The refreshment stop nobody wants

"Of course, at the finish I was absolutely exhausted, but I felt as though in completing the event all my bones and muscles had got this terrific boost," he says.

With that success and the recognition and encouragement that ensued, running became a focal point of his life, and he threw himself into studying physiology and about various techniques used in long-distance running. Under the tutelage of more seasoned runners he kept up a rigorous training routine, most of that being out on the road or in the park, where he was frequently clocking up 300 kilometers a month so as to increase his performance in future races.

Whenever his heavy workload gave him no time to go out for a run, he tied sandbags to his legs so that by the end of the day he would feel that he had at least got in some good power training.