Ron Clarke The Unforgiving Minute


It was my 1986 London Marathon trip when I met Ron Clarke for the first time. Ron was heading up one of London's premier health clubs and he made me feel more than welcome. A true gentleman however a hard task master to say the least. Ron expected nothing less than everything because that is what he always gave.

During a 44-day European tour in 1965, Ron competed 18 times and broke 12 world records. He lowered his own 10,000 metre world record by 39 seconds to become the first man to break the 28 minute barrier, running 27:39.4.

Ron would have been more than competitive in todays elite races. Australia's premier Zatopek 10,000 metre race was held last December involving the best of the best. The race was won by a Kenyan in 27.39. The same time Ron ran 46 years ago on a cinders athletics track!

'Runner's Tribe have launched a biography written by Ron Clarke. It is a running classic, first published in 1966, it is known as one of the best running bio's of all time. The book details Clarke's career and training in detail and has been near impossible to get your hands on a copy in decades.

'Pat Carroll' (Australian running legend)
 

Australia's Ron Clarke was among the greatest middle-distance runners the world has seen. No record was safe from his determined and stylish assault, and at his peak he changed the whole concept of man's potential on the athletic track, breaking world records ranging from three to ten miles.

'We are witnessing a revolution,' said one startled athlete after Clarke had smashed a huge chunk from a record.

Not only did Clarke set new standards in athletic brilliance, but he and fellow Melburnian John Landy set the benchmark for sportsmanship in the sport that they graced with camaraderie and modesty. It was Landy who, in a race at Melbourne's Olympic Park shortly before the 1956 Olympic Games, helped Clarke to his feet after Landy had accidentally knocked him over yet had still managed to win the race.

In 1966, Clarke combined with author and journalist Alan Trengove in publishing 'The Unforgiving Minute', the story of Clarke's life. It is a gripping account of the runner's triumphs, and of his trials and tribulations. Many of the anecdotes that the book contains, such as the one above featuring Landy (a distinguished Governor of Victoria many years later) will be new to young readers, as will the precepts that Clarke adopted in his chase for records.

The book is reprinted in the hope that it will inform and inspire a new generation of young athletes.