Stanley Edward Eldon (born 1 May 1936) 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 ch ...

held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in 1958. He was awarded his MBE for his work in setting up the Reading half-marathon.

Biography

Eldon was inspired to become a runner after viewing a film of the 1948 Olympics and joined Eton Athletics Club (as it was called at the time). 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. Eldon finished second behind George Knight in the 6 miles event at the

1957 AAA Championships The 1957 AAA Championships was the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). The event took place from 12 to 13 July 1957 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, England, w ...

before he became both the British 3 miles champion and British 6 miles champion, after winning the British

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 ...

titles at the

1958 AAA Championships The 1958 AAA Championships was the 1958 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 11 to 12 July 1958 at White City Stadium in London, England. Summary The ...

. 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 a French long-distance runner who competed in track running, track events, cross-country running and the marathon. He was the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Olympic champ ...

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 Games. ...

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

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

, and was the mystery runner in the race in 1964. Eldon retained his 6 miles title at the

1959 AAA Championships The 1959 AAA Championships was the 1959 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA). It was held from 10 to 11 July 1959 at White City Stadium White City Stadiu ...

References

1936 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games athletes 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 {{England-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub