John Tarrant (4 February 1932 – 18 January 1975) was an English long-distance runner, nicknamed "The Ghost Runner" for his habit of "gatecrashing" races from which he was barred due to his "non-amateur" status, acquired during a brief career as a teenage prize-fighter.Jones, Bill (2011) ''The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop''. Mainstream Publishing,

Early life

John Tarrant was born in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

, London, in 1932 to John and Edna (). During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with his father away on active service, his mother died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. John and his younger brother Victor (born 1934) were raised in a children's home in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

until his father was demobilised at the end of the war. In 1947 his father remarried, and the family moved to

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

in the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Sporting career

In 1950, at the age of 18, John took up boxing in Buxton, and earned a total of £17 at prize-fights in his local Town Hall.Amazing Story of the Ghost Runner
Derby Telegraph, 11 December 2011, Retrieved 14 September 2015 He did not much enjoy boxing, but found during his training that he had a talent for long-distance running. Accordingly, he gave up boxing the following year and turned his sights to training for the marathon, hoping to compete at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome, Italy. In 1952 John applied to join the Salford Harriers in order to register with the Amateur Athletic Association of England. On being asked whether he had ever played sport for money, he chose to answer honestly and declared his brief career in prize-fighting. Due to the strict amateur code enforced at the time, he was immediately banned from competition for life. Despite this setback, he continued to train, and (with the assistance of his brother Victor) began to gatecrash races to which he was officially refused entry, often out-performing recognised champions of the day. Nicknamed "The Ghost Runner" by the Press, his popularity eventually led to a relaxation of the ban against him: from 1958 he was permitted to compete nationally, but would remain ineligible to be selected for his country, and hence never competed at the Olympic Games. In the 1960s he turned to ultra-marathons, and set world records for 40-mile and 100-mile distances. In 1967 he became the first man ever to win the season's grand slam in Britain's four principal ultra-marathons (the London-to-Brighton, Isle of Man, Exeter-to-Plymouth, and Liverpool-to-Blackpool). While participating in the 90 km

Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The direc ...

in South Africa in 1968 (in which he finished fourth),Comrades History 1966-1969
Runnersguide.co.za. Accessed on 3 January 2012 he became aware of the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

conditions there, and (as a white man) began to enter the first ever "multi-racial" races there as a form of support, notably winning the 80 km Goldtop Stanger-to-Durban race in 1970.

Career wins and world records

Maindy Stadium Maindy Centre ( cy, Canolfan Maendy, formerly known as Maindy Stadium, now also known as Maindy Pool and Cycle Track) is a velodrome and indoor swimming pool facility in the Maindy area of Cardiff, Wales. The velodrome was used in the 1958 Britis ...

(40 miles) 1966: World Record time 4 h 3 m 28 s.

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

(100 miles) 1969: World Record time 12 h 31 m 10 s Isle of Man (39 miles): Winner 1965–1967. Set course record in 1965 — time 4 h 11 m 26 s. Exeter to Plymouth (44 miles): Winner 1965–1967. Set course record in 1967 — time 4 h 44 m 35 s. Liverpool to Blackpool (48 miles): Winner 1965, 1967. Set course record in 1967 — time 4 h 55 m 56 s. London to Brighton (52 miles): Winner 1967. Time 5 h 41 m 50 s. Isle of Wight (Marathon): Winner in 1960–1962. Set course record of 2 h 26 m 44 s in 1962. City of Liverpool (Marathon): Winner in 1960. Set course record time 2 h 22 m 35 s. Salford Harriers (10 miles) track championship: Winner 1958–1966. Set course record 1963 time 51 m 35 s.

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdow ...

, Cardiff (16 miles): Winner 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966 and twice in 1967. Herefordshire County Championship (20 miles): Winner 1962–1964, 1966, 1967. Newport (10 miles): Winner 1960, 1961, 1967. Hereford to Ross-on-Wye (14 miles): Winner 1960, 1962. Broke course record each time. South London Harriers (30 miles): Winner 1962, 1967. Woodford to Southend (36 miles): Winner 1964. Stanger to Durban Goldtop (50 miles): Winner 1970. Herefordshire County (6 miles) track championship: Winner 1962, 1966, 1967. National Championships (20 miles): Champion in 1960. National Road Runners Club (Marathon): Champion in 1962. National Territorial Army Championships (Cross Country): Champion in 1960, 1961.

Private life

John Tarrant married in 1953, and with his wife Edie had a son, Roger. He lived most of his life in Derbyshire, South Africa and

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. He held various jobs over the years, including plumber's assistant, quarryman, and caretaker for the Territorial Army base in Hereford. He would occasionally give up one job for a lower-paying job, purely in order to have more time to train.

Death

John Tarrant died in Hereford in 1975 of late-diagnosed

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

, at the age of 42. In July 2011, councillors in his final home town of Hereford commenced a campaign to raise a statue in his honour. The Ghost Runner Statue Campaign was started by Hereford runners and coaches Nikki Tyler and Lisa Ruck, who were coached themselves by John's brother Vic Tarrant, who was a great runner as well and voluntarily coached athletes in Hereford for 40 years. The statue was unveiled on 23 April 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarrant, John 1932 births 1975 deaths English male long-distance runners British male marathon runners People from Buxton Sportspeople from Derbyshire Sportspeople from Hereford English male boxers 20th-century English people