This film is part of Free

Long Distance Runner

They breed them hard in Dudley - running non-stop for 24 hours is nothing to Ron Bentley: his next challenge is to race over 800 miles.

News 1974 4 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

When he spoke to Peter Green from ATV Today in 1974 Ron Bentley had just broken the 24 hour running record covering an amazing 161 miles in the allotted time. In the sporting world ultra running is about as far from glamour and riches as it is possible to get. Next up is an 800 mile race across Finland, so Ron gets his vest and shorts on and pounds out the miles running to and from work at Woodsetton Steel Company in Dudley. He even pops out for a run during his lunch break.