| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) | ||||||||||||||
| Born | (1941-11-11)11 November 1941 (age 84) Coventry, England | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 168 cm (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 55 kg (121 lb) | ||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | long distance | ||||||||||||||
| Club | Coventry Godiva Harriers | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William Arthur Adcocks (born 11 November 1941) is a British formerlong-distance runner who competed in the1968 Summer Olympics.[1]
He was introduced to athletics at his primary and secondary schools – at secondary school he competed in both cross-country and track and field.[2] He started at school at the age of 12.[3]
He works as an information officer forUK Athletics.[4]
He wrote a book about his marathon performance in Greece in a book titled "The Road to Athens". (ISBN 0954789601)[5] He was invited to start the Athens Classic Marathon in 2002.[6]
He joined theCoventry Godiva Harriers at the age of fourteen.[2]
In 1964, he ran his first marathon, inPort Talbot, finishing second in a time of 2:19:29.[2]
In 1965, he won theAmateur Athletic Association of England title in the marathon, held in Port Talbot, beating nearest rivalBrian Kilby by over 40 seconds.[7]
In 1966, he representedEngland and wonsilver medal in theCommonwealth Games marathon, finishing 5 seconds behind Scotland'sJim Alder.[8][9][10][11]
In 1968, he competed in themarathon at theOlympics, finishing in fifth.[12] He also medalled for a second and final time at the AAA Marathon Championships inCwmbran, losing out on the title by 15 seconds.[7] Later that year he ran his personal best for the marathon distance while winning at theFukuoka Marathon, running 2:10:48, a time which was just a minute outside the world record (which had been set on the same course a year previously) at the time, and was a new European record.[13][14] He is the only Briton to have won the Fukuoka Marathon.[15]
In 1969, he ran in the Athens Classic Marathon, which is run over the same course as the original marathon run byPheidippides.[16] He set a course record, clocking 2:11:07, which was not broken until 2004, whenStefano Baldini broke the record.[14][17][18] He also raced in the CAU (Counties Athletics Union) 20 Miles Championships, winning the title.[19]
In 1970, he won the Midland Counties 10,000 metres title.[20] He also won theLake Biwa Marathon that year, setting a new course record in 2:13:46.[21][22] He representedEngland in the marathon, at the1970 British Commonwealth Games inEdinburgh,Scotland.[23][24]
In 1972, he won the CAU 20 Miles Championships again, running 1:39:01, setting a British record.[19] He currently holds the 20 miles British National, British Domestic and British All-Comers record for times set during a race over that distance, although faster intermediate marks have been set in races over longer distances.[25][26][27][28]
Adcocks ran 10 marathons under 2:20. In 17 total marathons, he won 5 times and placed second 5 times.[29]
