Runnerslife
Meet The Guest
Jim Alder MBE
International Honours:
1966 Commonwealth Games Jamaica Marathon Gold
1966 Commonwealth Games Jamaica 6 Miles Bronze
1970 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh Marathon Silver
1969 European Championships Athens Marathon Bronze
1964 World Record Holder 30,000 metres
1970 World Record Holder 30,000 metres
1964 World Best Performance for 2 Hours
1970 British Record Holder 20,000metres
Note: Not all distances are recognised as World Records.
Jim also narrowly missed World Best for 25,000 metres by 2secs, narrowly missed World Best for 20,000 metres by 12secs, broke the World Best for 20,000 metres en-route to 30,000 metres World Best and narrowly missed British Record for 10,000 metres by 6/10 sec in a race won by over half a lap.
In summary Jim has held every distance record from 10,000 metres to Marathon.
UK Honours:
1965 AAA`s 10miles Champion
1967 AAA`s Marathon Champion
1968 AAA`s 10,000 metres Bronze
1961, 1969, 1970, 1971 Scottish XC Champion
1969 Senior Inter Counties XC Runner-Up
1969 North Eastern XC Champion
1959 to 1980 3000 metres steeplechase, 5000 metres, 10,000 metres, 20 miles and Marathon
Jim's "RunnersLife" Story
I ran plenty of easy runs particularly the long Sunday morning run which consisted of 20 to 30 miles where I considered time out on your legs more important than how far you have run. There were no heart rate monitors in the "60's" and even if there had been I would not have had one as I believe listening to your body will tell you when you are tired. I once took my pulse after just finishing a Sunday run and it was approximately 110bpm. Easy runs to my mind are very important and I know that National Coaches in my day and even today refer to easy runs as "junk mileage" but none of them have trained champion marathon runners!! ...Have they?
I did 2 to 3 steady runs a week between March and September when in the morning I would run 10 miles between 51 and 54 minutes on an undulating course. In comparison my best race time for 10 miles was 47mins 06secs. As for heart rate all I can do is guess that it would have been around 150 to 160bpm. Who cares, I was not flat out, it was simply a "burn up" and you have to be fit to do them without killing yourself. Yes I sometimes did them in company and it was good for my confidence when everyone was clapped out or dropped!!
Because I worked as a Bricklayer at a mental hospital, 5 miles outside Morpeth, my speed training was done on the road and woodland fields from April through to October (light nights). The only time I was on the track between 1964 and 1970 was for a race where I competed at least once a week including 1 x 400 metre race, 3 x 800 metre races, 3 to 4 x 1500m races and 2 to 3 x 2 mile or 500metre races. I never eased up for these shorter races as I counted them as a , just a little breathless, no lasting pain or tiredness and carried on with the hard training the next day.
I only ever eased up a couple of days before a Major Championship race. An example of this was the 2 miles invitation race at the 1965 Gateshead Games, on ash not tartan, which I won in 8mins 45secs from Derek Ibbotson (World Record for 2 miles at that time was 8mins 32secs). I had run 8 miles in the morning and then worked as a bricklayer all day.
My training changed and increased intensity from 1963 up to 1969 from 100 miles a week up to 140 miles a week in winter (October through to March), then dropped to 100 to 110 miles a week which seemed relatively "like a piece of cake" The week included fartlek sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings run over 10 to 12 miles (undulating) and 2 No long runs consisting of 15 to 17 miles each. The nearest track at that time was at Gateshead 18 miles away. I could not drive and did not have a car until 1969.
The only occasional track session came near the end of my career where I did a session to help Brendan Foster in his preparation for the 1972 Olympics, where we did a session of 8 x 400metres / 25secs recovery where he averaged 58secs and I averaged 61secs which was only 4secs slower than my best 400metre time of 57.1secs. For a 6 week spell from June to mid July I would cut short my long run from work to 5 miles and did a session on a school grass track at Morpeth where I ran (in spikes) 1 x 400metres in 61/62secs jogged for 5mins and then did 10 x 100metres/15secs averaging 13.8 to 14.2secs, jogged another 5mins and then knocked out another 400 in 61/62secs.
I did this session once per week, again you have to be fit to do it and "boy" does it sharpen you up! Another speed work session I did in the summer months, as opposed to fartlek, was a 10 minute burn up, mid session, flat out. This session occasionally found me having a "bad day at the office" and my Morpeth club mates were not too far behind. Conversely, on a good night I was out of sight at the end of the 10minutes burn up. These sessions told me whether I was ready for Championships and Major races.
