26 Facts About Ron Hill

Ronald Hill MBE was a British runner and clothing entrepreneur.

Ron Hill was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon; he set world records at four other distances, and laid claim to the marathon world record.

Ron Hill ran two Olympic Marathons, and achieved a personal marathon record of 2:09:28.

In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30.

Ron Hill won gold medals for the marathon at the European Championships in 1969 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970.

Ron Hill held world records for 10 miles ; 15 miles ; and 25 kilometers.

In 1963, Ron Hill won the 6-mile event at the British Amateur Athletic Association championships in a time of 27:49.8, equalling the UK record.

At the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ron 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, Ron Hill set his first world record, clocking 1:15:22.6 for 25 kilometres eclipsing Emil Zatopek's previous mark by more than 1 minute; he set another world record of 1:12:48.2 for 15 miles along the way.

Ron Hill was the first winner of the Freckleton Half Marathon in 1964 and still holds the course record of 1 hour 4 minutes 45 seconds.

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

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

In 1970, Ron 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.

Ron Hill was timed in 29:24 for the first 10 kilometres in Edinburgh, the equivalent of a 2:04 marathon pace, described as "suicidal".

Ron Hill arrived at the Fukuoka Marathon as a clear favourite, but placed only ninth in 2:15:27.

The next year, in the 1972 New Year Honours, Ron Hill was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to athletics.

Ron Hill was the winner of the first China Coast Marathon, held in Hong Kong in 1981, with the result of 2:34:35.

Ron Hill described it as "the toughest marathon he'd run".

Ron Hill defined a "run" as completing a distance of at least one mile at any pace.

Ron Hill's streak included workouts after a car crash in 1993 when Hill broke his sternum, and after bunion surgery, after which he used a crutch to cover one mile in 27 minutes the next day.

On 30 January 2017 his Facebook page announced that "Due to ill health Ron Hill has decided to take a day off", thus ending his streak.

Ron Hill later started Hilly Clothing specialising in technical socks and other apparel.

Ron Hill achieved his goal of racing in 100 countries before his 70th birthday with races in Panama and the Faroe Islands.

Ron Hill completed 115 marathons, 112 under 2:50,103 under 2:45, and 29 under 2:20.

Ron Hill recorded 21 marathon victories in his career, placing second 13 times, and third 8 times.

Ron Hill was president of the Road Runners Club from 1987 to 1988.