Alfred Shrubb (12 December 1879 – 23 April 1964) was an English

middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

. During an amateur career lasting from 1899 to 1905 (when he was barred from amateur competition for receiving payment for running) and a professional career from 1905 to 1912 he won over 1,000 races of about 1,800.

Biography

At the peak of his career he was virtually unbeatable at distances up to 15 miles, often racing against relay teams so that the race would be more competitive. Shrubb was four-times National 4 miles Champion after winning the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title starting with the

1900 AAA Championships The 1900 AAA Championships was the 1900 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held on Saturday 7 July 1900 at the Stamford Bridge (stadium) Stamford Bridge () ...

and ending with the 1904 AAA Championships. Additionally he won the 10 miles title four times from 1901 to 1904. On 4 November 1904, at

Ibrox Park Ibrox Stadium is a football stadium on the south side of the River Clyde in the Ibrox area of Glasgow, Scotland. The home of Scottish Premiership team Rangers, Ibrox is the third-largest football stadium in Scotland, with an all-seated ca ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, he broke the

one hour run The one hour run is an athletics event in which competitors try to cover as much distance as possible within one hour. While officially recognized by World Athletics as a track event, it is rarely contested apart from occasional world record att ...

record as well as all amateur records from six to eleven miles, and all professional records from eight to eleven miles, running eleven miles, 1137 yards (18.742 km) in one hour. Altogether he set 28 world records. He raced ten times against the record-holding Canadian

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

marathoner

Tom Longboat Thomas Charles Longboat (4 July 18869 January 1949, Iroquois name: Cogwagee) was an Onondaga distance runner from the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford, Ontario and, for much of his career, the dominant long-distance runner. He was known as t ...

,Humber, William
''Bowmanville: A Small Town at the Edge''
Natural Heritage Books, 1997. winning all the races shorter than 20 miles and losing all the longer races. In 1908 he became coach of the

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

cross-country team, leading it to a national title. From 1919 to 1928 he coached the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Athletics Club. In 1928 Alfred made his home permanently in Canada, where he operated the Cream of Barley Mill in

Bowmanville, Ontario Bowmanville is a community of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along Highway 2 (Ontar ...

until 1949.Taws, Charles
"When Barley was King!"
''ClaringtonPromoter'', December 2012. He died there in 1964. He is commemorated by the annual Alfie Shrubb Museum Run in Bowmanville, and the annual Alf Shrubb Memorial 5-mile cross-country run in

Slinfold Slinfold is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. Geography The village is almost west of Horsham, just off the A29 road. The parish covers . The 2001 Census ...

Biography

See also

References

Further reading