Steve Smythe catches up with an iconic distance runner who made a massive impact on the marathon scene half a century ago winning European and Commonwealth titles

Nowadays, the worlds top marathoners are mostly Kenyans and Ethiopians. Despite the huge and encouraging breakthrough for Emile Cairess and Mahamed Mahamed in finishing in the top four at the London Marathon this year, Britains two fastest runners do not rank in the worlds top 100 men over the past 12 months as the African nations dominate.

Go back half a century though and it was Britons who often led the way numerically. For example in the mens 1500m to marathon Commonwealth top 10s of 1972 Britain had a total of 29 athletes ranked to Kenyas nine. Certainly the worlds top individual marathoner of 1974 when it came to the years world rankings (on merit and time) was the young and exciting Brit Ian Thompson.

His effective rag to riches story was unparalleled among top-level British runners as he went from an unknown to being voted runner-up in the 1974 British Sports Writers Sportsman of the Year awards behind boxing world champion John Conteh and he won the British Athletics Writers award for 1974 ahead of BBC Sports Personality of the Year Brendan Foster.

Thompson finished the year with a stunning European title in Rome but its still highly relevant how the 24-year-old trainee teacher, without a coach, got to that point.

His first marathon was at the end of 1973 when he shockingly won the AAA title and England Commonwealth Games trials at Harlow. His time was the worlds fastest ever debut of 2:12:40 as he easily defeated a incredible quality field including reigning Commonwealth champion and Britains greatest ever marathoner Ron Hill (2:13:22) and European fourth-placer Colin Kirkham (2:15:25).

Thompson had never raced over 10 miles before on the road and was persuaded to go there to help his team Luton and he wasnt among the 40-odd names that AW Editor Mel Watman highlighted in his extensive preview.

Although Thompson was unknown he was clearly a major talent just waiting to find his event.

Born in Birkinhead in Cheshire, his first memory of running was not that positive while he was growing up in Canada. He was running past some tied dogs and thought he was safe but unknown to him the dogs were on a very long lead and nearly caught him and he ended up falling in a ditch and had to be rescued by a Mounted Policeman.

We moved from Canada when my father had a job at Vauxhall Motors and I joined Luton AC when I was about 13 and started running cross-country and 800m and 1500m on the track, he says.

I can remember seeing Ron Clarke run at White City in the mid-1960s breaking the world three miles record and I started having more success and I was fourth in the 1968 English Schools Cross-Country and fifth in the English Schools mile that year.

John King won the cross-country in 25:51 with Thompson on 26:29 ahead of Dave Bedford who was seventh. A year later Bedford would win the International junior cross-country title and break the British senior 10,000m record as a teenager.

Thompson ran 4:17.4 for fifth in the mile final in a race won by Paul Dennis in 4:09.8.

His most notable result on the track as a senior though was only a 14:05.6 5000m which meant none of his major marathon rivals really had a clue who he was but there were a few runs in the winter of 1973 that maybe should have sounded some warning bells.

He was only 34th in the Inter Counties cross-country but ahead of a few marathon stars such as Olympians past and future Jim Alder, Keith Angus and Charlie Spedding and Commonwealth medallist Don Faircloth and future British champion Dave Cannon.

A few weeks later was an even more significant performance as he won the Eastern cross-country Championships at Peterborough ahead of internationals Graham Tuck and Tony Simmons. The latter, who would go on to finish second in the European 10,000m the following year, was suffering from a cold though.

In terms of endurance one notable effort probably not seen by many was a second place in the Orion 15 cross-country in March when Thompson lost the lead in the last 200 metres to Malcolm Thomas a future English national champion and someone who would set a Welsh marathon record in Harlow, albeit a long way behind Thompson.

He began serious training for Harlow in August and early in his training he was a solid sixth in the Shaftesbury 10 in 49:49 in  near-80 degree temperatures in a race won by clubmate Tony Simmons in 48:20 as Luton won the team race and the Southern gold medals.

The work in the final weeks was especially hard as he completed two very long runs runs in the final two and a half weeks before the race. His first attempted 30 was close to five-minute miling before blowing up at 24 miles and then he did a slower 30-miler at 5:30 miles.

Thompson says: Im sure none of the main contenders for the English team knew who I was. I had to have some days off before the race as I had shin splints but I was fit but I didnt have any race plans other than to try for around 2:20 and be around the top 10.

I was very relaxed because I wasnt expecting anything earth-shattering and I spent some of the early miles chatting with my clubmate Tony. I remember I got to 15 miles at Harlow and everyone seemed to be breathing hard and I felt fresh and like I was floating and thinking this is going well. At 18 miles I just took off uphill and no one could come with me. I was expecting the wall but nothing happened and I felt good.

