British Marathoners

from Gordon Pirie...

To reach the upper levels of our potential, however, takes years of dedication and intense, carefully controlled training. Training involves constantly striving to remove weaknesses that hold us back. All the great runners have spent years working their way up through the local and regional levels before achieving true national or world-class status. Results do not come from the previous month's training, but from years of dedicated development. One recent study quantified this, and found that an average of 10.2 years was needed for champions to develop.

Joan Benoit did not become an Olympic Champion because of what she did in the weeks before the Games - she had laid the groundwork for her great run with years of training. I ran the first eight kilometres of the Auckland Marathon with Joan many years ago, a race in which she won in only 2:31. Her "Super Ability" was only hinted at then (she was already a great runner), and has taken years to mature.

The great African runners who came to dominate road racing in the US have been running all their lives. They did not suddenly appear out of nowhere to beat the best runners in the world, but ran for years before reaching championship level. An African youngster runs as a way of life.

Even the short track distances require a level of dedication which people do not normally associate with sprinting. Valery Borzov, the double Olympic Champion from the Soviet Union, had been working his way up through the various levels of local and regional championship running in Russia long before he "burst" upon the world scene in the early 1970s.

Alan Wells, the massive Scot who won the 1980 Olympic 100-metre title, is known to be a prodigious trainer. He had many years of competition behind him before winning Olympic and Commonwealth championships.

Finally, the example I like best is that of British Olympic Marathoner Barry Watson. Barry was just a good club runner in England in 1968 when he ran with our group, and when I left for New Zealand I forgot all about him. At the Montreal Olympic Games while I was training on the golf course near the Olympic Village with New Zealanders Anne Garratt (now Audain) and Tony Goode, however, "Lo and Behold!", there was Barry Watson proudly bearing the Union Jack on his shirt. His first words to me were: "Gordon, you are a liar! You said it takes six years of hard training to become a champion. It took me eight". It had certainly taken Barry a bit longer than some, but he made it just the same. He was British Marathon Champion in 1976. I stick to that kind of yardstick. If you put in many years of hard work (with a little bit of luck and a lot of dedication), you will become a superb runner, but you have to realise it takes this long, and persevere.

Ian Thompson - one of the forgotten greats of British marathon running.

Ian Thompson      

Born: 16 Oct 49 (Birkenhead, Merseyside)

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Regarded as just an ordinary club athlete, Thompson suddenly broke through to world class as a marathon runner on 27 Oct 1973. That day he ran the AAA marathon championship just to make up the numbers for his club, Luton United. It was his first race beyond 10 miles, but he won in 2:12:40, the fastest ever debut at the distance. Thus he qualified for the Commonwealth Games three months later - and he won again, this time in 2:09:12, the fastest ever run in a championship race and a British record. Further victories followed in 1974 in Athens and at the European Championships and he was the best marathon runner in the world.

In 1976 he suffered cramp and finished only 7th in the trials for the Olympics, for which he was not selected to the consternation of some. Although for many years among Britain's best, he never regained his 1974 eminence and contested only one more major championship. His best times each year between 1977 and 1982 were in the 2:12 to 2:15 range. He won the AAA title in 1980 to gain Olympic selection but dropped out at the Games. By profession he was a sales manager. Other best times were (relatively) modest: 1500m 3:51.0 (1969), 5000m 14:05.4 (1971), 10,000m 29:33.0 (1979).

His wife Margaret was an early pioneer of marathon running for women in Britain and ran a British best time of 3:07:47 in 1975.

BTW - Watson's best time was 2:15:08

There was also a certain Jeff Norman who ran 2:12:50 in 1978. I think there are a couple of lads who post on here that could tell you a lot about him!

Ian Thompson sure wasn't very fast over short distances and few would have predicted his marathon times. Any insights about Ian? Background or development? Tinman

Excellent response, Bazza. I like reading those quotes.

Where was Watson from and what background did he have? What was his times as a junior and early senior?

It seems to be that guys like Barry Watson can inspire others to stick with it and suck it up longer, perhaps reaching their personal bests farther down the road. What is your opinion? Tinman

Couldn't agree more.

