Some lessons learned from the runners of the 1970s stick with us today. Perhaps the two  most important are:

1. You need to get in the mileage.

2. Short shorts are most comfortable.

Nobody epitomized getting in the miles more than Ron Hill. Hill won the Boston Marathon in 1970 in 2:10:30 and the Commonwealth Games in 2:09:28. And he looked good doing it:

Since December 20, 1964, Ron Hill has run every single day. He has run as much as over 120 miles plus a week and as little as twenty.  What I wouldn’t give to see his logs from the early seventies. He has got in the miles, no matter what happened. Now I am not saying that we all need to follow Hill’s compulsion. But when it is raining and cold and you just don’t want to lace up the shoes, remember Ron Hill has laced them up in far worst conditions and gotten out there.

Check out Hill’s website for more info on the man who broke 2:10 in a mesh shirt and puts all other running streaks to shame here.