After the race in a post-race interview, Thompson said: I was chuffed to have the press around me after the race as Ive never had that before. They wont be asking who is Ian Thompson anymore, will they?

Oh his decisive move, he added: It was a half-mile burst, to which second-placer Hill interjected: It was an eight-mile burst! I tried going with him but he must have run that mile in 4:45. He ran without inhibitions.

Thompson covered the fourth 10km in a searing 30:33 as he went from nowhere to fifth all-time among Brits.

In Mel Watmans superb AW report he said; What happened to Ian Thompson is a realisation of the dream of most athletes who have not yet made the top grade a dream that one day everything will click and they will take on and beat the champions. When the miracle occurs it gives renewed hope and incentives for all other aspirants. Life for Thompson can never be the same again but his rags-to-riches story will quicken the pulse and lighten the step of the rest as they slog away on their winter training. If it can happen to him, why shouldnt it happen to them too?

Thompsons run here and in Christchurch and Rome is certainly why I took up marathoning at the earliest opportunity almost half a century ago and while I am still running marathons in 2024.

His win qualified him to represent England in the Commonwealth Games at Christchurch where he more than proved that Harlow was no fluke but before his first international, not everything had gone to plan.

I tried to run 140 miles a week in preparation for the Commonwealths but I had a few illnesses and so I only averaged 87 miles a week between October and January but that was probably highly beneficial as I felt fresh for Christchurch, he recalls. When I got to New Zealand I remember doing a 20-mile run at five-minute miling and think I must slow down as it was not long before the race but I also remember doing 20x400m in 63 seconds and feeling good. I enjoyed being out in the sunshine and away from Britain during the three-day week.

Of the race, he says: It was very warm all day but the race was around 5pm so it was cooling but I liked the heat and I felt very relaxed and in the zone. I remember sitting down chatting to someone pre-race and I saw him post race and he said I only spoke to you because you seemed so relaxed, I presumed you werent racing.

He passed 10km in 30:15 and held that pace (30:15) for the second 10km before running a vicious third 10km of 30:05, a time quicker than his actual 10,000m PB. He was well ahead of world record schedule but he eased back to 31:37 for that fourth 10km as he played safe and he also had to offset stomach cramps.

Though he eased back he smashed the British and European record with the second fastest time in history of 2:09:12 compared to Derek Claytons world best of 2:08:33.6. Clayton dropped out in New Zealand while Hill was an injured 18th and outside 2:30 as Thompson won by over two minutes from Kiwi Jack Foster.

The course was super fast and the pace was quick from the off and my plan was to see how I felt at 30km but I got away before that at around 11 miles, he says. I was aware what the crowd effect was in the 10,000m when Dick Tayler beat Dave Black and Foster was getting lots of shouts. So if I thought I was on my own the shouts would all be for me! I did ease down in the last 10km once I was well clear because I did not to want to risk blowing up but Im sure I could have run 2:08. The first half was 63 and the second 66 so I thought I could go faster with more even pace.

Like all marathons, Claytons time was never ratified as a world best and the Association of Road Racing Statisticians believe due to the method of measurement, after much later investigation, Claytons run was around 400 metres short and many believe Thompsons time was really an unofficial world best.

Thompson ran 2:09 almost 50 years before the super shoes and was not a full-time runner. The shoes he wore back then had no carbon plates or super foam and were barely glorified slippers.

Some cynics have suggested Thompsons run must have been short as he never ran 2:09 again but there is zero evidence that this multiple-measured championships event course was under-distance confirmed by the 10km splits and other runners times.

Thompson was in awesome shape, the course was flat, the competition was intense and Thompson never got the same opportunity in the same shape in his career.

He returned to the UK and enjoyed a huge response from the people of Luton and he also was in much demand for interviews.

It was not long before he was back racing though but a 151st in the English National wasnt a true reflection of his ability but in April he won the Marathon to Athens event in a fast 2:13:51 with five minutes to spare and that was sufficient for the British selectors to take a then unprecedented step of picking Thompson for Rome without the need to contest the British Trials in June.

In hot conditions in Rome, Thompson ran what he deemed as his most complete performance as he made it four marathon wins out of four. He stayed with the lead group in the first half before letting loose on the second half to win in 2:13:19, 90 seconds ahead of East Germanys Eckhard Lesse with former Olympic steeplechase champion and world cross country champion Gaston Roelants a distant third in 2:16:30.