Because I worked a 40 hour week as a bricklayer also having a family, 2 young children, running to work in the morning and home again in the evening meant I was in the house at 6.30pm in the night, all training completed and living a normal family life. Sunday morning I was up early and running from home, 9am until 11am (until 12.30pm for 30 milers).
Christmas Day was 10miles in the morning after the kids had opened all their presents and then the rest of the day excess food and drink, marvellous. Boxing Day consisted of just one run, 10miles fartlek, which was a to rid the excess of the previous day.
The session I most disliked was the summertime 10 minute burn up, it was hard to motivate yourself to embrace it!!
Before a Major Championship I liked to do a short track race,800/1500metres. In 1966 I finished 5th in Northumberland/Durham Mile final at Gateshead (ash track) in 4mins 13.7secs having led from gun to the final 60yards, where I was out kicked by four speed merchants, before flying out to Jamaica to win the 6 Miles Bronze and 6 Marathon Gold. I also won a 2mile pre-Games race out there running barefoot on ash! My reason for doing short races was that I knew I had averaged 140miles in winter and 100/110 in summer so I was strong enough and the short races indicated as to whether I was sharp enough, pace wise. My best time for 400metres was 57.1secs but I could do 61secs at the end of 10,000metres...pace not speed. Sprinting ability you are born with so if like me you can't sprint, then you must develop pace.
The only race where my mileage dropped considerably was before a marathon where 3 weeks before the race, 110miles became 80, then 60 and the last week 40miles. I usually gained 1/2 stone which I lost and a bit more depending on heat (Jamaica I lost nearly 1 stone), this is mainly liquid retention.
The area surrounding Morpeth is hilly with lots of woods and fields and I could do a 20miler on Sunday morning with 17miles of it woods and fields and only 3miles road linkage. I passed three castles and was never more than 5 miles from Morpeth at any one point. The other beauty of these runs was that if it was windy you got a lot of shelter from it and also with over 150,000 miles an awful lot of it was done on softer surfaces. Starting 100 plus miles per week in 1963 right through until veteran age 40 I only lost 3 months training through injury.
My training shoes originally White Flash sand shoes 1963/1964 before breaking the World Record 30,000metres during the Tokyo Olympics gained me free Adidas equipment right up until veteran age, the only perks that our "era" got. Those shoes incidentally.. I had the cobbler at the hospital where I worked put on another rubber sole, so each shoe was almost 1 lb in weight.
During the 60's I trained in full track suit Winter and Summer. If you do a 20/30 miler in full track suit on hot day and you eventually stop sweating and you can taste the salt on your lips. Because of these situations that I put myself through I could perform in heat and humidity most of the time.
As I mentioned earlier Morpeth is fairly hilly so I was doing at least 3 to 4 hills morning and evening. However, in October prior to the onset of the big winter mileage I did one hill session per week for a month, normally a hill on a quiet country road 2 miles from Milford where I did 10 hills approximately 140 yards up and slowly back down. The first week the last three were flat out, second week last five were flat out, then third week seven flat out and the final week all of them flat out.
Apart from the occasional track session and obviously track races stop watches / interval times were not recorded. An awful lot of the evening sessions were 10mins fartlek. Occasional track sessions were done with some of the lads I trained with, joining in at interludes and after I had finished.
Basically, apart from 2 weeks a year (end of track season, post Games) where I did 50 to 60miles per week (my rest period) the other 50 weeks of the year were split 120 to 140miles a week October to March and 100 to 110miles a week April to September. Not every distance runner need do over 100 miles a week and some of the Morpeth Harriers could not get past 70 miles a week without breaking down - fair enough. The Hudspith brothers could handle 100 to 120 miles a week without breaking down. Steve Cram with his immense talent did not need to do huge mileage but still worked very, very hard almost every day.
I could not make the East Northumberland school team at school but improved considerably as a late teenager to Senior County Level. It took 100 miles plus to catapult me to International level at 22 years of age and 140miles plus a week shoved me up to World level ...and alone. If I had done 60 to 70 miles a week like most good level Seniors I too would have stayed at County Standard.
Big mileage, 3 hard interval/fartlek sessions Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday evenings consecutively allowed me to ease up Thursday and Friday for a big race on Saturdays. Today runners who train hard Tuesday and Thursdays tend not train hard on Thursday if there is a big race at the weekend so they only have one hard session that week - I got three in!
Cross Country runners who won Games Marathon Medals namely Hill/Hogan/Kilby/Heatley/Adcocks/Thompson/Wilkinson/Peters etc, all ran Cross Country for England/Scotland/Eire as well as other top British runners who ran 10,000metres Foster/Ian Stewart/Lachie Stewart/Tagg/Black all raced each other over Cross Country/Road and Track. However, to a man success came first on Cross Country then eventually the other surfaces. Yes I do think that Cross Country is important for distance runners. How many of today's top distance men runners do Cross Country? ..the British Women do - Radcliffe immediately springs to mind.
