Bill Adcocks

Bill Adcocks (born 11 November 1941 in Coventry) is a British former long-distance runner who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography

He was introduced to athletics at his primary and secondary schools – at secondary school he competed in both cross-country and track and field.[2] He started at school at the age of 12.[3]

He works as an information officer for UK Athletics.[4]

He wrote a book about his marathon performance in Greece in a book titled "The Road to Athens". (ISBN 0954789601)[5] He was invited to start the Athens Classic Marathon in 2002.[6]

Athletics career

He joined the Coventry Godiva Harriers at the age of fourteen.[2]

In 1964, he ran his first marathon, in Port Talbot, finishing second in a time of 2:19:29.[2]

In 1965, he won the Amateur Athletic Association of England title in the marathon, held in Port Talbot, beating nearest rival Brian Kilby by over 40 seconds.[7]

In 1966, he won silver in the Commonwealth Games marathon, finishing 5 seconds behind Scotland's Jim Alder.[8]

In 1968, he competed in the marathon at the Olympics, finishing in fifth.[9] He also medalled for a second and final time at the AAA Marathon Championships in Cwmbran, losing out on the title by 15 seconds.[7] Later that year he ran his personal best for the marathon distance while winning at the Fukuoka Marathon, running 2:10:48, a time which was just a minute outside the world record (which had been set on the same course a year previously) at the time, and was a new European record.[10][11] To date he is still the only Briton to have won the Fukuoka Marathon.[12]

In 1969, he ran in the Athens Classic Marathon, which is run over the same course as the original marathon run by Pheidippides.[13] He set a course record, clocking 2:11:07, which was not broken until 2004, when Stefano Baldini broke the record.[11][14][15] He also raced in the CAU (Counties Athletics Union) 20 Miles Championships, winning the title.[16]

In 1970, he won the Midland Counties 10,000 metres title.[17] He also won the Lake Biwa Marathon that year, setting a new course record in 2:13:46.[18][19]

In 1972, he won the CAU 20 Miles Championships again, running 1:39:01, setting a British record.[16] He currently holds the 20 miles British National, British Domestic and British All-Comers record for times set during a race over that distance, although faster intermediate marks have been set in races over longer distances.[20][21][22][23]

Adcocks ran 10 marathons under 2:20. In 17 total marathons, he won 5 times and placed second 5 times.

References

  1. ↑ "Bill Adcocks". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Holloway, Chris. "Bill Adcocks". www.birminghamccleague.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  3. ↑ Aitken, Alastair (13 March 2010). "Interview with Bill Adcocks" (PDF). Road Runners Club Website. Road Runners Club. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  4. ↑ Lewis, By Mike. "Olympics: King of the road recalls his Athens epic". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  5. ↑ "Episode 217 – Bill Adcocks (Part Two) – Marathon Talk". Marathon Talk. Marathon Talk. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "ADCOCKS IN ATHENS :: News ::: SCC | EVENTS". www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  7. 1 2 "British Road Race Championships". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  8. ↑ "Commonwealth Games Medallists – Athletics (Men)". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  9. ↑ "Athletics at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's Marathon". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  10. ↑ "福岡国際マラソン | 大会結果・記録". www.fukuoka-marathon.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  11. 1 2 "Bill Adcocks Marathon Career Summary". Mansfield Harriers & AC Website. Mansfield Harriers & AC. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  12. ↑ "British Medallists/Placings in World and European Road Race Championships/Cups". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  13. ↑ "The Athens Marathon". www.athensguide.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  14. ↑ "My Marathon training and career by Bill Adcocks – Clubhouse on Tuesday 21 November at 8:15pm". mcs.open.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  15. ↑ "Bill Adcocks Speaks Honestly". Active Training World. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  16. 1 2 "CAU (Inter-Counties) Championships (Other)". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Midland Counties Championships". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  18. ↑ "Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon : Former Champions". www.lakebiwa-marathon.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  19. ↑ "International Marathons". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  20. ↑ "UK All-Time Lists: Men – Distance, Road and Ultra". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  21. ↑ "UK All-Comers Records and Best Performances". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  22. ↑ "UK National Records and Best Performances". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  23. ↑ "UK Domestic Records". www.gbrathletics.com. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
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