Lewis Carroll - Iron Man 2008 - Michael Mosley TV - American Gangster 2007 - Night and the City 1950 - I Against I 2012 - Chariots of Fire 1981 - Jesse Owens - Alan Sillitoe - Jeremy Kyle Show TV - Emo Philips TV - Bruce Springstein - Christopher McDougall - Daniel E Lieberman - Guinness World Records - Faster Higher Stronger: Stories of the Olympic Games TV - The Olympic Series: The Olympic Spirit TV - Can Anyone Beat Bolt? TV - Usain Bolt: The Fastest Man Alive TV - Usain Bolt - Joe Louis - Forrest Gump 1994 - ET: The Extra-Terrestrial 1982 - 9.79 TV - Where Dreams Go To Die: Gary Robbins and the Barkley Marathons 2017 - Losers 2019 - The Truth About Getting Fit at Home TV -
My dear, here we run as fast as we can, just to stay in one place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that. Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Sometimes you gotta run before you can walk. Iron Man 2008 starring Robert Downey junior & Terrence Howard & Jeff Bridges & Shaun Toub & Gwyneth Paltrow & Faran Tahir & Paul bettany & Leslie Bibb & Christine Everhart & Clark Gregg et al, director Jon Favreau, hero clad
When I ran my foot touched the ground for less time … ‘Running is a natural part of our lives … Get out for a run’ … Runners are in fact less likely to suffer from arthritis than non-runners. Michael Mosley, The Truth About Getting Fit, BBC 2018
I ain’t running from nobody. American Gangster 2007 ***** starring Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe & Chiwetel Ejiofor & Cuba Gooding jr & Josh Brolin & Ted Levine & Armand Assante & Yul Vazqez & Ruby Dee et al, director Ridley Scott, Frank to wife
Harry Fabian: stop running. Night and the City 1950 starring Richard Widmark & Gene Tierney & Googie Withers & Hugh Marlowe & Francis L Sullivan & Herbert Lom & Stanislaus Zbyszko & Mike Mazurki et al, Harry
Where are you running to? I think you know. I Against I 2012 starring Mark Womack & Kenny Doughty & Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson & Sonia Balaco & John Castle & Robert Shannon & Epeli Taione & Paul McGrattan & Ian Keir Attard et al, directors Mark Cripps & David Ellison, blond gangsta
Run in God’s name, and let the world stand back and wonder. Chariots of Fire 1981 starring Ben Cross & Ian Charleson & Nicholas Farrell & Nigel Havers & Ian Holm & John Gielgud & Lindsay Anderson & Cheryl Campbell & Alice Krige & Nigel Davenport & Patrick Magee & David Yelland & Brad Davis et al, director Hugh Hudson, advice to Eric
I want to compare faith to running in a race. ibid. Eric preaching to crowd in rain
Games? I’ve seen better organised riots. ibid. Sam at Scottish games with Eric
I don’t run to take beatings. I run to win. ibid. Eric to lady friend
Sprinters run on nerves. ibid. Sam to Eric
You are the favoured few. ibid. advice to assembled athletes on boat
Bullied day in day out ... chucked over ... and for what? ... Ten lonely seconds to justify my whole existence. But will I? ibid. Harold
I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up. Jesse Owens
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Alan Sillitoe, novel 1959
Yeah, you run, lady. And you’re about the worst example of a mother I’ve ever had on this stage. Why don’t you run? Jeremy Kyle Show: ‘Mum, Why Did You Not Stop My Stepdad From Beating Me?’ ITV 2011
I ran three miles today. Finally I said, ‘Lady, take your purse.’ Emo Philips, Terry Wogan Show
We gotta get out while we’re young,
’Cause tramps like us, baby, we were born to run … Bruce Springsteen, song 1974
This is an entire tribe of people [Tarahumara from Mexico] that can run distances well beyond a hundred miles. They will routinely run two hundred, two hundred and fifty miles at a time. And not just some people, but all of them. Men and women, old and young alike ... Either bear-foot or in home-made sandals. Christopher McDougall, author Born to Run
The Tarahumara’s abilities to run really long distances really comes from our evolutionary history as hunters. Daniel E Lieberman, Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology
Timothy Bud Badyna (USA) ran a marathon backwards in 3 hr 53 min 17 sec in Toledo Ohio USA on 24 April 1994. Guinness World Records 2005 (50th edition)
The 100m Olympic final. The big one. The must-see event. Thousands in stadiums, millions on television, wait for the fastest men in the world to begin their race. Faster Higher Stronger: Stories of the Olympic Games I, BBC 2012
Sprinting at speeds up to 28 miles per hour. ibid.
It’s showtime, and lining up for the 100m final are the big beasts of the Olympic track. ibid.
1896: Tom Burke from Boston University ... switched from a standing to a crouching start. ibid.
The secret is to have just the right instinctive response to the gun. ibid.
They also trained for the right finish. ibid.
Abrahams won gold in an Olympic record time of 10.6 seconds. ibid.
1936: Owens showed that the 100m could be raced with elegant economy and flawless technique ... 10.3 seconds. ibid.
Phase 3: maximum velocity ... The raw power generated by a strongly muscled body ... With power came a new body-type. ibid.
The first of the great power runners ran in Tokyo – Bob Hayes. ibid.
Hayes won in Tokyo in a time of 10.06 seconds. ibid.
And when Jim Hines competed at the 1968 games in Mexico City he had the advantage of running on synthetic tracks. ibid.
When Hines crossed the line they recorded an historic moment: 9.95 seconds ... The first man to run under ten seconds. ibid.
Carl Lewis, Los Angeles 1984 ... Sprinting could still be a thing of beauty. ibid.
The Jamaican born Ben Johnson ran for Canada: 9.79 seconds. ibid.
Found guilty of taking illegal steroids, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal. ibid.
Jamaica has a population of just three million. But it has always had a history of athletic excellence. ibid.
First in Barcelona in 1992 running for Great Britain, Linford Christie won gold. ibid.
1996 Donovan Bailey ... Christie false-started and was disqualified ... Donovan Bailey was lying fifth at 30m ... 9.84 seconds. ibid.
Usain Bolt simply electrified the 2008 Olympics ... Bolt started badly ... Decided to ease up ... 9.69 seconds. ibid.
Can Bolt run faster? ibid.
Is there a speed limit? ibid.
The Los Angeles Olympics 1984: three British runners prepare to contest the 1500s, the Blue Ribbon event of any Olympics ... Sebastian Coe sprinted to the finishing line. Faster Higher Stronger – Stories of the Olympic Games III, BBC 2012
Paavo Nurmi ... was the first to bring a level of professionalism to running ... Nurmi arrived at the Paris Olympics of 1924 ready to contest the 1,500 metres: 3 mins 53.6 sec. ibid.
Nurmi: 9 gold medals. ibid.
1960 Rome: Herb Elliott’ world record 3 mins 35.6 sec. ibid.
1964 Tokyo Peter Snell: 800m & 1,500m. ibid.
1972 Munich: Pekka Vasala. ibid.
1984: Coe v Cram. ibid.
1988: Rono v Elliott v Cram. ibid.
Heralded the arrival of Africa which would come to dominate the Olympic 1,500 metres. ibid.
El Guerrouj rose to prominence in the 1990s with a series of outstanding performances ... El Guerrouj retired as the greatest 1,500 champion in the history of the Olympics. ibid.