Thompson admitted: I was relieved I was pre selected as otherwise I would have done five marathons in well under a year. I like racing in the heat and I prefer racing later in day and my training had gone really well.

Of the race, he said: I saw others warming up and thinking why are they bothering in this heat and humidity? I just sat in the shade and read a book. I was determined to start gently and be last out of the track and first back. And thats what I did. I gradually moved up and then the leaders were slowed at one point when a dog attacked them so that enabled me to catch the front group up.

About halfway, I felt strong and pushed on and by 25km it was down to me, Lesse and Roelants. Soon after they dropped off and it was just a case of running my own race and finishing well and I felt good all the way to the finish. There was a underpass with a steep climb and that hurt more than anything in my other marathons. The cobblestones hurt my Achilles a little and while I can run well in the heat, the humidity made it hard.

As he hit the stadium, looking incredibly easy, relaxed and happy, he acknowledged the crowd with a wave. You go through the tunnel and all the noises stops and your on your own and its frightening as you know there are 40,000 odd people waiting in the stadium to cheer you. Its a weird feeling and Ill never forget it.

BBC commentator David Coleman said of his arrival: Hes striding out like he has just done two or three miles hes full of running celebrating all the way around the track striding out so fit so fresh, What a marathon man he is.

The following month he had one of his best non marathon results ever when he ran a course record 47:23 in the Walton 10 as he tied with Simmons.

The night before he was at the Southern Counties Dinner Dance at the Victory club when the venue was bombed by terrorists and had to find alternative accommodation to stay before going on to the race.

After the heights of 1974, 1975 was a quiet year in which he got married. He only finished 125th in the English National and also did a few trail races including finishing third in the Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland.

Thompson went into 1976 as one of the Olympic favourites but he suffered leg cramps in the British Olympic Trials on a hot day and tough course at Rotherham and after sharing the lead with eventual winner Barry Watson up to 19 miles, he faded to seventh in 2:19:02. He did end up in Montreal but only as a spectator along with his wife Margaret as he was invited by the British Athletics Supporters Club. The AW letters pages at the time suggested he should have been selected anyway but Thompson admits his break after 1974 with no recent world class form was a mistake.

He recalls: For Rotherham I just did too much running and was over trained and I remember in the build-up just always being tired and in the race I knew the rules were the top three went. My breathing was okay during the race though but my left thigh cramped at five miles and then the right one at 10 and there was nothing I could do. I felt like stopping but!

He did come back late season in 1976 and ran 2:12:54 for second in Fukuoka passing Olympic champion Waldemar Cierpisnki late on. That time would have placed him fifth in Montreal where the best of the Brits Jeff Norman finished 26th.

He carried on good form if occasionally inconsistent and not quite to his 1974 heights and won the 1977 Poly Marathon in 2:14:32 ahead of Hills 2:16:37 and was second in the 1978 New York marathon in 2:14:12 to Bill Rodgers 2:12:12. He was fourth in New York in 1979 in 2:13:42 with Rodgers again winning in 2:11:42.

During this period his best run was probably a third place in Auckland in 1977 with a time of 2:03:31 but the course was found to be a mile and a half short (about eight minutes).

He began 1980 with a modest tenth in Auckland in 2:20:17 (won by former world 5000m record-holder Dick Quax in 2:13:12) and he was far from favourite when he lined up for his second Olympic Trials in Milton Keynes three months later.

Again it was a star-studded field but this time he ran strongly all the way and won in 2:14:00 from double Commonwealth track medallist Dave Black but like his British team-mates Bernie Ford and Black, he dropped out in Moscow on a bad day for British marathoning.

I cant remember much of Moscow but I know I did not enjoy it because of the political row and the pressure from Thatchers government who wanted the BOA to boycott and we only went there for a few days. I remember I wasnt relaxed like I was in all my best races.

Shortly after he made the most of his extensive training he thinks he may have over trained for Moscow by easily winning the London to Brighton (over 87.3km) in a highly impressive 5:15:15 the following month having though also ran two sub-2:20 marathons in between!

Often running 140 miles a week carrying on with regular 30 milers in his marathon training, he feels he could have done well at other ultra events but there were not so many bigger events as nowadays and he was unable to run the Comrades due to the political situation.

He also recalls he may have raced too much and the day after winning the Birmingham Marathon he went straight into a five day stage race in Italy!

He bowed out his marathon career at London his last one involved a charity challenge from Jimmy Savile with him being the last off the start and seeing how many he could over-take. Weaving and sidestepping through the field he ran around three hours and passed many thousands.

