John Kelley—Marathon Champ* – John Apostal Lucas – *Originally printed in: The Amateur Athlete, 28 (November 1957),

The 1957 International Boston Marathon was won by John J. Kelley, America’s all-time fastest long-distance and marathon runner. The ex-Boston University cross-country champion, a 26-year-old junior high school English teacher from Groton, Connecticut, put a convincing end to the foreign domination of the B.A.A. Marathon. Not since 1945 had an American-bred runner won the classic race.

Kelley’s triumphant tour, which resulted in a remarkable run of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 5 seconds, was heralded by the greatest enthusiasm shown in more than a decade. The American sports public was jubilant. The Europeans and Asians, so accustomed to celebrating victory after this race, were stunned.

To those concerned with the future status of long-distance running in the United States, the story of John Kelley would be interesting and revealing. But first, something of this year’s dramatic race—“A case of Kelley against the world.”

Kelley could hardly have been classified as an underdog on the eve of the 6lst running of the B.A.A. Marathon in 1956. He had run the slightly short course in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 34 seconds, finishing second, some few seconds behind Finland’s Antti Viskari. He won the 1956 Yonkers race in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 52 seconds, smashing the old record of Nickolas Costes by six minutes. This year the Boston course was lengthened nearly 1,200 yards to give it the full 42,195 meters, or 26 miles, 385 yards.

Possibly the strongest foreign field of marathon runners in the race’s history were present to answer the starter’s gun. Three Japanese champions were present, including the former B.A.A. winner and record holder, Keizo Yamada. Also, there were three Koreans, all of whom had run under 2 hours, 30 minutes, with Chung Wong Lim in 2 hours, 23 minutes, their country’s fastest marathoner. Athletes from Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico were present. Back again were the Finns, Olavi Manninen, conqueror of Viskari, the 1956 champion, and Veikko Karvonen, who, at 31, was the most consistent and possibly the greatest marathon runner in the world.

The seventy-degree day was almost too warm for the more than 140 runners. At the six-mile checkpoint in Framingham, Massachusetts, the Korean Han was leading in 34 minutes, 54 seconds, with a small group of runners close behind. Kelley ran easily in tenth position along with Rudy Mendez of New York City. At Natick, the ten-mile mark (54:50), Kelley had moved up to fourth position behind Choi, Han, and Karvonen. At the halfway mark at Wellesley (1:10.56), Kelley, supremely confident of his conditioning and determined either to win or drop out, moved to the front. For the next three miles, Han, the Korean, and Karvonen matched strides with the lone American. Kelley took charge at the 16-mile mark (1:32:33) and began to wear out his chief challenger, Finland’s Karvonen. Jerry Nason, sports editor of the Boston Globe and outstanding historian of the B.A.A. marathon, describes these last ten miles thus:

At the end he had whirled away from the mighty Karvonen on the hills of Newton and gave that justly famous Finn the second worst beating of his illustrious career—3 minutes, 45 seconds, or about 1200 yards. And Han, a marine sergeant from the hills of Korea, who looked leggy and ominous, cracked up on the first of the Newton hills in his attempt to match Kelley’s flight. Karvonen finished second, Han fifth—and spent. So fast did Kelley’s amazing legs reduce the hot, black macadam miles, that he whipped Keizo Zamada, the first Japanese finisher (sixth) and former record holder, by a stunning 13 minutes, 17 seconds.

Kelley, the modern prototype of the speed distance runner, had completed the 26 miles, 385 yards in a record breaking 2 hours, 20 minutes, 5 seconds, an average of 5 minutes, 20 seconds for each mile.
Observers of Kelley’s relatively long stride, his rolling out, side of the foot placement on the track or road, have described his action as similar to that of some former American Indian runners of the far West, and, more recently, of many Scandinavian champions.

A description of the Olympian’s smooth and economical stride as depicted in the seven frames:

Frame No. 1 A fraction of a moment before John’s slightly bent lead leg comes in contact with the ground, his ankle turns inward sharply, causing the stronger outside of the foot to strike the ground, heel first.

Frame No. 2 is a picture of the correct foot position fully under the body. In Kelley’s “new look” style for marathon running, the kick-up behind is not a definite, deliberate kick, but simply allows the swing of the leg to follow through vertically, instead of a momentary pause and loss of motion of the trail right leg. Instead of pulling the trail leg forward, gravity takes a hand at the start of the forward leg movement, causing it to “fall” to the ground.

Frame No. 3 shows his upper body continuing to move forward over his left leg, the weight of the body being supported mainly by the bones of the outer edge of the foot. He continues this rolling or rocking motion, his center of gravity passing over and past his left leg and onto the ball of the foot. His knee lift is not excessive, but just sufficient to clear the corresponding foot in its forward swing.

