brief comeback when he hit 50. He did a good half marathon in Las Vegas, then went to Boston hoing to break 2:20, but was done in by a blister that he attributed to having to wear the timing chip.

In New Zealand, he owned a motel called Discovery Lodge which I believe was in a really remote area on the North Island, possibly near Mt. Ruapehu(?) After that, he seems to have disapeared. I asked about him when I was there in August but no one seemed to know what had become of him.

Correct Rich. He on sold Discovery to Callan Harland another top NZ mountain runer, After that who knows.

Patriot's Day 1999

i talked to him the night after that Boston debacle... he said his shoe came apart on him...he was very upset -can't remember the shoe brand or model, but he said it was almost brand new. he never mentioned the chip

he and Bill Rodgers were both shooting for the over-50 course record that day and both dropped out. it was in the mid-70's that day; not a good day to chase a record.

I read the "chip" comment someplace, maybe New Zealand Runner, maybe the Boston Globe the next day. You have a more direct story. I do recall seeing photos of him in a pair of Mizunos in that race, don't know the model but they had a fairly thick heel and, I believe, a medial post, something that has always been death for me.

Been my fortune to have 'the best seat in the house' as finish line announcer at Crim to watch so many great races over the last .3 mile in 24 years. One of my favs is from '90 when 5 guys came around the final bend together including masters man John Campbell. The others were in order of finish/time; Ken Martin/47:44, Ed Eyestone/47:48, Jon Sinclair/47:49, Brian Sheriff/47:54 & John storming home in a new masters WR 47:55! I knew he'd have trouble matching the turnover of the 'youngsters' w/him but couldn't help but wonder how cool it'd be if he should somehow win. As it turns out, he picked the wrong 4 guys to shadow as all have strong kicks.

Since then, his record has been broken, also at Crim by Jackson Kipngo'k in 47:26, '03.

Didn't he sing "Rhinestone Cowboy" back in the 70s?

Oh no, wait, that was his American cousin, Glenn...

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/entertainers/music/glen-campbell/glenn-campbell-mugshot.jpg

http://music-depo.com/catalog/images/GLENN-CAMPBELL.jpg

Campbell is cut from the same hardcore mold as Steve Jones and Jim Peters:

Brass balls. Guts. NO fear...none.

I know that Campbell had to deal with attacks of sciatica during his great masters phase in the early 90's, which, as a fellow sciatica victim, speaks volumes to me of his intestinal fortitude.

John is currently living on NZ's North Island -- a place called Hickes Bay.

John's present address at Hick's bay is listed on the Telecom White Pages.

I understood that he had been farming around Ohakune but must have moved to the East Cape.

John ran with the Ariki club in Dunedin,and then with the Invercargill club.

I started jogging in 1984,and was fortunate to be able to observe world masters champions John Campbell and Derek Turnbull running locally,and to run with Derek.

I recall one of the Ariki runners stating that on a weekend,they would go for a two hour run,while john would continue for five hours.

There is an excellent six page article article on john in the NZ magazine called North & South" April 1991 edition,which I have.

It is written by Roger Robinson,and mentions John's training methods.

I have the Runners World magazines of 1990 and 1991,in which John gets coverage.

John was here for Derek Turnbull's funeral in November 2006.

Well known runner and commentator Paul Allison was the running spokesperson.

Both he and John ran for Ariki.

There are former runners from the Ariki and Invercargill clubs who would be able to comment in depth.

John's present address at Hick's bay is listed on the Telecom White Pages.

I understood that he had been farming around Ohakune but must have moved to the East Cape.

John ran with the Ariki club in Dunedin,and then with the Invercargill club.

I started running for the Gore Club in 1984,and was fortunate to be able to observe world masters champions John Campbell and Derek Turnbull running locally,and to run with Derek.

I recall one of the Ariki runners stating that on a weekend,they would go for a two hour run,while john would continue for five hours.

There is an excellent six page article article on john in the NZ magazine called North & South" April 1991 edition,which I have.

It is written by Roger Robinson,and mentions John's training methods.

I have the Runners World magazines of 1990 and 1991,in which John gets coverage.

John was here for Derek Turnbull's funeral in November 2006.

Well known runner and commentator Paul Allison was the running spokesperson.

Both he and John ran for Ariki.

There are former runners from the Ariki and Invercargill clubs who would be able to comment in depth

I remember watching that Boston race as a kid and for some reason marveling at Campbell stomping down that 2:11. There was a sweet cover shot of him from what i think was a spring Runner's World edition. One of the first running mag covers that went up on my wall. He looked like a badass. Bordin was a badass but Campbell looked like a badass.

Goes from 45 lbs overweight and out of shape to 2:22 in six weeks?

Absolutely. Freakin. Disgusting.

Right, I find with these old guys though that they often differentiate very specifically between ordinary running and training. It would be very unlikely that Campbell just worked his ass off on a boat all year with zero running and then rocketed to shape in a few months time. He was running, just not doing high mileage, workouts, diet, sleep, etc.

He was the Dara Torres of distance running, except we like him and therefore he was clean.

And was 45 lbs overweight? Get a clue. The guy would train a few months from a complete layoff and make national teams. A genetic freak. Shows what kind of talent the top guys possess.

brakey wrote:

Right, I find with these old guys though that they often differentiate very specifically between ordinary running and training. It would be very unlikely that Campbell just worked his ass off on a boat all year with zero running and then rocketed to shape in a few months time. He was running, just not doing high mileage, workouts, diet, sleep, etc.