Here's a bit more background info about him:

Born in 1944 in Poole, Dorset Barry wanted to represent Great Britain as a runner from the age of Eleven years old. Mixed success was acheived at school with his best distance on the track being the mile and at cross country until the age of Fifteen years old. At this time he outgrew his strength and finished last or one but last until he was Eighteen. He was advised at school to take up another sport for it seemed that the harder he tried the worse he ran.

At this time he joined Bournmouth A.C. and began to start running well again winning the odd track race. He became interested in 10 mile road races and in 1965 ran the Isle of Wight Marathon off very little training in 2 hours 57 minutes.

Barry then moved to London to Avery Hill College where he joined Cambridge Harriers and began to train very hard. One year after the Isle of White Marathon Barry won his first marathon at Harlow in 2 hours 25 minutes. His track time had also improved to 14 min 12 secs for 5,000 Metres and 29 min 13 secs for 10,000 Metres. Barry Won a large number of his road races and if not was in the top six finishers for each of his races for the next 10 Years but was ignored by the British Board for International Honours.

Finally in 1976 Barry won the National Championships Marathon which was also the trial for the Olympic Marathon event. He did not do well at the Olympics but had a successfull eight year career placing in the top three in some International Marathons.

Barry still continued running as a veteran. In 1984 he was the first over 40 Year old to cross the line in the London Marathon and First over 45 year old to cross the line in 1990 and 1992.

Barry retired from Marathons in 1995 when he ran 2 hours 39 minutes at the age of 51

(I love reading stuff like this!)

Ron Hill: 2:09:28, July 1970.

Trevor Wright, who eventually became a Kiwi. Ron Hill was still around through the whole decade. Jeff Norman, Barry Watson, Dave Cannon, Ian Thompson, Chris Stewart took up marathons in the mid to late 70s and was twice third at NYC with 2:13 each time. Gordon Minty who became an American. Malcolm East. Don MacGregor, actually a Scotsman, but 7th at Munich for the UK.

Number of British marathon runners sub-2:25

1970 - 38

1971 - 38

1972 - 51

1973 - 62

1974 - 45

1975 - 56

1976 - 47

1977 - 55

1978 - 71

1979 - 90

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2004 - 24

Ooops! That should read 2003 - 24

Bloody hell - those stats (from before the marathon boom) show how far we've slipped back. I didn't realise things had got that bad

if there were more places available to faster runners in the London Marathon, we could have quite a few more under 2.25

Trevor Wright's Daughter Jessica just selected by NZ to run at World Cross Country

I was amazed to see how many GB athletes ran under 2:25 in the 1970s.... a lot of them for a country less than half the size of the USA. Excellent heritage. Tinman

JonnyO wrote:

if there were more places available to faster runners in the London Marathon, we could have quite a few more under 2.25

How do you mean?

With the Championships places and the 'Good for your age' system, pretty much anyone who can run sub2H25 is assured of a place?

'not sure I understand your point....

You think there are lots of runners who havnt run 2.45 yet who will go sub 2.25 ? There may be some but that is not a major cause in the reductions seen.

London also has a championship qualifying time of sub-74 for the half-marathon (I think), and I know of at least one sub-32 10K runner who got in just by giving them a ring....

I could go off on a GIVE THE LONDON MARATHON BACK TO THE REAL RUNNERS rant, but I don't want to offend Dave Bedford or the Charity runners who all do a lot of great work and contribute enourmously to the atmosphere of the race.

I couln't get into the race last year without a charity place, I wrote to Dave Bedford and he kindly wrote back, but they have certain policies. I would like to see any man under 36 for 10k and any woman under 41 for 10k get an automatic entry. Is that wishfull thinking?

The truth of the matter is: there's a large number of British runners who could go sub 2H25. For some reason however, the marathon just doesn't seem popular with good club runners.

How many people achieved a sub-70 half last year (the rough equivalent of a sub-2H25)? Well in excess of 24 (I will hasard a guess and say it may even have been close to 100).

The real question is therefore: why is the marathon no longer on the club runner's race calendar?