“Running Throughout Time” tracks the evolution of what many would now regard as a hobby or sport. It begins with running’s origins as an everyday necessity, alongside its role as an essential communication tool for trade and war. It goes on to track the growth of running from its competitive origins (chiefly as a gambling enterprise) and through the start of the Olympic era, to the huge sport we now know, complete with household name competitors.
The slow development of the marathon is a thread woven throughout the book. Many readers will be unaware of the history of what is now a standard event in the running repertoire. At the inception of the modern marathon era at the Athens Olympics 0f 1896, experts deemed the distance an incredibly dangerous undertaking due to it’s extreme (at that time) nature. Indeed, many of the participants in Athens were unable to finish the race due to exhaustion. In that first Olympic marathon, Spyridon Louis won in a time of 2 hours 58 minutes and 50 seconds and that time was over 25 miles rather than the 26.2 we are now familiar with. From there we have advanced to the level of competitive running we see today, where runners are frequently challenging to go under the 2-hour barrier.
The incredible disparity between men’s and women’s distance running, highlighted by the discussion in one chapter, is particularly stark. Although the first men’s Olympic marathon took place in 1896, you must fast forward 88 years before woman were allowed to compete at the distance in 1984.
Indeed, there was originally such opposition to women’s participation at the marathon distance that despite having registered and obtained the required medical certificate, female athlete Kathrine Switzer was attacked during the Boston marathon by one of the race co-directors who tried to rip off her bib number! Thankfully times have changed and gender is no longer a barrier of entry to running events.
The build up to the first sub 4-minute mile was another interesting chapter, providing a gloss on a story that many keen runners will know something (but not everything) about. The chapter focuses on the efforts of 3 different runners, from 3 different continents who pushed one another to ever greater heights. Of course, there could only ever be one person who could achieve that first sub 4-minute mile, European, Roger Bannister. As we now know, the reward for this epic feat was not only the record of the time itself, but the legacy that was created by Sir Roger Bannister, who is now an instantly recognised name that truly transcends sport.
Perhaps one of the few other names in the book to transcend the sport of running belongs to Jesse Owens. Like Bannister, Owens is a truly iconic figure and the chapter about the infamous 1936 Berlin Olympics is probably the most interesting in the book due to one of it’s onlookers in Adolf Hitler and his nazi regime.
Whilst Owens story is well known, this chapter also features two other athletes, Sohn Lee Chung and Jack Lovelock. Chung was a Korean running under the flag of his countries rulers at the time, Japan.
Chung was so ashamed of representing his countries oppressors that he covered the Japanese emblem on his clothing during the medal presentation for his victory in the marathon with a plant that was presented to him during the ceremony. But after initial hostility in his homeland over his representing Japan faded through time, Chung would eventually go on to be remembered as a national hero by his country of birth for his success.
Jack Lovelock was a native of New Zealand and despite humble origins, raced during his formative years at Oxford University where he was a Rhodes scholar. Lovelock was an outspoken critic of dictatorships and during the opening ceremony performed a protest to such by dipping the New Zealand flag he was carrying when passing Hitler, unfortunately it was a case of mistaken identity and the flag was again aloft by the time he had actually passed the man himself. Lovelock would though go on to win the 1500 metres in a world record time in what would be a seminal moment for 1936 games. All three come across as different characters but are equally interesting for their brave political stances and not least their athletic ability.
One story I found particularly fascinating was that of the Japanese runner Shizo Kanakuri. After pulling out of the Stockholm Olympic marathon in 1912 after being unable to continue due to dehydration, Kanakuri was too ashamed of his efforts to report back to the host stadium. He simply left the country and travelled straight back to Japan. He was classed as a missing person by the Swedish authorities for over 40 years until a Swedish television crew managed to track him down and invited him back to the country to complete the course. In 1967, aged 75, Kanakuri did just that. In doing so he set a new world record for the slowest ever marathon with a time of 54 years, 246 days, 5 hours, 32 minutes and 20 seconds!
Although I thought the book was a little slow to get going, by the end it had got into its stride! I think runners of any level will enjoy the historical context of the book and how the sport has moved through the ages, from Atalanta and Pheidippides in ancient Greece to more contemporary names like the winner of the first women’s Olympic marathon in Joan Benoit and star of her time Allison Roe.
Running is now a sport more accessible to the masses than ever. With participation rates at an all-time high, we can thank many of the people in the book for their contribution to the sport as we know it in the present day. I can’t help wondering though, would Pheidippides have been as exhausted after his epic journey to Athens if his shoes had carbon plates in? I guess we will never know!
Review by Greg Moore
Running Throughout Time: The Greatest Running Stories Ever Told
By Roger Robinson