Still Running (weakly). Issue 153

PAST – inspiration – “At the time I started the run, Doctor Griffiths Pugh, our leading exercise physiologist, had cast doubts, in a letter to the Sunday Times, on my ability to take in enough calories to keep up with the expenditure; he had been flattering enough to say that if I succeeded it would be the physiological feat of the century.  I certainly didn’t agree with him about this, in the light of previous performances, but it made any excellent press story.”

So said Bruce Tulloh in the middle of his 1969 attempt to beat the record for running across America.

Tulloh had form!  He was European 5000 champion in 1962 and a sub-four-minute miler, having run 3:59.3 in chasing Peter Snell to a new world record of 3:54.4 on 353-metre grass track in Whanganui, New Zealand, also in 1962.

Tulloh did indeed break the record of 73 days, set by South African Don Shepherd in 1964, running the 2,876 miles from Los Angeles to New York City in 64 days.  He could average speedy 7-7:30 minute miles when healthy, though slowed to 4 mph when injuries set in and he had to wear boots to protect his Achilles tendons, etc..

It is interesting to note that this record was beaten in turn by international race walker John Lees of Hove, England, who completed the distance in 53 days 12 hours 15 minutes in 1972!  John didn’t seem to move any faster than Bruce, but the lesser impact of the race walking action allowed him to stay on the road for much longer each day, averaging 55 miles to the runner’s 44-45.

PRESENT – perspiration – The other Sunday, at the London Marathon, I watched another candidate for greatest physiological feat of the century.  No, not Sawe’s 1:59:30, obviously.  I am talking about the five men who have completed all 46 Londons, the fastest among them being Chris Finill, at whom I was able to shout at 17 miles and who himself ran across the States in 2011 – taking 79 days – slacker!

The only comparable longevity has been exhibited by Johnny Kelley, who started the Boston Marathon 61 times between 1931 and 1992, finishing 58 times, winning twice – in 1935 and 1945 – and the three men – Randy Bert, Henry Kozlowski and George Mueller – who have finished every one of the 48 Chicago Marathons.

Chris says of this year’s London: “I ran 3.15.16 which was 2 seconds slower than last year.  That’s a rate of ageing I can handle”!

Two things are remarkable about all of this.  Firstly, that five men have had the patience, persistence, fitness, health and luck (I guess) to finish the marathon every year from when they were in their 20s, 30s or 40s to now – 45 years later.

The second is of course Chris’s speed, which he has more or more maintained over the years – 33 successive sub-3s at London (1981-2013) – a Guinness World Record, a best of 2:28:27 in 1985, and still running 7:30s this year at 66 years of age.

The most serious threat to his streak came in 2018 when he fell at 3-4 miles, broke his arm in four places, was patched up by St. John Ambulance with a makeshift sling, but of course continued for the next 22 miles to keep his Ever Present status!  He ran 3:54:07 that year!     

FUTURE – suggestion – This section should by rights tell you how you too can run across America!  For a reality check on that I would suggest reading Chris Finill’s chapter in Across America on Foot and Bruce Tulloh’s Four Million Footsteps (50th anniversary edition out now.)

An example of Tulloh’s thoughts: “It was with the utmost reluctance that I got out again, with 38 miles behind me, to run the last ten or eleven miles into Casey.  I hated the road.  I hated the trucks and their drivers.  I hated the sun and the dust….. Sue and Mark would always leave me at this time to go and find a camp site, so that I never knew exactly when they would be coming back….. the mood of despair would always get me at this time….”

I would instead like to share some of Chris Finill’s advice for staying injury free as we age.  Most remarkable to me is the fact that he has never run more 40 miles in training in a week – doubly remarkable given that he has run 151 miles in 24 hours.  He obviously has great natural endurance.

He also advises running on trails as much as possible and seeing a physio regularly.

Ruminating on the inevitability of ageing and thus slowing, his approach is very balanced, urging that, on the one hand, we should not be disappointed if we can’t run the times in our 60s that we managed in our 20s, and, on the other, that we should not, “lower the bar on yourself and expect too little.”measure across 26.2 miles – or anything between 2 to 7 hours – is incredibly difficult.