Ted Corbitt

[pstewart]

I just received news that Ted Corbitt died today at the age of 87. Ted was one of the true pioneers of running and is properly credited with getting course certification started in the U.S. Here is a link to his bio at the National Distance Running Hall of Fame where he was a charter inductee:

http://www.distancerunning.com/inductees/1998/ted.html

[pstewart]

Here's a tribute from Alan Roth of USATF:

Ted Corbitt was one of the great leaders of our sport. He was a 1952 Olympian and an ultra runner. He was the Founding President of the New York Road Runners Club and was the second elected President of RRCA. The RRCA website has the following:


At the 1960 annual meeting Ted Corbitt was elected president...."Those were tough days, days of survival [for the RRCA]", Corbitt wrote. "Instead of recognizing the good work the RRCA was doing to promote distance running, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) refused to admit the RRCA as a member club and took the position that the RRCA was illegal." In those days, the AAU was the ruling body of sport; they advised the RRCA to function solely as a social or fraternal group and not conduct races......under the leadership of Corbitt, the RRCA began work on a booklet about accurately measuring road running courses. The booklet was officially published in 1964.


Ted is considered the founder of our current course measuring system. He remained active as a Board member of NYRR for decades and as an ultra runner, finishing in the middle of the pack averaging 50 miles a day in a 6-day race when he was 82, just five years ago. He died of cancer. My brother spoke with him just last night and he knew he was on his way out. He was a great man.

[Execdir]

Arlington, VA - Ted Corbitt, one of the greatest leaders in long distance running, passed away on December 12, 2007 at the age of 88 from cancer.

Corbitt is celebrated for his 1952 Olympic performance, his successful ultra running career, and his dedication to building the sport of long distance running in the US.

Shortly after the founding of the Road Runners Club of America in February 1958, Corbitt founded the first RRCA chapter in April 1958, the New York Road Runners Club (now the New York Road Runners).

In 1960, Corbitt was elected as the second president of the RRCA at the Annual Meeting of the Membership.

"Those were tough days, days of survival [for the RRCA]," Corbitt once wrote. "Instead of recognizing the good work the RRCA was doing to promote distance running, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) refused to admit the RRCA as a member club and took the position that the RRCA was illegal." In those days, the AAU was the ruling body of sport; they advised the RRCA to function solely as a social or fraternal group and not conduct races.

Also in 1960, there was very little for runners to read. Under Corbitt’s leadership, the RRCA published The World’s Fastest Marathons by Nat Cirulnich. It was a one page dietary review of the pre-race meal. In addition, under the leadership of Corbitt, the RRCA began work on a booklet about accurately measuring road running courses. The booklet was officially published by the RRCA in 1964 and laid the foundation for modern day course measurement.

In 1962, the RRCA began its long history of supporting the development of US elite distance athletes. At the RRCA Annual Meeting that year, the members discussed the possibility of sending a runner to the 52 mile London-Brighton race. Small donations were collected and in the fall of 1962, the RRCA sent Ted Corbitt to England to compete in the race.

Throughout his life, Corbitt remained an active member of the New York Road Runners and a dedicated advocate for the sport of distance running. He was inducted in the RRCA Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1972. He received the Browning Ross Spirit of the RRCA Award in 2000. He was honored as a Hero of Running in 2007 by Runner’s World, and the list of accomplishments goes on.

Expressions of celebration for Ted Corbitt’s life and condolences to the family can be posted at http://www.rrm.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172

On behalf of the RRCA, we express our deepest sympathies to the Corbitt family for their loss, and we celebrate the life of one of our greatest running pioneers and RRCA founders.

[jeff darman]

Ted Corbitt was a real leader in the truest sense of the word. He was a gracious man with enormous accomplishments and his legacy will live on and continue to inspire. He will be missed by many and we owe him a debt of gratitude for all he did for the sport.

[pstewart]

Here is an excellent obituary in today's New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/13/sports/othersports/13corbitt.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries&oref=slogin