With regards to Strength Work I remember National Coach John Le-Mesurier in 1969 chastising me for not doing weight - I exploded and told him candidly that as a bricklayer I was as strong as a horse! Personally I do not rate weight training for distance runners - sprinters/field events perhaps? - middle distance runners might benefit? None of the marathon runners I have mentioned did weights.
On another and separate note none of us had a coach. - Interesting! I think there are too many coaches today in distance running who have never run a marathon, so how can they advise how to deal with the body change - going through the wall. Most of us exchanged ideas, training schedules during the long journeys to races and at Games Villages where all you had to do was train, sit around bored out of your mind.
With regard to diet, Ron Hill who was a Research Scientist in his day job probably did more than anyone as far as diets went - he pushed the "Carbo-loading" diet in the late 60's and it certainly worked for him and a few others but it seems to have died the death as one never hears about it now. What I found with that diet is if it went wrong as it did for me in 1974 (European Games trials) your body system was okay but your legs felt like lead - one of my club mates remarked to me that I should have stuck to my usual formula and not embraced something new - clutching at straws!
Group Training - I reckon that if you can get a good squad together then group training is ideal but if not then the individual has to be mentally tough enough to go it alone - I did it often enough. Although I new in my day some runners who could not push themselves hard enough on their own - sad. During my good years 1964 to 1971, one of the best training partners I had was a lad called Laurie Fogerty who was the only one who could go with me in training - but in races he froze - shame.
Other training partners I had were Tom Horne our club Treasurer who also was my solicitor, Alec Matheson ex SAS man and fireman and Dave Gray a forestry worker. The Hudspith brothers, Platts, Terry Wall, Alan Shepherd, Craig McBurney, Neil Black, Jake Harper came when I was a veteran runner and I missed out on the countless Northern National XC / Road Relay and Track team wins. During my leisure time I for my sins follow Newcastle United and for a good few years was in the Directors Box at St James Park whenever I could go. The last time I was there, mid 70's, Brendan Foster was there - I thought Hello Brendan - Goodbye Jim. I also play a very bad game of Badminton, a game that I like but I am useless at it.
For the 1966 Commonwealth Games Jamaica I was selected to do 6 miles on the opening night and a marathon 5 days later - the morning of the 6miles I was told by John Anderson, National Coach and the leader of the Scottish team that I was not to run that night. I was broken hearted and in tears - they reckoned it would be too much to do both. Later that morning I had a meeting with the team captain Crawford Fairbrother (high jumper) and Scottish Athletics boss Rob Foreman and persuaded them to let me run.
The deal was that a taxi would pick me up when the team left and I would warm up outside the stadium and come in just before the race. Naftali Tenu of Kenya, (Olympic winner in 1968) won from Ron Clarke Australia (19 World Records) and I came through the field for third place - Scotland's first medal of the Games.
Congratulations were muted from the Scottish Authorities including John Anderson and I was forcibly told that I had gone against instruction and had in no way to fail in the marathon...No pressure there then!!!! The marathon started at 5.30am in the morning. The previous night the Scottish officials had been celebrating after being awarded the next Games 1970. The noise went well into the night - involving the same official who had warned me not to fail.
As usual in the race Bill Adcocks and I were running together behind Brian Kilby, previous Commonwealth and European Champion and Ron Clarke, who after 10 miles pushed ahead opening up a good 200 yard lead. Approaching a feeding station at 15 miles Ron suddenly stopped and walked - we both knew that it was all over for the marvelous Aussie runner. I remarked to Bill as we were coming back towards Kingston, past the cement factory featured in the James Bond film "Goldfinger" that Gold and Silver was between us - Bill agreed.
Imagine our shock at about 17miles when we heard a pitter patter of feet behind us. Thinking we were being caught from behind we turned and saw Bruce Tulloh out training!! - A very good and intelligent runner who really should have known better. However, I pushed on ahead at 22 miles and opened up a couple of hundred yards on Bill. As I entered the car park at the Stadium imagine my surprise to see - No Marshals!
The Royal Family, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles and Princess Anne had arrived unannounced (just turned 7.30am in the morning) and all the officials had followed them into the Stadium. I stopped and responded to Dunky Wright, an old Scottish official and former winner, who moved me across to an opening where I ran onto the track. Again imagine my horror when I got onto the track and saw Bill Adcocks 50 yards ahead with only 450yards to go to the finish! I reacted in the right way (for a change) and went after him, only passing him with about 30 to 40 yards to go - Victory! - Fantastic!
