Non molto tempo, nel 2010, fa è stata pubblicata la 3^ edizione del volume di John Chodes, Corbitt. The Story of Ted Corbitt, Long Distance Runner (Ishi Press International) la cui prima edizione risale al 1974 e in cui viene raccontata la storia di uno dei più grandi e longevi ultramaratoneti della storia contemporanea dello sport delle ultradistance. Per la sua attività e il suo esempio si è meritato l'appellativo di "father of long distance running".
Ted Corbit (1919-2007) ha corso ininterrotaemnte per oltre un cinquantennio, avendo cominciato la sua carriera di runner relativamente tardi. E in oltre 300 gare tra maratone ed ultra, sperimentando in questo campo le più diverse specialità tra le quali la distanza delle 100 miglia che è la prediletta tra i cultori delle ultradistanze nei paesi di lingua inglese, ha raccolto risultati d'eccellenza. Era un omo che, nella Maratona, valeva tempi tra le2h20' e le 2h30' nelle sue best performance. Persino nel 2001, già ultra-ottantenne, prese parte alla Sri Chimnoy 6 days Run (Ward's Island, New Yoirk) e, alternando in ogni lap la corsa con la camminata veloce riuscì a percorrere 300 miglia, conquistando il titolo della Migliore Prestazione per la sua fascia d'età.
Morì nel 2007, dopo aver raccolto anche grandi onorifence e riconoscimenti alla carriera.
Nel cosrso della sua lunga pratica ha svolto anche delle apprezzate attività come coach per atleti che si accingevano a correre sulle lunghe distanze (e in merito ha anche scritto dei "decaloghi" di suggerimenti), e ha dato dei contributi fondamentali nel campo dell'Atletica nel campo dei regolamenti e degli strumenti di misurazioni tra cui la "bici calibrata" che è stata successivamente adottata in tutto il mondo.
Alla sua attività di sportivo, ha affiancato per 44 anni quella di fisioterapista.
Il volume è corredato di numerosi reperti fotografici che illustrano diversi momenti della vita e della carriera atletica di Ted Corbitt.
John Chodes, autore dello studio biografico, non poteva essere meglio qualificato in questo amico. Amico e consulente per lunghi anni di Ted Corbit nell'approccio tattico alle maratone e alle ultramaratone, inclusa la Walton-on-Thames 24 hours Run (dove Corbit stabilì il record delle 50 miglia), nonchè runner lui stesso, si è trovato a comptere spalla a spalla con Ted Corbit in maratone ed ultramaratone.
Per le sue attività giornalistiche sportive, conquistò negli USA il "Journalistic Excellence Award".
Avendo alle spalle questo curriculum e quest'esperienz, John Chodes fu il consulente tecnico di Dustin Hoffman nelle riprese del film della Paramount Pictures, "Marathon Man" (Il Maratoneta).
Oltre a ciò John Chodes è stato anche sceneggiatore per il cinema e per il teatro e ha scritto saggi e romanzi che hanno come oggetto d'interesse e sfondo la Guerra Civile Americana.
(Dall'introduzione di John Chodes alla 3^ edizione). Thirty six years have elapsed since the original publication of "Corbitt". Ted Corbitt died in Houston, Texas on December 12, 2007 at the age of 88. Until the very end, he was still competing in marathons, and ultra-marathons! He finished well over two hundred of them. I say "well over" because as age crept up, he lost the enthusiasm to run them, so he raced-walked through his competitions, and often failed to write the results down. Yet, age-group records and new accolades kept coming. At the end of this book, immediately following the "Complete Marathon Record of Ted Corbitt to May l978", there is a brief addition of some of his major ultra-marathon races to the end of his life. There is also a listing of his athletic and professional awards.
I wrote this book about Ted Corbitt as a tribute and a thank-you to a man who was much more than someone who was a great athlete and who brought me into the running game, and gave me a life-long passion for this sport.
I wrote this book because Ted Corbitt was my mentor and spiritual father who, without directly advising me, led me to a productive life by following his example.
(Da Wikipedia) Ted Corbitt (January 31, 1919 – December 12, 2007) was an American long-distance runner and an official of running organizations. Corbitt is often called "the father of long distance running". He was an ultramarathon pioneer, helping to revive interest in the sport in the United States in the 1960s and 70s. New York Times columnist Robert Lipsyte called Corbitt a "spiritual elder of the modern running clan". In a Runner's World feature honoring lifetime achievement, writer Gail Kislevitz called Corbitt a "symbol of durability and longevity".
Corbitt also developed standards to accurately measure courses and certify races.
The technique involved the use of a calibrated bicycle and has been adopted worldwide.
The grandson of slaves, Corbitt was born on a cotton farm near Dunbarton, South Carolina. He ran track in high school and at the University of Cincinnati. Due to the racial discrimination common at the time, he was sometimes banned from track meets when white athletes refused to compete against him. After army service in World War II, Corbitt earned a graduate degree in physical therapy from New York University, where he later lectured. He was a physiotherapist for more than 40 years.
Corbitt joined the nation's first integrated running organization, the New York Pioneer Club, in 1947.
He competed in the Marathon at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In January 1954, he won the Philadelphia Marathon, the first of his four wins there. In May 1954, he won the Yonkers Marathon, becoming the U.S. National Marathon Champion.
At various times, Corbitt held the U.S. track records for distances of 25 miles, the marathon, 40 miles, 50 miles and 100 miles. He remained a nationally competitive runner well into his fifties.
For many years, Corbitt ran more than 20 miles a day from his home in Yonkers, a New York City suburb, to his office in downtown Manhattan. On some days, he also ran home.
At his peak, Corbitt ran up to 200 miles a week, far more than almost any other distance runner. Corbitt ran most of his miles at a fast pace. One workout he often ran involved 17 miles on the track, followed by 13 miles on roads. One week in 1962, Corbitt ran 300 miles.
He then traveled to England and competed in the 54 mile London to Brighton road race, finishing fourth. In his final ultra-distance race he completed 68 miles in a 24-hour race in Flushing Meadow Park in 2003.
Corbitt served as an unpaid official of many running organizations, including the Amateur Athletic Union. He was the founder and first president of the Road Runners Club of America and the founding president of the New York Road Runners Club. He helped plan the New York City Marathon course.
Corbitt served on various boards and committees for over 50 years. He helped create the masters division for runners over 40.
In the early 1960s, Corbitt led efforts to accurately measure and certify long distance road race courses in the United States. The technique, based on the work of John Jewell of Great Britain, used a calibrated bicycle wheel in conjunction with a revolution counter. This method is still used today.
In 1998, Corbitt was among the first five runners to be inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame. Corbitt was also inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame, on its inauguration in April 2006.
In 2003, at 84, Corbitt completed a 24-hour race by walking 68 miles, finishing 17th in a field of 35. Some runners were awed by his presence; others had no idea who he was.
At 87, he was still volunteering at ultramarathon races in New York and sometimes even competing. He continued to treat physiotherapy patients. At the time of his death, Corbitt had embarked on a project to walk all the streets of Manhattan.
Corbitt never smoked and his only drink was a single can of beer while in the army. He practiced self-massage, carefully chewed every mouthful of food, and drank lots of water. He was a soft-spoken and gentle man who rarely spoke.
He was an avid photographer and would attend many athletic events sporting a 35-mm camera until he died (in Houston, Texas).
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