Freedom of the Borough Celebration for Ron Hill MBE
UoM Cross Country captains, Hannah Stroud and Harry Parker, pictured with Dr Ron Hill MBE (centre left), the Civic Mayor of Tameside (centre) and John Whetton (right).
On 29th January 2020 a celebration event was held at Dukinfield Town Hall to allow friends and family to pay tributes to the running legend Ron Hill. Dr Ron Hill MBE was awarded the freedom of the borough by the Civic Mayor of Tameside. Current University of Manchester Athletics and Cross Country captains Hannah Stroud and Harry Parker presented Ron with the Tokyo Trophy.
Manchester graduates Ron Hill (81) and John Whetton (78) returned from the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 with the trophy which was introduced to the University of Manchester Cross Country Club to be competed for in their annual championships to commemorate the participation of Ron Hill and John Wetton in the Tokyo Olympics. Hill graduated with a PhD in 1964 in textile chemistry, Whetton graduated in 1963 with a degree in Zoology.
Credit: AU Chair Rosie Bancroft
More about Ron Hill
Ronald "Ron" Hill MBE (born 25 September 1938) is an English runner and clothing entrepreneur. He was the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon and he set world records at four other distances. He has run two Olympic Marathons (Tokyo 1964 and Munich 1972), and has a personal marathon record of 2:09:28. In 1970, Hill won the 74th Boston Marathon in a course record 2:10:30. He also won gold medals for the marathon at the European Championships in 1969 and the Commonwealth Games in 1970. Hill twice won the Enschende Marathon in the Netherlands, first in 1973 and again in 1975.
Hill lays claim to the longest streak of consecutive days running, running every day for 52 years and 39 days from 1964 to 2017. Hill defined a "run" as completing a distance of at least one mile at any pace. His 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 (1.6 km) in 27 minutes the next day. In December 2013, his streak entered its 50th year and by the end of April 2014 his total lifetime mileage stood at 159,106.5. On 20 December 2014, Hill completed Manchester's 5 km Heaton Park parkrun, achieving his goal of running at least a mile a day for 50 years.
Hill achieved his goal of racing in 100 countries before his 70th birthday with races in Panama and the Faroe Islands. His final marathon was the 100th Boston Marathon, in 1996. He completed 115 marathons, 112 under 2:50, 103 under 2:45 and 29 under 2:20. Hill recorded 21 marathon victories in his career, placing second 13 times, and third 8 times.
Ron Hill Sports
After graduating from Manchester University with a PhD in textile chemistry, Hill was convinced of the benefits of synthetic materials for runners. In 1970, he started a company named Ron Hill Sports, which pioneered various products including wrap-over shorts, mesh vests, waterproof running jackets and reflective strips. Hill says he founded the company “because I was running to and from work in the dark in winter and wodered what I needed to stay safe.” Hill sold his stake in the company in the early 1990s and has since started Hilly Cothing, specialising in technical socks and other apparel.
Credit: Ron Hill wikipedia