Ron Hill, runner whose pioneering scientific approach brought him medals and world records – obituary
The first athlete to use carbo-loading, he devised his own lightweight shoes, redesigned running gear, and ran every day for 52 years
Ron Hill in 1962
Credit: TALKING SPORT/Photoshot/Avalon
Ron Hill, who has died aged 82, was a record-breaking long-distance runner who competed at two Olympic Games and was the Commonwealth and European marathon champion; the basis of his success was probably the fact that between 1964 and 2017 – 52 years and 39 days – he ran every single day.
His victory at the European Championships in 1969, on a course run from Marathon to Athens, was a triumphant vindication of the scientific approach Hill took to his sport. As he crossed the finish line 35 seconds ahead of the Belgian Gaston Roelants, who had led most of the way, he executed an airborne scissor kick and punched the air, and not just because his wife, parents and two sons were there to w