The Patron Saint of Streaks is Also Obsessive-Compulsive

Ron Hill, 1970.

And one of my biggest heroes.

Ron Hill has a running streak unparallelled by anyone.  He invented the whole thing.  So it's no wonder he also has kept track of all of it, probably in more detail than this even.

Here's a list of all his marathons with statistics included!

Ron Hill’s Marathon Record

20  1st places

12  2nd places

8    3rd places

51   top 4 finishes in 115 marathons

112  finishes under 2.50

28   finishes under 2.20

8    times in London

4    times in NYC

4    times in Boston

24   years spanning his first win in Liverpool in1961 and his last win in

       Ipswich in 1985.

I got to talk to him a bit after one of the Maryland Marathons.  He just finished his 4th beer prior to my finish (2:42) which isn't bad as he was still upright.  He ran 2:22 and finished 2nd to Bill Rodgers. He said he liked the Baltimore race because it was a tough course with a big hill at the 20 mile mark.  A challenge for everyone.  I'll bet there aren't many top runners choosing their marathons this way today.  But it could be he kept coming back for the free beer, I suppose.