I initially thought that Bill had gifted me the race - but the straight talking Midlander assured me no way did he gift anyone - he said he was shattered. I have always liked Bill - he does not stand fools gladly and is as straight as a dye.
I had to compete in the European 10,000metres in a couple of week's time in Budapest. I did a short 2 mile run later in the day to get the stiffness out of my legs if I could.
Leading up to the 1964 Olympics I had won the Inter Counties 20 mile Championships the previous year and was working at St Mary's Hospital Stannington and was doing 100 miles a week with training twice a day. In the June I finished 5th in the Polytechnic marathon in a time of 2hours 17mins 45secs, won by Basil Heatley in a World Best time of 2hours 23mins 45secs. My time ranked me 7th in the World and I was now aiming for the Olympic trial in August. However, doing a steeplechase for Morpeth Harriers I hit my knee at the water jump, got injured and missed three weeks training, which left me with one week left to the trial. I was not right physically or mentally and dropped out halfway...No Olympics for me! I was nominated one of the two man traveling reserves.
Back to full training I entered the Road-Runner attempt on the 2 hour record which ironically was actually to be run halfway through the Olympics in Tokyo. I broke the 2 hour record and covered 23.75miles. The marathon record at that time was held by Basil Heatley in a time of 2hours 13mins 45secs. If you work it out I would only have had to run 2.25miles plus 385yards in 13mins 45secs. I am not saying I would have won the 1964 Olympic marathon but the run showed that I was in the right shape at the right time. Unfortunately, I was in great shape but not at the right venue!
I knew then that I was now capable of World Class performances.
Leading up to the 1968 Olympics and just typical of my life, I do nothing by halves, again fate struck at the vital moment. Superbly fit I had qualified for Mexico in both the 10,000metres, 1st and 3rd in the trial races and 3rd in the marathon against the usual rivals plus Tim Johnson who had lived at altitude in Mexico for a year and then run the trials winning and making his first ever Games. Hill and Hogan were drafted in because Johnson and I would not be allowed to race both events...we both chose the marathon. The departure from London to Mexico City was to be on both the Saturday and Sunday and I was to travel down by train on Friday 13th September.
Arising early that morning and going downstairs to go for a run I was met by floodwater 3 feet deep in our living room and kitchen A small stream that went into a culvert further up the street had been hit by lightening and torrential rain (summer thunderstorm) had flooded the high end of Morpeth. TV Times reporter and photographer landed at my house to take a picture and write an article...there was I flooded on Friday 13th September 1968.........9 o'clock news, there was I again, only for the wrong reason. The house was up for sale and I had bought another Town House where the flood water was lapping outside the back wall, but did not get into the house.
I traveled out on the second flight to Mexico. Training and climate adaptation came quickly as it had also on the two previous altitude camps at Font Romeu in the French Pyrenees. We actually at one point trained at 11,000feet..Mexico City was 7,300 feet and things seemed to be going okay.
I ran a pre-Games 5000 metres race in 14mins 19secs; Ron Hill ran 14mins 17secs and the two times were faster than the team members who were actually doing the 5000 metres! Come race day I did not feel too good in the opening few miles and settled for a gradual come through. Tim Johnson and Bill Adcocks who was ranked No1 in the World at the time were well up and actually finished Adcocks 5th and Johnson 8th. I was feeling groggy despite passing runners all the time...I stopped feeling groggy at 14 miles whilst in 16th place, but collapsed and the next thing I knew was I was in a hospital bed with a saline drip in my arm.
The first person to visit me in hospital was Chris Brasher who found me in tears at letting myself and my country down. Morpeth had given me a public reception 2 years earlier for the Commonwealth Games run...now horror of horrors, complete despair...my one and only big Games failure. Several days later a few of us including Mike Ryan a Scottish runner who had emigrated to New Zealand 3 years earlier had won the Olympic marathon Bronze to add to the Commonwealth Bronze he had won in Kingston, went for a training run...he could not finish, he collapsed.
At altitude if you have a "bad day" it is a stinker...I had a "bad day"..what else can one say? I was determined to make amends for the previous year and the training yet again was going well, so the marathon trial was at Manchester which had replaced the "Poly" as the main domestic marathon. Ron Hill who had promised so much over the years but had never won a medal came good in this race. He took on Derek Clayton who had twice reduced the Worlds Best marathon time to just over 2hours 8mins. Ron left him for dead and won..I was again well up and could have caught Clayton who had been "mouthing off" that British runners couldn't handle a record pace...but I decided that 2nd Briton would do me and I kept my powder dry for the European Championships.
