Words: Ultra Magazine
Photograph: Cavin Woodward
When interviewed once about the qualities required for ultra distance running he responded: “You require a suitable mental attitude, i.e. you must be a little bit crazy!”
Don Ritchie is justifiably regarded by many as one of the greatest ultrarunners of modern times. With world’s best performances on the track at 50km (twice), 40 miles, 50 miles (twice), 100km, 150km, 100 miles and 200km, plus world road bests at 100km and 100 miles he has an unparalleled record in the sub-24 hour events. Added to this is his excellent competitive record both at home and abroad. He has numerous Continental 100km wins to his credit, including setting a world 100km road best, a 100-mile road best in the USA and a clutch of highly prestigious race wins in Europe and the USA. In 1990 he won the IAU International 24-hour Championship and in 1991 he produced the best 24-hour performance of the year, some 14 years after setting his first world track best.
Ritchie began long-distance running in the 1960s, and in both 1967 and 1968 finished second behind Alistair Wood in the Scottish Marathon championship, and then in subsequent years went on to finish second (twice) and third in the highly competitive Scottish 10 miles track championship. This was achieved while studying Electrical Engineering at Aberdeen University, which led to a career in the oil industry.
He realised that marathons just weren’t long enough, and his first ultra-distance event was in 1970 at Two Bridges, a 36-mile race across the Forth and Kincardine bridges, where he finished seventh. He continued to improve his positions with ultra-distance events until 1977, where he set his first World Record, 50km in 2:51:38 at the Epsom and Ewell 50km Track Race.
In 1977 and 78 he won the historic London to Brighton road race in record times (5:16:05 and 5:13:02 respectively).
For services to athletics and charity Ritchie was appointed MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 1995. His appetite for running was near insatiable and between 1962 and 2011 his records show he ran over 200,000 miles in training and almost 1,000 races.
Such are his multiple achievements it is almost invidious to single any out but most observers would agree that Ritchie’s 100km record is worthy of particular mention. In October 1978 he covered 250 laps of London’s Crystal Palace track, 100km (62.2 miles) in 6:10:20, equivalent to two consecutive marathons plus 10 miles, at an average of under six minutes per mile. This record stood for more than 40 years until Aleksandr Sorokin ran 6:05 at Bedford.
Another mind-boggling feat was his record for the 846 mile John O’Groats to Land’s End run in 1989 of 10 days, 15 hours and 27 minutes.
This was achieved in challenging conditions during which Ritchie developed bronchitis, endured stomach and chest pains, intestinal blood loss and regular nose bleeds.
It took him five months to recover fully during which he was prescribed seven courses of antibiotics. Little wonder that when interviewed once about the qualities required for ultra distance running he responded: “You require a suitable mental attitude, ie, you must be a little bit crazy!” He possessed mental fortitude in abundance and an exceptional capacity to tolerate pain and discomfort over protracted periods.
Friends set up the Ritchie Foundation in his honour which over the years has raised large sums of money particularly for cancer charities. Despite being diagnosed with diabetes in 1996 with consequent wider health issues, he continued running till 2011.
Don Ritchie passed away in 2018.