V 11 N. 80 Revival of Book on Herb Elliott's Coach, Percy Cerutty

 

           "Running With Cerruty, Training Techniques, Theories Teaching, Thoughts"                                    by Percy Cerutty,  Annotated Edition 2021 by Russ Ebbets, editor

               Off the Road Press,  $10.95  plus $3.00 handling and shipping.  

Please note:  Copies can be had by contacting Russ Ebbets at either email:  otrrentals@gmail.com or via snail mail at PO Box 229, Union Springs, NY 13160.

Payments must be made by check or money order.  

Earlier this year I received a gift.   It was a new annotated edition of a book  I should have purchased  more than sixty years ago but was too ignorant or low on funds to grasp the opportunity.  Ironically I received the original as a gift as well when my colleague Roy Mason was recently cleaning out his library.  So I can say that for the first time I am in possession of both books.

The best middle distance runner of the late 1950's up to 1960 was Herb Elliott of Australia, undefeated in the mile and world record holder of that classic distance as well as Olympic champion in 1960 at 1500 meters when he took over the race  at 800 meters and ran alone to set another world record.  Today his times would be "good"  or only mediocre, but he truly was the best  of all time in his day.   It could be argued that Elliott stood in his coach's shadow, because Percy Cerutty was indeed an iconoclastic figure who had leapt out of Victorian tradition, cast it aside,  and jumped ahead of conventional thinking with his coaching philosophy, views on nutrition, training, weight lifting, and overall outlook on life.

In 1959, Track and Field News published a 30 page booklet by Percy Cerutty discussing his training philosophy.  T&FN  retained the rights to the booklet and recently granted permission to Russ Ebbets to create an Annotated Edition of this classic now published by Off the Road Press, Union Springs, NY.   A few things have been added or amended to the original edition including the artwork on the cover and within by Joan Parsnick.  She gives Percy a somewhat gentler countenance on the cover, but not totally innocent either.  The original cover, done by Hal Higdon, was nothing short of diabolical with Cerutty's rat terrier eyes burning a hole through the cover singeing all doubters and critics.  

                    

                                     The New Book

The Older 1959 Model

Mr. Ebbets has made a couple of other 'minor' adjustments to the original.  First he wisely edited out  part of a brief paragraph in which Percy lets loose with his views of women and sport which I dare not repeat in these politically correct times.  Basically he does not concede a place for women in high levels of competition.  These are Mr. Cerutty's views and not those of this blog.

Also a sign of the times,  Mr. Ebbets fills almost a half page with disclaimers as to the benefits of exercise and nutrition and personal health as Percy Cerutty sees it.  He strongly advises the reader to consult a specialist in the field of exercise before embarking on a pattern of living  that Mr. Cerutty proposes in his book.   And he warns the reader to keep up with any changes in conventional views of exercise.   It is truly incredible what happens when a lot of people begin participating in a regimen that suddenly becomes a popular movement.  Then all the exceptions to the rules come into play statistically and a few people drop dead,  have a loose weight fall on their foot or choke on a bowl of raw rolled oats and  major lawsuits throw everything out of kilter.  Makes one wish for the good old days when there were two or three choices of running shoe, you had to order them from Cliff Severn on the west coast or Vandevoort's Hardware in Lansing, MI, and if you put your mind to it you could personally know every marathon runner in North America.

Anyway,  thank you, Russ, for reviving this little gem by Percy Cerutty and making it available to the masses again.  It should also be noted that proceeds from the sale of this book will go to subsidize the Junior Olympic programs of the Niagara Association of USATF

           

Personally I learned my stuff about Elliott and Cerutty from these two editions of Sports Illsustrated seen below.  I vaguely remember the 100 mile hike through the Australian Alps that Elliott and other runners made before settling into Cerutty's camp among the sand dunes at Portsea.  My friend Jerry McFadden made the pilgrimage to Portsea once.  Cerutty's comments about using the arms to propel a runner much like a cat chasing a prey and then killing it with those claws and teeth were said to scare off the feint of heart. He followed up with saying if you were put off by that idea, well then it left more room on the track for the real runners to compete.  On the diet I only remember the raw rolled oats and raisins.  All this is covered in the book.  

George,

I can't believe you remembered that I made a pilgrimage to Portsea to Herb Elliot's & Percy Cerutty"s training grounds. I was in fact on business in Melbourne and took the opportunity to drive south to visit Portsea. Elliott was at his prime my last year in high school (1959) and my running buddies & myself devoured everything written about him at the time. Interval training on the track was the dominate program at that time and it seemed legendary for a guy to be training in the "wilderness," doing repeats on the grass, charging up sand dunes, running barefoot, lifting weights, focusing on a training diet, etc. I still have a large photo of him winning the 1960 1500 meters in Rome in my den. 

Portsea is now an established seaside resort for the folks in Melbourne. Not overdeveloped but no longer a wilderness. But the dunes are still there, & the dangerous rip tides. Surprisingly enough, the grass oval thay trained on is still there, too. with a small plaque at the entrance dedicated to Cerutty. The greatest irony of all - There are now signs forbidding running on dunes!

Some photos for you: the dunes, the plaque for Cerutty, & the grass oval.

Jerry McFadden

p.s. I tend to agree with you, I am not sure I would have liked Cerutty either/

George,

 In Mexico City in 1968 I was in a circle of 6 or 8 people, including Cerutty. 

I recall him offering offering to make love to the ladies, who quietly deferred.

He was a nut.

John

I always enjoyed Cerutty's passion although he never seemed like a person I would enjoy spending time with.  Nevertheless, he had a lot to say and surely upped the intensity of training worldwide. Bill