The Legend Ron Hill Has Stopped His Streak

I find it odd that people will blindly believe alleged streak records if it involves a legend but if some nobody dares to cheat their way to a bunch of marathon participation medals without proof the LRC sleuths are all over it.

Yes, ALL streak records are alleged, all of them. It would be impossible for anyone to prove that someone hasn't run for the length of time they claim to have done so unless by the remotest of circumstance you actually were with someone for an entire day when they claimed to have run but didn't and even then it would be your word against theirs. No LRC sleuth could ever disprove someone's streak claims. Nor can I or anyone else prove to another person that I ran today, yesterday, or on any other day unless I did it with witnesses. On the other hand, it is occasionally possible to raise serious questions about whether someone completed an entire marathon or not.

Gerard Nijboer wrote:

Memory Man wrote:

So ARRS have arbitrarily set themselves up as the ultimate authority?

If I remember rightly (and I can't be bothered researching it) when some people started to question it in later years, especially after Salazar's short NY, part of the course had been built on/roads changed so it wasn't possible to measure the course, which is when all the "short course" stuff started. At the time Clayton said it doesn't matter cos pretty soon all times are going to get completely annihilated anyway. He was right.

Times were certainly not annihilated ":pretty soon". It was years before guys routinely ran faster than Clayton's time.

Idiot, depends on your definition of "pretty soon".

What happened to that long list of competitive marathons he ran? Can't find it on the web anymore, but he must have averaged 10 marathon races a year for many years and most of them were closer to 2:10 than 2:20. Pretty legendary.

n 1964, Hill set his first world record, clocking 1:15:22.6 for 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) eclipsing Emil Zátopek's previous mark by more than 1 minute; he also set another world record of 1:12:48.2 for 15 miles (24 km) along the way.

On 6 April 1968, in the British AAA 10-mile (16 km) championship at Leicester, Hill set a new world record of 47:02.2; he won the AAA 10-mile (16 km) every year between 1965 and 1969. Later in 1968, he again lowered the world 10-mile (16 km) world record, to 46:44.0. In the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, he placed seventh in the 10000 m.[3]

In July, at the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he became the second man ever to break the 2:10 barrier, clocking a world record time of 2:09:28. Hill was timed in 29:24 for the first 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) at Edinburgh, the equivalent of a 2:04 marathon pace, described as "suicidal". His final Olympic games was at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where he finished sixth in the marathon at the age of 33.[3]

He completed 115 marathons, 112 under 2:50, 103 under 2:45 and 29 under 2:20.

Ron Hill ran barefoot in many races.

Question:

Why isn't Ron Hill knighted by the Queen?

Sir Ron Hill has a nice sound when you say it.

I have never missed a day since the early 80s and i am 44

Why do some people on this site take great pleasure out of denigrating runners who have achieved something exceptional? Ron Hill's career stands comparison with almost every runner who ever laced up a pair of trainers. do the people who mock him realise the sheer effort - mental and physical - it takes to become a world class runner and maintain that level for the best part of a decade? Have these people ever tried to put themselves in that class? The 120-140 mile weeks while working full time in a demanding job in the textile industry?

OK, so Ron may have been a bit obsessive (addictive?) about his streak but better to be addicted to running than than many other activities/substances that are readily available in our society!!

Question:

Why isn't Ron Hill knighted by the Queen?

Sir Ron Hill has a nice sound when you say it.

Very true!

Can we also recognise that his Tracksters are GREAT.

HRE wrote:

Hobble walkers are not runners wrote:

No, You need a garmin so WE know.

And why would anyone care what you know?

Because I am knowledgeable in my specialty?

Definitions vary. wrote:

Gerard Nijboer wrote:

Times were certainly not annihilated ":pretty soon". It was years before guys routinely ran faster than Clayton's time.

Idiot, depends on your definition of "pretty soon".

Nobody considers 20 years pretty soon.

Why hasn't Ronnie been knighted, you ask?

Did you see my post of yesterday?

He has been, in effect:

Dr. Ronald Hill, PhD., (that's a doctorate) is an MBE, (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), which means my sister's mother-in-law, the Queen, presented it to him.

Not bad for a lad from Accrington, ol' Accy.

Good on 'ya Ronnie.

PippaMiddleton wrote:

Why hasn't Ronnie been knighted, you ask?

Did you see my post of yesterday?

He has been, in effect:

Dr. Ronald Hill, PhD., (that's a doctorate) is an MBE, (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), which means my sister's mother-in-law, the Queen, presented it to him.

Not bad for a lad from Accrington, ol' Accy.

Good on 'ya Ronnie.

OK, but lets not pretend an MBE = a knighthood.

(my grandfather was awarded a CBE, BTW)

And your specialty would be acting like an anonymous doofus? You know, if Ron was faking his streak there would be no need for him to have acknowledged that he stopped it on Sunday. He simply could tell people he'd done a mile or two and kept on doing that indefinitely.

But that really isn't the point. There's a health issue here. When someone cannot do something they love doing because of a health problem the only decent reactions are either to express sympathy for the problem and wish them well or, if that's too much to manage, just shut up about the whole business.

HRE wrote:

And your specialty would be acting like an anonymous doofus? You know, if Ron was faking his streak there would be no need for him to have acknowledged that he stopped it on Sunday. He simply could tell people he'd done a mile or two and kept on doing that indefinitely.

But that really isn't the point. There's a health issue here. When someone cannot do something they love doing because of a health problem the only decent reactions are either to express sympathy for the problem and wish them well or, if that's too much to manage, just shut up about the whole business.

Nope. I'm a proponent for anti-vaccination....

Hill created his health problem. A Doctor would have told him to be more reasonable 30 years ago.

Now YOU should start taking a day off and end your silly streak too.

Whether he "created" his current problem or not is beside the point. My point wasn't about him. It's about people like you who can only see another's misfortune as an opportunity to be a smart ass. A good friend of mine who had been an OT Marathon qualifier and who took plenty of days off died from a heart attack when he was 29 years younger than Ron is now. Physical things go wrong and when it happens to people who have accomplished things there will always be jealous little twerps who use it as a chance to make themselves feel "better" than whoever had the misfortune.

Do you really think that if Ron had taken a day off 30 years ago he wouldn't have the issue he's having now? Do you think even a day off each month would have made a difference? Yeah, you probably do so I don't think there'd be much sense in taking your advice.

When we are young and do stupid things people call us out on them. When people get old enough to know better they should also be told so.

Ron the runner was and is a hero of mine. Ron the streaker is an entirely different meaningless shadow of the former guy.

Now go and get a physical and take some advice from a specialist about your knees.

mark b wrote:

Why do some people on this site take great pleasure out of denigrating runners who have achieved something exceptional?

OK, so Ron may have been a bit obsessive (addictive?) about his streak

You answered your own question, he's been acting like a silly old fool and bad role model for years now, nothing to do with what he achieved in his prime, get over it.

too many runners are cheaters wrote:

I posted that I don't believe he's been running every day. It seems that such a statement isn't tolerated here.

I've heard and seen enough runners of all ages claim heroic, but undocumented, efforts. When they eventually invest in a Garmin, the proof is out, they're nowhere near their bragging levels even now. And I certainly don't believe they're more honest about their undocumented past.

Sorry Ron, you were definitely a great runner, but I don't believe a second that you've run every day for 52 years. That shop you've been running doesn't make it more likely either.

Ya, you tell him!!! The only way I believe this streak is if he has Garmin data for all 52 years!!

No garmin no record!!!!