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Ron Fletcher Biography: Clara's Letters to Ron fletcherpilates.com | Ron Fletcher Biography: Clara's Letters to Ron ronfletcherwork.com | Ron Fletcher Biography: Clara's Letters to Ron ronfletchercompany.com | Ron Fletcher Biography: Clara's Letters to Ron fletcherwork.com |
Ronald ("Ron") Hill, MBE, BSc, PhD (b. September 25, 1938 in Accrington, Lancashire, England), is a noted runner, the founder of Ronhill and Hilly Clothing Company, makers of performance apparel, and the second man ever to break 2:10 in the marathon (after Derek Clayton). Hill set world records at four other distances, but never laid claim to the marathon world record.[1] 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.
[edit] Running careerHill 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 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres events. In 1963, Hill won the six mile (10 km) event at the British Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) championships in a time of 27:49.8, equaling the UK record. In the following year's AAA six mile (10 km) 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 (24 km) along the way in that race. Ron was the first winner of the Freckleton Half Marathon (The UK's oldest) in 1964 and still holds the course record of 1 hour 04 minutes. In 1966, Hill competed in the European Championships Marathon, finishing twelfth. On 6 April 1968, in the British AAA ten mile (16 km) championship at Leicester, Hill set a new world record of 47:02.2; he won the AAA ten mile (16 km) every year between 1965 and 1969. Later in 1968, he again lowered the world ten mile (16 km) 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. [edit] 1970In 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 first 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 ten kilometers at Edinburgh, the equivalent of a 2:04 marathon pace, described as "suicidal".[1] He arrived at the Fukuoka International Marathon as a clear favourite, but placed only ninth.[2] 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 honoured with the Order of the British Empire for 'services to athletics'. [edit] StreakHill 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; 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 (1.6 km) in 27 minutes the next day. Hill achieved his goal of racing in 100 countries before his 70th birthday with races in Panama and the Faroe Islands. [edit] 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. [edit] References
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