Veteran aims for 100 marathons in 100 countries

RON Hill of Great Britain has not skipped a single day of running since 1964.

Besides that, he completed his 2 230th race at Swakopmund on Saturday. Making the figures even more interesting is the fact that the 69-year-old marathon veteran has five more marathons to run in five different countries in order to achieve his goal of running 100 marathons in 100 different countries.Saturday’s race at Swakopmund was his 95th.Hill has a doctor’s degree in chemistry and is known as a pioneer in the “science of marathons”.He’s taken part in three Olympic Games already: Tokyo (1964); Mexico (1968); and Muenchen (1972).His biggest victories were at the European Championships in 1969; the Boston Marathon in 1970; and the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970.The latter is where he ran the second fastest marathon ever – at the time – in 2:09:28.Hill has also gained much international recognition for developing the ‘Saltin diet’ for long-distance runners, as well as for experimenting with lightweight materials for running clothes and shoes.On Saturday, Hill ran the 15-km race in 1:17:42.This was his 95th long-distance race.He told The Namibian that for the last 30 years or so one of his goals was to run 100 marathons in 100 countries.He said he would like to have his 100th run in Monte Negro, Brazil.”If I manage to still be fit and healthy after I’ve run there, I’ve achieved that goal, but I won’t stop running though,” he said.Asked what his secret is, Hill said it was all part of a healthy lifestyle – exercise, no smoking or drinking.He and his wife still stayed on for a couple of days to enjoy Namibia, which he said is a beautiful and vast country.Making the figures even more interesting is the fact that the 69-year-old marathon veteran has five more marathons to run in five different countries in order to achieve his goal of running 100 marathons in 100 different countries.Saturday’s race at Swakopmund was his 95th.Hill has a doctor’s degree in chemistry and is known as a pioneer in the “science of marathons”.He’s taken part in three Olympic Games already: Tokyo (1964); Mexico (1968); and Muenchen (1972).His biggest victories were at the European Championships in 1969; the Boston Marathon in 1970; and the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970.The latter is where he ran the second fastest marathon ever – at the time – in 2:09:28.Hill has also gained much international recognition for developing the ‘Saltin diet’ for long-distance runners, as well as for experimenting with lightweight materials for running clothes and shoes.On Saturday, Hill ran the 15-km race in 1:17:42.This was his 95th long-distance race.He told The Namibian that for the last 30 years or so one of his goals was to run 100 marathons in 100 countries.He said he would like to have his 100th run in Monte Negro, Brazil.”If I manage to still be fit and healthy after I’ve run there, I’ve achieved that goal, but I won’t stop running though,” he said.Asked what his secret is, Hill said it was all part of a healthy lifestyle – exercise, no smoking or drinking.He and his wife still stayed on for a couple of days to enjoy Namibia, which he said is a beautiful and vast country.