BEST OF THE BEST

Congratulations to M&B for having the courage to rank the best of the best in marathoners (March/April 1998). While I have no argument with the majority of your top 10 males, I would like to make the case for the inclusion of the UK’s Ron Hill. Ron was an inspiration to many of us who took up running during the first boom. While he has run (and been victorious) in many marathons, his “purple patch” was the 12 months between July 1969 and July 1970. He began this period on July 20, 1969, by winning the trial race for European Championship selection incorporated into the Maxol Marathon in Manchester. His time was 2:13:40, a PB at the time, and he defeated Derek Clayton, who recorded 2:15:40. This earned Ron the right to represent the UK in the European Championship, which took place on September 21 of that year. Ron won in a time of 2:16:48.

On December 7, 1969, he participated in the famous Fukuoka Marathon, recording a new PB of 2:11:54 but being pipped for first place by Canadian Jerome Drayton, who recorded 2:11:13. Ron then began training hard, as he had received an invitation to compete at Boston on April 20, 1970, where he became the first UK winner of this event in a record time of 2:10:30. For once, the English selectors took notice of Ron’s form and preselected him for the Commonwealth Marathon, which took place in Edinburgh in July of that year. Ron was once again victorious (again beating Derek Clayton) in a time of 2:09:28. I believe that over this 12-month period Ron was the world’s top marathon runner.

His lack of success at the Olympics was often due to British selectors forcing him to take part in trial marathons, which frequently took place only 6 to 8 weeks before the Olympic marathon.

In 1980, Ron set the still-standing UK veteran over-40 marathon best of 2:15:16. He has continued to be an inspiration to many, having completed 2,000 races and appeared in 60 countries before his sixtieth birthday. A worthy contender for a place in the 10 best of the best, I feel.

Dr. Phil Turner
Cheshire, England

I thoroughly enjoyed your “Best of the Best” article rating the 10 best male and female marathoners of all time. I’m sure it will generate a lot of response and controversy. With that said, let me add my two cents:

That one of your panelists would actually rate Clarence DeMar number three is ludicrous. And, haven’t any of your experts ever heard of Toshihiko Seko? How he could be left out is beyond me.

Dave Cavall
South Wales, NY

On your “Best of the Best” lists, I agree with the choice of the top three in both the men’s and the women’s lists. However, Fatuma Roba has just won her third straight Boston Marathon this week, and if she continues to win a major marathon every year (as she has done since 1996), I can’t see her being left out of the top three in an update of the women’s list. If she should do well in Sydney, she must surely be number one.

Harold Or
Singapore

FAIR COMPETITION?

The controversial nature of the 2:20 marathon run by Tegla Loroupe aided by male pacers last year was brought into sharper focus by the win of Philip Tanui in the Rome Marathon on March 21. Tanui was in the race to pace his fellow Kenyan Philip Chirchir to win the race. Instead, with five miles to go, Tanui broke away and won the race himself in 2:09:56.

Thus, having a same-sex pacemaker in a race is a double-edged sword. Yes, they do help the leading group of runners, or even an individual, but they can also win the race. In other words, such a pacer is an integral part of the race and cannot be ignored as a competitive element within that race.

However, female runners being paced by male runners do not have to face such a double-edge sword. They get all the benefits, with no fear of losing out to their pacers. Such male pacers can shelter their female charges from headwinds and so on, all the way to the finish line, providing them with a massive advantage over the other runners in the race, male and female. Such a practice makes a mockery of the idea of a level playing field for all. If competitive running is not about that, then what is the point?

Andy Milroy
Wiltshire, England

NEW SOLUTION FOR ACHILLES TROUBLE?

I avidly read Dr. Perry Julien’s excellent article on the Achilles tendon in the May/June issue. I progressed from acute to chronic tendinitis in my left leg about three years ago, which made the NYC marathon a painful experience. I exhausted research on the subject (including magnets, crystals, acupuncture, and witch doctors) and had pretty much consigned myself to a life of intermittent running. Then I discovered a book on running and injuries by a British physician, Dr. Vivian Grisogono. A significant portion of her chapter on the Achilles tendon discussed something she terms “Achilles tendon friction syndrome.” The problem is directly related to the height of the backs of modern running shoes. I followed her instruction on reducing the height on the back on my shoes and, voilà!, the tendinitis has virtually disappeared. I believe you would do your readers a great service by noting this problem and how to resolve it. Down with the backs of running shoes!

Don Brophy
Waltham, Mass.

Dr. Perry Julien responds:

I estimate that in our office, approximately 15 percent of the overuse injuries I see are directly or indirectly related to footwear. I have not read Dr. Grisogono’s book, but “Achille’s Tendon Friction Syndrome” likely represents an irritation to the tendon sheath surrounding the Achille’s tendon or to the retrocalcaneal bursa that lies between the heel bone (calcaneus) and tendon. Depending on your foot structure and biomechanics, the height of the back of your running shoe can certainly cause this.

In treating both acute and chronic running injuries, one must always assess current and past footwear (both athletic and everyday shoes) and their possible contribution to your pain. This includes worn-out shoes and footwear that is not compatible with your running biomechanics or foot type.

Great job in helping yourself over this injury.

hill runs a week with a combination of lactate threshold training and moderately hilly to flat runs at about 55% of maximum heart rate. The severe pounding caused by repeated downhill running not only deadens the legs but also leads to injury. Be careful with your hilly runs!

Mark Conover
was an Olympic marathoner and is currently a coach at CalPoly in San Luis Obispo; he coaches via the Internet.

THE BENEFITS of training are specific—training on mountainous terrain prepares you well for racing on mountainous terrain, doing quarters on the track will help your mile times, and so on. Although I know of no evidence that your friend is right, I suspect he is, because getting on more moderate inclines is likely to better simulate what you will face in your marathons—conquerable terrain where pace matters and where your form isn’t significantly compromised. I lived for a year in a section of Connecticut where massive hills on a daily basis were unavoidable. Friends who would visit would voice envy during our runs about how “strong” the topography must be making me. Perhaps, but it also made me slow. That is, I became pretty good at running up and down severe hills, but I became worse at running quickly over the flatter terrain that most races feature.

Scott Douglas
is M&B’s “On The Road” columnist and former editor of Running Times.

MY SUGGESTION would be to incorporate some flat speed work into your program. Repetition miles, halves, even quarters would help you develop the quick leg turnover that running up the sides of mountains takes away. Seeing how easily you can run sub-8:00 miles with the strength that running up mountains has already provided would give you the confidence that you can string 26 of them together in upcoming marathons.

Jim Whiting,
former editor of Northwest Running, has been an active runner most of his life and in 1998 ran his first marathon—in Greece.