Arthur Barry Magee (born 6 February 1934) is a retired New Zealand long-distance runner. He won a bronze medal in the

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 ...

at the 1960 Olympics and in the 10,000 m event placed 26th at the 1960 and 23rd at the 1964 games.Barry Magee
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Biography

Magee was one of the large group of athletes that New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard used to revolutionise how the world trained for all sports. At the 1960 Olympic Games Lydiard's pupils and Magee's training partners,

Murray Halberg Sir Murray Gordon Halberg (7 July 1933 – 30 November 2022) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner who won the gold medal in the 5000 metres event at the 1960 Olympics. He also won gold medals in the 3 miles events at the 1958 and 1962 Co ...

and

Peter Snell Sir Peter George Snell (17 December 1938 – 12 December 2019) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. Snel ...

won gold medals over 5000 m and 800 m within one hour. Magee's bronze in the marathon confirmed Lydiard's training methods. He went on to win many major international races, including the 1960 Fukuoka Marathon. But Magee was much more than a marathon runner; he also ran the world's third fastest time over 3 miles and fifth fastest 5000 m at that time. He also recorded the world's fastest 10,000 m and 2nd fastest 5000 m for 1961 and was part of New Zealand's 4 × 1 mile world record breaking relay team in 1961. Magee always attributed his success to Lydiard, who had become something of a father figure after Magee's own father died in the same year that Lydiard started coaching him. After retiring from international competition Magee coached several top runners himself and currently has a number of high achieving athletes under his wing, including former New Zealand cross country and mountain running champion Jonathan Jackson, and Lachlan Haitana, winner of the 2019 Huntly Half Marathon. Furthermore, many of his former athletes give him praise - referencing much of their success to the training that took place under his guidance at the BCG (Barry's Cricket Ground), Waitakeres (OTT/22 miler), and Lynfield (Lydiard's Hill Spring circuit). In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, Magee was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have re ...

, for services to sport.

Honorific eponym

Magee Place, in the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

suburb of

Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...

, is named in Magee's honour.

Quotes

*''“Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count.”''Barry Magee quotes
thinkexist.com *''“Speed kills, distance doesn't”'' *''“Train don't strain”'' *''“Hills are the shortcut to success”'' *''“There are horses for courses”'' *''“The backstraight is where boys become men”'' *''“The body can only do what the body is regularly accustomed to doing”'' *Here's one of Barry's favourites and it's one of his twelve commandments: "Go straight to bed after training when you're sick"

References

External links

Biography at New Zealand Olympic Committee website

Barry Magee's School of Running

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Barry 1934 births Living people New Zealand male long-distance runners New Zealand athletics coaches Olympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of New Zealand Sportspeople from New Plymouth Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for New Zealand