Frederick Appleby (30 October 1879 – 7 April 1956) was a British

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 ...

. In 1902, Appleby set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for 15 miles and twice defeated the leading distance runner of the time, Alfred Shrubb. Appleby competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

as a marathoner but failed to finish.

Career

Appleby had a number of top six finishes at 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 ...

between 1900 and 1902. He finished third behind the Olympic champion

Alvin Kraenzlein Alvin Christian "Al" Kraenzlein (December 12, 1876 – January 6, 1928) was an American track-and-field athlete known as "the father of the modern hurdling technique". He was the first sportsman in the history of the Olympic games to win four in ...

in the 120 yards event at the 1901 AAA Championships and placed runner-up to defending champion Alfred Shrubb over 4 miles (6.44 km) at the 1902 AAA Championships. Appleby twice defeated Shrubb over 15 miles (24.14 km) that year. The first of these races was held at

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on 19 April; the field also included twelve other runners, including Albert Aldridge, who went on to win the AAA 10 mile championship in 1905 and 1906. Shrubb was the world's best distance runner at the time, and although he was better at shorter distances, he still started the race as the favorite. Shrubb did build a large lead early on, while Appleby started slow; however, he moved steadily up the field, catching and passing Shrubb, who had problems with his right leg, with one mile to go. Appleby won the race in 1:22:41, ahead of Aldridge, who also passed Shrubb in the final stages. The second race was held at Stamford Bridge on 21 July and ended in another victory for Appleby, whose time of 1:20:04.6 broke both Sid Thomas's amateur world record of 1:22:15.4 and

William Howitt William Howitt (18 December 1792 – 3 March 1879), was a prolific English writer on history and other subjects. Howitt Primary Community School in Heanor, Derbyshire, is named after him and his wife. Biography Howitt was born in Heanor, Derbysh ...

's professional record of 1:22:00. This time Appleby led most of the way; Shrubb stayed with him until the last lap, and although he eventually lost by 11 seconds he was also well under the previous records. Appleby's splits at 13 miles and 14 miles were also world records, and his split at 12.5 miles (20.12 km) was a best both for that distance and the shorter 20 000 metres. After 1902, Appleby concentrated on his career as a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental doctor, dental physician, dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry, the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. The dentist's supporting team aids in provi ...

, although he continued competing in cross-country races. He was selected for

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's twelve-man marathon contingent for the

; the reasons for his selection are unclear, as he did compete in the main tryout race but failed to finish. In the Olympic marathon, he dropped out around 19 miles while among the leaders, having problems with his feet. Appleby briefly became a professional runner in 1909, running several races on the North American professional circuit. He twice faced Paul Acoose, an upcoming Native Canadian runner, over 15 miles; Acoose won the first race by a lap, running 1:22:22, an indoor world record for the distance, while Appleby won the rematch after tacks were thrown on the track. Appleby, with his thick rubber-soled shoes, was not inconvenienced by the tacks, while Acoose, who had been in the lead, used

moccasin A moccasin is a shoe, made of deerskin or other soft leather, consisting of a sole (made with leather that has not been "worked") and sides made of one piece of leather, stitched together at the top, and sometimes with a vamp (additional pane ...

s that they easily penetrated; he was forced to quit. Gamblers backing Appleby were suspected, and all bets on the race were eventually declared void. Appleby represented the

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club of Herne Hill Harriers. He returned to dentistry after his short professional running career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appleby, Fred 1879 births 1956 deaths People from Brixton Athletes from the London Borough of Lambeth English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain British dentists World record setters in athletics (track and field)