Ron Hill

Ronald ("Ron") Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD (b. September 25, 1938 in Accrington, Lancashire, England), is the founder of Ronhill and Hilly Clothing Company, makers of performance apparel, and the second man ever to break two hours and ten minutes in the marathon (after Derek Clayton). Hill set world records at four other distances, but never laid claim to the marathon world record. He has run three Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968 and Munich 1972), and has a personal marathon record of 2:09:28. In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30. During the 1970s, he also won gold medals at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

Running career

Hill held numerous national and world long distance running records. He held world records for ten miles (47:02, Leicester, April 1968; 46:44, Leicester, November 1968); fifteen miles (72:48.2, Bolton, July 1965); and 25 kilometres (75:22.6, Bolton, July 1965).

Hill represented Great Britain three times in the Summer Olympic Games between 1964 and 1972, in the 5000 meters and 10000 meters events.

In 1963, Hill won the six mile event at the British AAA championships in a time of 27:49.8, equaling the UK record. In the following year's AAA six mile race, Hill challenged Mike Bullivant, who won by less than half a second; both runners, however, finished more than twenty seconds under the UK record. At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Hill placed 18th in the 10000 metres, in a time of 29:53.0, and 19th in the marathon, in 2:25:34.4.

In 1964, Hill set his first world record, clocking 1:15:22.6 for 25 kilometres, eclipsing Emil Zátopek's previous mark by over 1 minute; he also set another world record of 1:12:48.2 for 15 miles along the way in that race.

Ron was the first winner of the Freckleton Half Marathon (The UKs oldest) in 1964 and still holds the course record to this day, of 1 hour 04 minutes, a record that has stood for 40 years come next years event.

In 1966, Hill competed in the European Championships Marathon, finishing twelfth.

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

In 1969, Hill won the European Championships Marathon on the Marathon to Athens course.

Hill's final marathon was the 100th Boston Marathon, in 1996. He completed 115 Marathons in all, 112 under 2:50, 103 under 2:45 and 29 under 2:20.

1970

In 1970, Hill became the first British runner to win the Boston Marathon, by a wide margin, shattering the course record by three minutes with a time of 2:10:30. In July, at the British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, he became the second man ever to break the 2:10 barrier, clocking 2:09:28. Hill was timed in 29:24 for the first ten kilometers at Edinburgh, the equivalent of a 2:04 marathon pace, described as "suicidal". [http://www.time-to-run.com/marathon/athletes/men/hill.htm] He arrived at the Fukuoka International Marathon as a clear favourite, but placed only ninth. [http://www.iaaf.org/theSport/whatisathletics/TrackandField/disc=mar/index,newsId=9475.html ]

Hill was ranked as the top marathoner of the year for 1970 by "Track & Field News", on the strength of his two important wins – the Boston and British Commonwealth Games marathons. The next year, Hill was honored with an Order of the British Empire appointment for 'services to athletics'.

treak

Hill has built a 'streak', in which he has not missed a day of running since December, 1964, starting when he was becoming established as a world-class runner. Hill continues his streak today, though he now defines a 'run' somewhat loosely, a source of contention in the loose knit community of running streak enthusiasts; he has established baseline criteria of only one mile 'run', at any pace. Nevertheless, Hill's streak is a benchmark that other such streaks are usually compared against. In his streak, Hill includes workouts after a car crash in 1993 when he broke his sternum, and after bunion surgery, after which he used a crutch for one mile in 27 minutes the next day.

He is on course to run a race in one hundred different countries by his 70th birthday.

Company

After graduating from university with a PhD in textile chemistry Ron Hill was convinced of the benefits of synthetic materials for runners. In 1970 he started a company, Ron Hill Sports, which pioneered various products including wrap-over shorts, mesh vests, waterproof running jackets and reflective strips, as Ron says 'because I was running to and from work in the dark in winter and wondered what I needed to stay safe'. Company sales at one point exceeded £6m but Hill sold out due to financial difficulties in the early 1990s.

He has since started Hilly Clothing specialising in "technical socks" and other apparel.

Publication

* "The Long Hard Road: An Autobiography". 1981. Ron Hill Sports. ISBN 0950788201

External links

* [http://www.ronhill.com/index.html Website of "Ronhill Outdoor & Sports Company Ltd"]
* [http://www.hillyclothing.co.uk/ Website of "Hilly Clothing"]
* [http://www.iaaf.org/theSport/whatisathletics/TrackandField/disc=mar/index,newsId=9475.html IAAF.org] - 'A history of the Fukuoka International Marathon Championships: 1970', K. Ken Nakamura, International Association of Athletics Federations
* [http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--9700-0,00.html RunnersWorld.com] - 'Always up for a Run', Joanna Sayago, "Runner's World"
* [http://www.time-to-run.com/marathon/athletes/men/hill.htm "Athletes of the marathon - Ron Hill"] - time-to-run.com
* [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/athletics/athletics-after-15696-daily-jogs-ron-hill-can-give-alf-tupper-a-run-for-his-money-765624.html "Marathon Man: After 15,696 daily jogs, Ron Hill can give Alf Tupper a run for his money"] - Article by Simon Turnbull, The Independent, 16 December 2007
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/sep/21/athletics "This Ron will run and run"] - Article by Jon Henderson, The Observer, 21 September 2008