Charles Robbins (1921-10 August 2006) was an American

long distance runner Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

. He won

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

national titles, including five 20-kilometer titles, two 25-kilometer, two 30-kilometer and two national

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

championships between the years of 1944–54. In 1945, he ran the year's fastest marathon in the world. Robbins completed his 50th consecutive

Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prompt ...

in 2001 and participated in 20

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

s. In April 1944 he finished third in 2:38:31 at Boston to four-time winner Canada's

Gérard Côté Gérard Côté, (July 26, 1913 – 12 June 1993) was a Canadian marathon runner and a four-time winner of the Boston Marathon. Born in Saint-Barnabé-Sud, Quebec, Côté was training to be a boxer when he switched to running marathons. He co ...

and two-time champion (and seven-time runner up) John A. Kelley. Nine years later, he ran Boston in 2:43:56. On November 12, 1944, while in the U.S. Navy, he also won the U.S. national marathon championship at the Yonkers marathon, running 2:40.48.6. He was the alternate, in the event one of the three qualifiers was unable to run, to the 1948 London Olympic's marathon team. Remarkably, he often ran his races barefoot.

References

1921 births 2006 deaths American male long-distance runners 20th-century American people {{US-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub