GOOD runner, 140,000 miles on the clock, first registered 60 years ago but still sound bodywork.

No, that's not a small ad from the BEN's cars for sale column. It's the phenomenal Ron Hill, the living legend of running who is reckoned to have clocked up more miles than any other athlete on earth.

And the astonishing thing about the former Bolton United Harrier, who helped to put the town on the world map, is that at the age of 60 he is still entering races with the same relish as when he was one of the fastest marathon runners in the whole world.

Just how extraordinary the career of this genial, gentle man has been - and still is - has been put into sharp focus by fellow athlete and writer Neil Shuttleworth who used to train with him when the pair were at Manchester University together nearly 40 years ago.

Neil is pushing for the Leverhulme Park athletics centre - home of Bolton Harriers - to be named The Ron Hill Stadium. And the idea is being seriously considered by Bolton Council.

He has drawn up a definitive fact sheet about the life and achievements of Ron - and they show that he isn't over the Hill yet.

By the time he had reached 60 he had raced in 60 countries of the world - and he's still adding to that total.

Ron, who now lives in Cheshire but was a Bolton Harrier during the many years he was beating the world's best, has raced in more than 100 major marathons - but has amassed a total of more than 2,000 events ranging from marathons and cross country to fell races and fun runs.

Ron, who was born in Accrington on September 25, 1938, says his supreme moment was winning the 1969 European marathon on the original Marathon to Athens course.

He ran as a UK international athlete from 1962 to 1974, went to three Olympics, three Commonwealth and four European Games. He won the Commonwealth Games marathon in 1970 and was English cross country champion in 1966 and 1968.

All-rounder

In his heyday he was the supreme all-rounder - able to belt out a track mile in a shade over four minutes and glide round a 26.2 mile marathon course in 2hrs 9mins.

That time means he remains, after all those years, in the top 20 fastest marathon runners of all time.

He held world records at 15 miles and 10 miles and many older people can still vividly recall the thrill of seeing him take the 15 mile record in 1965 on the rough cinder track that preceded the all weather surface at Leverhulme Park.

It remains the greatest running feat on Bolton soil.

As a veteran of 40, he set a world best for the marathon in New Orleans in 1979 of 2hrs 15mins.

He was the man who "invented" the glyco-loading diet after years of experiments. Now, virtually all the top marathon runners use it to give extra stores of energy in the later stages of a race.

He developed the string vest and "freedom" shorts and for many years ran his own sports clothing company - using his years as a textiles chemist to bring innovation into athletics gear. As a result he was awarded an honorary fellowship by UMIST.

He also published a running magazine - edited for a time by Neil Shuttleworth.

With all those achievements notched up, and an MBE in 1971 as reward, most people would have been ready to put their feet up. But not Ron.

He continues to race regularly with Clayton-le-Moors Harriers and the Northern Veterans.

He still trains every day come hail or shine and his ambition, he says, is to race in every US state, compete in more than 100 countries and become the world's most travelled athlete.

Ron, who was self-coached, says he is amazed that some of the times he was achieving 30 years ago have still not been significantly improved - despite the rise of the all conquering Africans.

His world record 20-mile road time, for instance, which he achieved exactly 30 years ago in Liverpool (1-36-28) has STILL not been bettered.

Ron puts his success down to mental determination over matter when it comes to training.

"I had to train twice a day for five years just to get into the England team," he said. "And then it took me seven more hard years to win my first gold medal.

"But when you consider courses, pacing, equipment and the fact that most of the top athletes are full time nowadays, standards really haven't changed that much from my era in the 60s and 70s."

But what makes Ron such a super-hero among fellow runners is his inspirational approach to the sport.

Even at the height of his international success he was always the first to run back down the course at local races to cheer in the struggling "also-rans".

Even after winning the gruelling Rivington Pike fell race, he would run back up the hill to support the less fleet of foot.

As Neil Shuttleworth put it: "Everyone has heard of the Rover comic's superhero Alf Tupper - Tough of the of Track. He's not in the same league as Ron Hill."

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