Ronald "Ron" Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD (born 25 September 1938), is a noted runner and founder of Ron Hill and Hilly Clothing Company. Hill was born in Accrington, Lancashire, England. He was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon; he set world records at four other distances, but never laid claim to the marathon world record.[nb 1] He has run two Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964 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. He also won gold medals for the marathon at the European Championships in 1969 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970.
ON A HOT and humid afternoon, wearing a white string vest, Ron hill charged on to the track running towards victory and a record. today the Commonwealth marathon win in Edinburgh 40 years ago, in 2hrs 9mins 28s, remains a career highlight and one that Ron remembers with great pride (it is the fastest time on Scottish roads).
Today, however, the Commonwealth Games appears to have lost its appeal as athletes are sacrificing an appearance in Delhi in october to prepare for the 2012 olympics.
"Back then the Commonwealth Games was a huge deal but now there is a malaise," says Ron who lives in Cheshire with his wife May. "People in India are so disappointed as they want the star athletes, not just a jamboree for officials."
The Jamaican triple olympic champion Usain Bolt and olympic and 100m olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser are just two athletes who have decided not to compete in the Games, citing their wish to concentrate on preparations for the 2012 olympics.
"It is a real shame," says Ron, well aware that the landscape of athletics has changed dramatically since his heyday.
"When I ran, I ran for the glory. to run for your country was a fantastic feeling and if you got a medal, well that was a bonus. Now there is money to consider. that just wasn't the case in my day."
Indeed Ron, 71, continued with his day job as he soared into the record books using his PhD in textiles (he is known as the Flying Doctor) to create his Ron hill Sports running clothing line (anyone who has been running for a few years is sure to have had a pair of his trackster running trousers).
For someone whose hero is the hard comic character, runner Alf tupper, whose adventures were told in the tough of the track series, it is hardly surprising that Ron does not believe in the word "can't". "It's a clichâ but where there's a will there's a way," he says softly.
Ron hill is the best advert for this particular clichâ as he is also noted for not missing a day's running since December 20, 1964. the discipline is called a "streak" and his is arguably the longest in the world.
His dedication has seen him hobble on crutches after bunion surgery in 1993 and repeatedly loop an airport lounge before taking a flight for fear he would miss a day's running as he was about to cross time zones.
Ron has run more than 150,000 miles (the equivalent of six times around the world) and run on 16,650 consecutive days. he also achieved his goal of racing in 100 countries before his 70th birthday with events in Panama and the Faroe Islands.
"If you enjoy steak you don't stop eating it do you?" he says when asked if the streak is now more of a bind than a pleasure. "Why would I stop?" his wife May, who also runs and 11:10 Page 2 with whom he has three grown-up children, has had to turn a blind eye, particularly when he runs through illnesses.
Ron's attitude to his running is as it has always been: you get what you put in and he argues that the dearth of male British marathon runners has something to do with this.
It is indeed something to consider that the fastest British marathon time of 2hrs 7mins 13s was run by Steve Jones in 1985 in the Chicago Marathon.
"There are so many people taking part in marathons but where are the great times?" Ron asks. It is a fair point given that he was running under 2hrs 10mins in the Seventies. our big hope now is Dan Robinson whose best is 2hrs 12mins 24s.
"In terms of men's marathon we are close to where we were in 1964 and apart from a couple of guys nothing is happening," Ron says.
"Women are inspired by Paula Radcliffe but the men are not getting there. I think it is to do with people wanting instant gratification.
"I was running twice a day for five years before I ran my first marathon. You have to put the miles in.
"There is no way you will beat the Kenyans and the Ethiopians because their metabolism is so different and they have lived at altitude but what is wrong with being the best in Europe or the best in Britain? What's an Olympic best worth? Not a lot by the sounds of it."
Ron is not excited about the 2012 Olympics in London and he doesn't expect an invitation, despite running three marathons for his country in previous Games. "I didn't get invited to the Commonwealth Games when it was held down the road in Manchester and I don't expect to be invited to India," he says.
"That's just the way it is. Celebrities are seen as more important than runners who have competed for the country."
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