Uncover your inner athlete!

Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten.. Each morning in Africa a lion awakes - it knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve.


No matter if you are the lion or the gazelle, when the sun comes up you had better be running!



Saturday, April 26, 2014

A true puritan!

Occasionally I do some book reviews on here about books that truly leave a mark on me.

I recently finished reading ‘The Ghost Runner’ by Bill Jones. It is the story of John Tarrant -an English runner in the 1940s, 50s and 60s who was banned for life from competing in the amateur era due to the fact that he had received a small sum of money during a previous life as a boxer.

Tarrant fought this ban till his dying day and never is a more riveting story told of one man’s complete and utter devotion to the sport and winning despite his efforts never counting towards the record books or any trophies being conferred. I was captivated from first page till last.

At one stage he was good enough to make the British Olympic team but wasn’t chosen on the basis of his ban. Imagine being good enough to win marathons and ultras outright but knowing that your records will never stand.

He even at one stage broke the 100 mile world record as well as holding the 40 mile world record. All while as an unofficial athlete. Last but by no means least, he ran and came 4th in the Comrades marathon of 1968 where for the first time he was not the only unofficial runner as the race was for many years considered only to be for the white population with other race groups forbidden from entering.

I love an underdog story and hearing about runners who compete merely for the purity of the sport. In the ultimate act of sportsmanship, his mate Dave Box who also ran Comrades in 1968 and is listed as finishing 4th in the records presented him with his gold medal from the day on Tarrant’s deathbed.

A true tale of commitment and dedication to the sport.


Running together (while fighting injustices in sport), stride for stride on a life changing ride! – Sean Muller

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