Frame No. 4 illustrates the driving action of the left leg, not quite straightening and locking at the knee, driving him forward powerfully and smoothly, with no sign of wasteful “bounce.” As his back left leaves the ground, his ankle relaxes, rests momentarily, the toe of his shoe perpendicular to the ground. Kelley’s torso, with only a slight lean, shows his peculiar across-the-chest high arm carriage.
 
Frame No. 5 shows the middle of Kelley’s stride. Here we see both feet off the ground. The lower part of the forward right leg swings like a pendulum into position for the start of the next stride. The rear leg is fully extended and about to begin its circular motion forward, just as shown in frames number 1 and 2. Again, this trail leg is not lifted forward, but is allowed to swing forward in a short pendulum arc. Except at the instant of driving forward, he is completely relaxed.

Frame No. 6 is similar to No. 3, showing the beginning of the relatively strong drive from the trailing leg, usually an exclusive characteristic of shorter distance runners.

Frame No. 7 is the same as No. 4, showing the left leg leading instead of the right, thus completing the full picture of Kelley’s stride. Despite the rapid tempo and forward spring, Kelley’s shoulders betray hardly any motion. He keeps his head up, eyes forward, as the stride is completed off the right toe, without a break in the rhythm of his running.

John Joseph Kelley was born December 24, 1930 in Norwich, Connecticut. He attended Bulkeley High School in New London, graduating in 1950, where he was chosen for the A.A.U. high school All-American team with his 4:21.8 second mile performance. However, John’s proclivity for long-distance running and his great natural ability were evidenced earlier, in 1948, when he won the national junior 25-kilometer championship as a tenth grader.

Throughout his college career he continued running on the roads, in addition to track and cross-country. He combined seventh and fifth places in the B.A.A. marathon with first places in the New England and IC4A cross-country championships. The restless Boston University English major was formulating a philosophy toward running that was to always keep his mind and body free and enthusiastic.
Suited by temperament and desire to running on the roads, John Kelley has run all distances creditably, some distances very well, and still others fast enough to be considered among the world’s best. Rarely can such a record of adaptability be found. He has run distances from the quarter mile to the marathon in the following times:

440 yards                  52 sec.
880 yards                1:57 sec.
1,000 yards             2:19 sec.
¾ mile                    3:10 sec.
1 mile                     4:17 sec.
2 miles                    9:17 sec.
3 miles                  14:20 sec.
4 miles  (road)              19:20 sec.
4 miles (cross-country)   19:40 sec.
4 miles                         19:50 sec.
5 miles  (road)              24:20 sec.
5 miles (cross-country)   24:50 sec.
6 miles                         29:50 sec.
10,000 meters               0:50 sec.
15,000 meters (road)      45 min.
    9 miles 564 yards)
10 miles (road)              49 min.
12 miles  (road)             60 min.
20,000 meters  (road)    62 min.
    (12 miles 752 yards)
15 miles (road)              1 hr. 17 min.
52,000 meters (road)      1 hr. 19 min.
    (15 miles  940 yards)
30,000 meters (road)      1 hr. 35 min.
    (18 miles 1128 yards)
20 miles (road)              1 hr. 48 min.
marathon (road)             2 hrs. 20 min.

Kelley’s style of running is radically different from traditional American long distance and marathon champions. His form is more like that of the middle distance runner, with an emphasis on relaxation. The low kick-up of the trailing leg, the flat-footed shuffle and the low arm carriage, so characteristic of most marathoners, are not evidenced in John Kelley.

John is a “speed” marathoner in its truest sense. His style of running, his body build, his delicate “sprinter-like” temperament, in addition to his great native ability and love of running, fully equip him as America’s fastest runner above six miles.
Kelley is 5’ 6” tall, 125 pounds, of Irish extraction. His legs are exceptionally long, well-muscled, lean from thigh to knee with powerful tapering calf muscles. His ankle is strong, loose and elastic, while his foot is bony, tough, and heavily calloused.

His unruly blond hair, lean face and high cheekbones, seem to perpetually wear a pained grimace in all stages of his running. Kelley’s tempo on the highway is inexorable. In a ten-mile race, his stride tempo is between 180 and 185 steps per minute, each stride between six feet and six feet three inches long. During a marathon race his tempo is consistently between 160 and 165 steps per minute, his stride length being slightly less than six feet.

There is possibly no athlete in American history possessing such a love of running and passion for training as John J. Kelley. Such men as Nickolas Costes and Dean Thackeray (Kelley’s marathon teammates at the Melbourne Olympics), may, over a brief period of months, have trained more intensely than John. However, over the past five years, possibly no one in America and few men in the world have run as many miles as the 1957 Boston Marathon winner.

John is always in good physical condition. He insists on a minimum of eight hours’ sleep every night.  There is no “off season,” only a relaxing in the intensity of his training during the hot July and August months. He trains six days a week, twice a day, in the early morning and late afternoon, almost all year long. Since the Boston and Yonkers marathons and most of the national long distance championships occur during April, May, and June respectively, these months might be considered John’s period of “mid-season” training. During his “restful” season of July and August, he trains once a day, early in the morning or late evening.

