Book Review
By Paul O'Shea
How do you measure greatness in an athlete? In distance running at the highest level, the traditional metrics are honors won, meeting performances and world rankings. Richard Amery offers another test: runners who set world records at both five thousand and ten thousand meters. They live in a high-end zip code.
Only ten men in the last 107 years have set world records at both distances. Since the the IAAF (now World Athletics) began recognizing records in each event in 1912, the shorter race has seen 35 record performances, the longer, 37 marks.
Only ten men in the last 107 years have set world records at both distances. Since the the IAAF (now World Athletics) began recognizing records in each event in 1912, the shorter race has seen 35 record performances, the longer, 37 marks.
In his splendid new book, The Five and Ten Men: Ten Men Who Redefined Distance Running, Amery brings this group to life through an expansive recounting of their careers. It's a valuable book for the nostalgic fan, as well as the novice who wants to learn more about the sport's rich history.
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| Emil Zatopek |
Amery says in the book's introduction, "I've always been interested in distance running. Not because of any great ability on my part. My only ever-decent run was somewhat tainted. I won the South Australian State marathon but was soon disqualified (later reinstated) for wearing the wrong colored shorts!
The book's subjects chose themselves. Of the many record holders over these classic distances, there have only ever been ten who held both records. Were it to be a book on the ten greatest distance runners, the list would probably not be much different."
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| Paavo Nurmi, the first to hold both records |
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| Taisto Maki, first to break 30:00 |
Amery understands that comparing sporting performances over different eras is difficult. "Distance running, in line with most other sports, has undergone great changes in the last eighty years or so in the period during which the individuals covered in this book competed."
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| Kenenisa Bekele the latest to hold both records |
Meticulously researched and reported, The Five and Ten Men (2019, 301 pages, Book Depository and Amazon) presents such familiar names as Nurmi, Zatopek, Gebrselassie, and Bekele. Kuts, Clarke, Viren, and Rono are also among the dual record holders. Mostly forgotten today are Taisto Maki and Sandor Iharos. Geb leads the five-and-ten set with seven world records. Next are Zatopek and Clarke with six each. Bekele currently holds both, the first set in 2004, the other a year later.
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| Haile Gebrselassie |
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| Lasse Viren |
Some historically boldface names were never able to set both records. Among them: Gunder Hagg, Said Aouita, Paul Tergat, Mo Farah, and Eliud Kipchoge.
Or the more obscure distance doublers, Maki and Iharos each suffered greatly because of the chaotic political events affecting the world, before and after the Second World War.
Taisto Maki was the first to break thirty minutes for 10,000 meters. The Finnish distance runner set two world records at that distance, taking ten seconds off his own mark, with 29:52.6.
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| Sandor Iharos and Lazlo Tabori |
Sandor Iharos was a key member of the highly successful Hungarian trio coached by Mihaly Igloi (Istvan Rozsavolgyi, Lazlo Tabori, his compatriots). He broke the five thousand twice, the second race reclaiming the honor from Kuts. Iharos was also one of only two athletes (the other, Nurmi) to hold world records over 1500, 5000, and 10,000 meters. Amery ably describes the Hungarian revolution enveloping Iharos and others as the country struggled with Russian aggression.
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| Henry Rono |
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| Ron Clarke |
One of the distance legends covered in The Five and Ten Men is Australian Ron Clarke, successful from the fifteen hundred to the marathon. He was the first to run three miles in less than thirteen minutes. Four days later he was the first to run ten thousand in less than twenty-eight-minutes.
"Clarkey" was a familiar face on the starting line. During a 44-day European tour in 1965 he competed 18 times and broke twelve world records including the 20,000 meters and the one-hour run.
For Clarke, his record suffered from never having won Oympic gold, notwithstanding a career few exceeded. Those who saw it in person and those who find it on You Tube, remember Billy Mills' desperate charge in the home stretch of the 1964 Olympic ten thousand, and Clarke's stricken face as the American crosses the finish line several meters ahead to win gold. His bronze was to be his only Olympic medal; Zatopek gave him one of the Czech's own golds as a gift.
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| Vladimir Kuts leading Gordon Pirie |
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| Author, Richard Amery |
A retired high school physical education teacher, Amery and his wife, Christine, live in the Adelaide hills of Australia. (Ed. note. The Adelaide hills are currently in the middle of severe forest fires at the time of this writing.) In his early years he was an accomplished runner. "Now, on my morning runs with my border collie, I normally see no one, just the wildlife, mainly kangaroos.
"I've always had an interest in both history and distance running, and I hope this book is some demonstration of that interest. I've tried to tell stories that I think are worth telling, but in many cases have either been forgotten or never really told in the first place."
In an epilogue, the author traces the decline of performances at these distances to the growth of road
racing, especially the big city marathons and their magnificent financial rewards. Adding to the
deterioration are the lack of competitive opportunities stemming from the excision of longer races at
international meets. We're approaching Seb Coe's ninety-minute plan.
"The only certainty is that the 5,000m and 10,000m records (as of August 2019) will be broken,"
Amery writes. "Despite the longevity of the present records, sooner or later there will be others who
come along with the necessary physical and mental requisites to run better times. It will not be easy.
The last three record holders in both distances have been exceptional talents living in almost ideal
environments from a distance running viewpoint, in addition to undertaking excellent (and hard)
training. But broken they will be. Nothing is more certain."
A world record is like a Patek Philippe watch. You never actually own one. You merely look after it
for the next generation.
Current titleholder, Kenenisa Bekele: 12:37.35 and 26:17.53.
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Paul O'Shea is a lifelong participant in the track and field world. After retirement from a career in
corporate communications he coached a high school girls cross country team and was a long-time
contributor to Cross Cournty Journal. He writes for Once Upon a Time in the Vest from Northern
Virginia. He can be reached at Poshea17@aol.com.
Ed. Note. In looking for pictures for this article, I found a wealth of them
and want to add some more below.
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Jack and Ron Clarke.
Jack, an Aussie Rules footballer is as famous in Australia as his brother.
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Lasse Viren
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| Rozsavolgyi taking handoff from Iharos in the heyday |
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| Paavo Nurmi |
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| Sandor Iharos at White City Stadium, London, England |
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| Viren winning 10,000 at Munich ahead of Emiel Puttemans and Miruts Yifter |
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| Paavo Nurmi |
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| Let's not forget that Rono had WR steeple too. |
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| Emil Zatopek's improvised cooling system during Helsinki marathon |
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| Emil Zatopek speaking in the streets during the Prague Spring in 1968 He would be banished from an army officer's retirement life to working in a uranium mne for this defiance. |
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| Henry Rono |
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| Paavo Nurmi looking remarkably like Greta Thunberg |
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| The podium at la Cross de l'Humanite 1955 Jerzy Chromik, Vladimir Kuts, Emil Zatopek |
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| Haile Gebrsellasie taking down Paul Tergat at Sydney |
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| Emil Zatopek on the track |
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| Lasse Viren in the forest |
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| Haile Gebrselassie with Mo Farah and Kenenisa Bekele |
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| Haile Gebrsellasie |
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