Stanley Edward Eldon (born 1 May 1936 in

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...

) is a retired British

cross country runner Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. Eldon is notable for winning the

International Cross Country Championships The International Cross Country Championships was an annual international competition in cross country running. It was created in 1903 by the International Cross Country Union (ICCU) and it marked the first time that an annual international champ ...

held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 1958. He was awarded his MBE for his work in setting up the Reading half- marathon. Eldon was inspired to become a runner after viewing a film of the 1948 Olympics and joined Eton Athletics Club. In 1956 he ran a junior World Best of 14 minutes 19 seconds over 3 miles. As an adult he came to note as an aggressive front runner. In 1958 he won the

in a time of 46 minutes 29 seconds beating

Alain Mimoun Alain Mimoun, born Ali Mimoun Ould Kacha (1 January 1921 – 27 June 2013), was an Algerian-born French long-distance runner who competed in track events, cross-country running and the marathon. He was the 1956 Olympic champion in the marathon ...

and

Frank Sando Frank Dennis Sando (14 March 1931 – 13 October 2012) was a British long-distance runner. A two-time winner at the International Cross Country Championships (1955, 1957), Sando represented Great Britain in two consecutive Summer Olympic Game ...

into second and third respectively. That same year Eldon won the inaugural

Nos Galan road race Nos Galan ( cy, Rasys Nos Galan) is an annual five-kilometre (3.1 mi) road running event, held on New Year's Eve in Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley of South Wales. History Nos Galan celebrates the life and achievements of Welsh runner Guto N ...

, and was the mystery runner in the race in 1964.

References

1936 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners International Cross Country Championships winners Members of the Order of the British Empire Sportspeople from Windsor, Berkshire {{UK-athletics-bio-stub