The months of September through November might be considered his “early season” training period, while the winter and spring months of December to March, his “late season” period, the later period seeing his greatest accumulation of mileage gradually progress to a period of intense speed training.

Competitive training for long distance running is a highly individualistic endeavor, depending upon many factors such as native ability, type of employment, time available, psychological, physiological and environmental differences. Thus, I shall outline typical weekly schedules for each of the four seasons of Kelley’s training year without comment.

After years of thought, he has felt the following program is most suited to bringing him to the greatest degree of conditioning and speed for all distances above six miles. Excepting races, John never runs on the roads. All his training is done on grass or dirt. His morning workout is between 5:30 a.m. and 6:45 a.m., while his training period in the afternoon is usually between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. It is significant to note that at no time in any of his workouts, even during his periods of restful jogging, does he permit himself to slow up to less than 6:40 seconds per mile. In addition, he makes a practice of doing 20 push-ups every morning.

Mid-Season
Monday
a.m. – 11 miles at 6:40 sec. per mile
p.m. – 12 miles with 10 accelerations of 35 seconds
(at least 220 yards)

Tuesday
a.m. – 11 miles steady at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 5 miles at 5:20 per mile

Wednesday
a.m. – 11 miles steady at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 8 miles with 5 accelerations of 70 seconds
(about 440 yards)

Thursday
a.m. – 11 miles steady at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 8 miles at 5:15 per mile

Friday
a.m. – 4 miles steady at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 4 miles steady at 6:40 per mile

Saturday
Race – Total distance for the week approx. 100 miles

Restful Season
Train once a day six days per week. Consists mainly of relaxed runs of 5 miles at 5:40 per mile or 8 miles at 6:40 per mile.

Total distance for week approximately 40 miles.

Early Season
Monday
a.m. – 12 miles at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 8 miles at 5:20 per mile

Tuesday
a.m. – 12 miles at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 8 miles with 5 two-minute accelerations

Wednesday
a.m. – 12 miles at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 8 miles at 5:20 per mile

Thursday
a.m. – 12 miles steady
p.m. – 8 miles with 12 accelerations of 35 seconds each

Friday
a.m. – 12 miles steady
p.m. – 8 miles steady

Saturday
a.m. – 6 miles steady
p.m. – 14 miles at 5:20 per mile

Total distance for week 120 miles.

Late Season
Monday
a.m. – 8 miles steady at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 18 miles—6 miles in 32 minutes, jog 6 miles at 6:40 per
mile – repeat 6 miles in 32 minutes

Tuesday
a.m. – 11 miles at 6:40 per mile
p.m. – 10 miles with 10 seventy-second accelerations  

Wednesday
a.m. – 8 miles
p.m. – 15 miles—3 miles in 15 minutes—jog 3 miles—repeat 3
miles in 15 minutes

Thursday
a.m. – 10 miles steady at 6:40
p.m. – 12 miles with 12 accelerations of 45 seconds

Friday
a.m. – 8 miles steady
p.m. – 10 miles steady

Saturday
p.m. – 20 miles at 5:30 per mile (road)

Total distance for week 130 miles.

During the late season, Kelley averages about 350 miles per month and during the course of an entire year runs some 3,500 miles during practice and competition.

Kelley never tires of running. His dedication to training and his boundless natural ability in addition to a well-rounded professional and social life, help toward a freshness of thinking, a zest for year-round training and competition. As John himself puts it, “One should make running a joyful activity throughout life. The peaceful solitude of workouts, the arduousness of training, and the sense of achievement of a job well done, are fundamental lessons of life to be learned from running.”

by John Apostal Lucas

*Originally printed in: The Amateur Athlete, 28 (November 1957), 10-13.

Reprinted with permission from: Lucas, John, John Apostal Lucas: Teacher, Sport Historian, and One Who Lived His Life Earnestly. A Collection of Articles and Essays with an Autobiographical Sketch. (Lemont, PA: Eifrig Publishing, 2009), p. 1-8.

Available for purchase at www.eifrigenterprises.com.

Eifrigenterprises

Eifrigenterprises

John Lucas has dedicated his nearly half-century of academic life at Penn State University to researching and writing about his first love of sport, track and field, and the Olympics. 

He has attended every Summer Olympics since the 1960 Rome Games and has written several books, including Future of the Olympic Games.  From his over 200 monographs and articles, Lucas has selected a score of his articles written since 1953 for this anthology.  They cover the range of his academic interests.

The Illustrious Boston Marathon 1897-1975 – A History of the Marathon Race — 490 B.C. to 1975* – by John Apostal Lucas –

A history of the marathon race – Part I.

A history of the marathon race – Part II.

A history of the marathon race – Part III.