by Larry Eder
Ron Clarke is one of the greatest distance runners of all times. He is also one of the few athletes who had successful junior careers, left the sport and returned even better, setting a series of nineteen world records in his career. But what Clarke is respected for, among distance running fans, is his absolutely fearless distance running. Using a huge mid race surges, in his best races, Ron Clarke would have destroyed the field and in the those final three laps, be on his own.
Clarke took the World Record for the 10,000 meters under 28 minutes for the first time, and took his first Olympic medal in 1964, a bronze in the 10,000 meters.
Clarke was a distance runners’ distance runner. I finally met him with Derek Clayton, my former boss at Runner’s World. Both were iconic runners and deserve our respect and acknowledgement.
The following interview of Mr. Clarke, was done by Athletics Illustrated, and a very nice job!
To see interview: http://athleticsillustrated.com/interviews/ron-clarke-interview/
