Ron Hill: Running great honoured with Accrington 10k race

Ron Hill famously ran a mile a day for 52 years, including after he snapped his sternum

Olympic distance runner Ron Hill is to be posthumously honoured with a new race in the town where he was born.

Hill, who died in 2021, ran for Great Britain at the games in Tokyo in 1964, Mexico in 1968 and Munich in 1972.

He was the first Briton to win the Boston marathon in 1970 and ran a mile a day for 52 years, ending his streak at the age of 78.

The Dr Ron Hill Accrington 10k organisers said he had been "a running legend".

Hill, who was born in the Lancashire town in 1938, held world records for distance running and took the gold in the marathon at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.

His time in Scotland made him only the second man to break 2:10 for the marathon, and he still ranks as the 12th fastest Briton of all time.

Hill was also the first person to use synthetic fabrics in sportswear following a career as a textile chemist, which led him to set up his own sportswear brand in September 1970.

'Special recognition'

The inaugural race in his honour, which has been organised by exercise charity Running Bee Foundation, will take place on 14 August.

The race will start and finish beside Accrington Town Hall and Market Hall, and will see runners pass Ron Hill Way and May Hill Close, the roads dedicated to the former great and his wife.

Jan Collins, the charity's chairwoman of trustees, said Hill was "a running legend in the eyes of so many".

She said a fund to support young athletes and athletic clubs in Tameside, where Hill lived, and Accrington would also be launched, which would award grants annually.

"His legacy deserves special recognition and The Running Bee Foundation wanted to deliver meaningful initiatives that not only remind us of Ron but helps others to follow in his stride," she said.

"We have worked closely with Ron's family to arrange the activation of the legacy fund and we are excited to be opening applications for young athletes in need of support to reach and achieve their sporting goals."

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