At the end of a long and successful marathon career he can boast a resume that saw him win an European and Commonwealth title, two British championships, a win in Paris and Auckland, a second in Fukuoka, New York. Rome and Geneva and also domestic wins in the Polytechnic, Manchester, Potteries and Birmingham Marathons.

Now retired, he lives in Devizes in Wiltshire. His wife Margaret once held the British marathon record at the same time as him in 1975 (aged just 21 in her debut) and shes still a top master in her age group having run for England and but for recent injury was looking forward to joining the W70 ranks this summer.

Now he is content to support her at the bigger events such as the Masters International. I know my place, he chuckles.

Thompson, who was just 24 when he set his record the youngest UK marathoner to set a PB in the all-time top 30, has not competed much recently due to health issues but he did run in the British Masters cross-country in 2022 in the M70 category.

Modest and unassuming, and with no ego, no one at Tonbridge realised the once very best runner in the world was finishing 113th out of 131 runners in the vet women and M65-plus mens race.

He recalls one cross-country league, he was chatting at the back of the field with a fellow competitor and they talked marathons and his rival almost fell over when Thompson mentioned his 2:09 PB!

His club Devizes Running Club, though, do know how good he was in the past and presented him with a special trophy to commemorate the 50 years anniversary of his Commonwealth gold.

Thompson says: I always loved running and enjoyed the physical well-being plus the travelling and meeting lots of people. I ran for a long time before I had success so I knew I would carry on after the success. The whole experience was positive and I never got stressed by running or competing and never treated it as a career. I always enjoyed other things such as books and music and just focused on sport as one part of my life.

Before I spoke to him his previous parkrun was a 61:03 effort at the Quakers parkrun in February where he was the official tail-walker (just behind his wife). I wonder how many of the 200 parkrunners that day realised that the former world No.1 marathoner was behind every one of them?

A selection of Thompsons major 50 marathons

October 1973. Harlow. AAA Champs. 1st 2:12:40
January 1974. Auckland. Commonwealth Games. 1st 2:09:12
April 1974. Marathon to Athens. 1st 2:13:51
September 1974 Rome. European Championships. 1st 2:13:19
October 1975. Korso. 1st 2:24:30
May 1976. Rotherham. AAA Champs. 7th 2:19:07
October 1976. New York. 22nd 2:26:26
December 1976. Fukuoka. 2nd 2:12:55
May 1977. Amsterdam. 4th 2:17:48
June 1977. Polytechnic, Windsor. 1st 2:14:32
October 1977. New York. 13th 2:17:46
November 1977. Auckland. 3rd 2:03:31 (1.5 miles short)
December 1977 Fukuoka 44th 2:33:41
May 1978. Sandbach. AAA Champs. 28th 2:20:21
July 1978. Oyarzun. 1st 2:21:00
October 1978. New York. 2nd 2:14:12
November 1978. Auckland. 1st 2:13:49
December 1978 Tiberias 5th 2:19:50
January 1979 Bermuda 2nd 2:21:48
August 1979. Montreal. 6th 2:15:24
October 1979. New York. 4th 2:13:43
February 1980. Auckland 1980 10th 2:20:17
May 1980. Milton Keynes. AAA Champs. 1st 2:14:00
August 1980. Moscow. Olympic Games DNF
August 1980. Stockholm. 3rd 2:19:25
April 1981. Geneva. 1st 2:17:18
September 1980 Rotherham. 1st 2:18:59
September 1980 London Brighton 55 1st 5:15:15
December 1980. Fukuoka. 32nd 2:18:14
March 1981. Tokyo. 7th 2:14:39
March 1981. Duchy (Cornwall) 1st 2:27:53
September 1981. Birmingham 1st 2:13:50
March 1982. Rome. 2nd 2:12:09
March 1982. (7 days after Rome) Geneva 2nd 2:15:28
May 1982. Paris 1st 2:14:08
September 1982. Chicago. 19th 2:18:59
May 1983. Paris. 3rd 2:17:14
August 1983. Bolton. 1st 2:18:09
November 1983. Istanbul 1st 2:32:35
February 1984. Beppu. 11th 2:15:48
May 1984. Geneva. 2:17:47
June 1984. Potteries (Stoke). 1st 2:20:54
July 1984. Manchester. 1st 2:16:08
August 1984. Antrim. 1st 2:23:00
August 1986. Guernsey. 2nd 2:25:22
February 1987. Malta. 1st 2:29:06
May 1987. London. 41st 2:18:57
October 1989. Leeds. 1st 2:26:39