Flying out to Athens...yes ...Other things were centre stage..my wife was taken to hospital 2 weeks earlier than planned to have our second child. Susan was born the next day Saturday 13th September one year exactly to the day of the house flood. The race saw Gaston Roelants of Belgium take off and build up a decent lead. Ron Hill was up there challenging 2nd and 3rd with Jurgen Busch of East Germany. Hot and very hilly and thinking of my daughter I came right through the field from 9th to 2nd at 19miles.
I harbored thoughts of winning as I could see Roelants who was coming back gradually. However, at 23miles Ron came shooting past again and was after Roelants. I on the other hand started to tire and in fact in the closing stages I became more concerned about Busch, who was closing in on me. Ron won, Roelants finished 2nd and yours truly was 3rd. As the two Union Jacks went up at the medal ceremony I said to Ron they are up there for us, as the National Anthem played for Ron.
Defending my Commonwealth title in Edinburgh 1970 I was selected to be the mystery runner who ran with the Silver baton to hand to the Royalty to open another Games. Another honour which when I ran up to the roar of the huge crowd brought a lump in my throat.
The year leading up to the Games yet again went well until late May when I became anemic so much so that it required iron injections and a protein diet for two weeks.....What is it about major Games and me?
Anyway before defending my title in Edinburgh I ran a very fast 14.09 5000 metres on a hot dusty day on an ash track during the first week of July...my form was returning. Prior to the race Aussie Derek Clayton who really was a brit who had emigrated to Australia as a teenager was spouting off that the British runners especially me could not handle a true run race unless it was in bad conditions.
Marathon race day early morning raining and windy..by lunchtime the sun got out and dried everything up...humid conditions. Hill, Clayton and Jerome Drayton, the three leading time contenders were away along with an Indian. The pace out there that day has never been bettered even today...through 5miles in 23mins 45secs. The second group Jeff Julian (New Zealand), Adcocks, McGregor, Faircloth and me went through in 24mins 05secs. The leader went through 10miles in 47mins odd minus Clayton who had dropped off the pace at 7miles. Adcocks and I passed Clayton at 8.5miles, one each side of him..very satisfying! Ron Hill and Drayton were in line for 2hours 05mins / 2hours 06mins and I dropped Bill who had been suffering recurring back trouble for a couple of years and was not his real self.
Singh the Indian had gone and I was lying 3rd. Approaching 20 miles I passed Drayton and was up to 2nd and heading slightly uphill back towards Meadowbank. Ron went through 20miles in 1hour 37mins, myself 1hour 39mins, but I was tiring and could see as the road turned that young Don Faircloth (England) was 200yards behind me. Ron won in 2hours 9mins, I was 2nd in 2hours 12mins 04secs, Faircloth 3rd.
Derek Clayton publicly apologised in front of David Coleman of the BBC and the National press and offered me his hand. It takes a man to apologise and I accepted.
A 30K World Best was then set up for Ron Hill with Gaston Roelants, the young Belgian, McGregor, Tim Johnson and myself as supporting cast. Fortunately for me Ron had a bad day and I had a wonderful day and won, Roelants dropped out. The World marathon rankings for 1970 was 1st Hill, 2nd Jerome Drayton and 3rd me..very satisfying. I started a sports shop business 2 months later and chasing business and money had its effect on me.
I have subsequently coached runners mainly from my own club, but also Dick Wedlock a Scot whom I got to the Edinburgh Games 10,000m, he finished 10th. Mark Hudspith remains the most successful of my lads, winning Bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games Victoria 1994 and 5th London Marathon in 2hours 11mins 54secs. Ian Hudspith won AAA's 10,000m and second in AAA's marathon ran I the Manchester Commonwealth Games 2002. All told I have trained 30 internationals mainly from Morpeth Harriers. The most talented runner for me was Neil Black, 2nd Junior Inter Counties XC near 4min miler..but he was injury prone. Ironically he is now one of the top physiotherapists in Britain and is attached to the British team.
I had some interesting meetings abroad. When traveling to Japan 1967 for a marathon the plane stopped off at Anchorage Alaska for refueling etc. I got talking to a young man from America... asking him where he was heading...Vietnam. I told him my battle would be on the road. I shook his hand and wished him well...is he still alive?......dead?....I don't know, but I still now and then think of that meeting. There are many many stories, too many to tell.
My view is that runners today do not race enough and they listen too much to their coaches. They do not do XC or short track and only race to pay their bills. Remember as I said earlier none of us in the 60's had a coach and none of them, Radcliffe apart, do the mileage and hard work we did.
I wish them luck in their efforts.
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