Ted Corbitt passed away earlier this morning in Houston, Texas at the age of 88. He was the first president of the Road Runners Club of America and a strong supporter of race course certification and a masters racing category. Ted was one of the countries first ultramarathoners and competed in the Olympic Marathon in Helsinki.
Corbitt debuted at the marathon at the age of 32 with a 15th place finish in the 1951 Boston Marathon and after two further marathons was selected for the Helsinki Olympic team.
During a career which lasted well into his 50s Corbitt ran just under 200 marathons and ultra marathon races. His strength and stamina were legendary. At age 54 he ran his 175th marathon in Boston in a time of 2:49:16, less than one minute slower than his first marathon 23 years earlier. His fastest marathon time was 2:26:44 in 1958. He held the American record at 25 Miles, at the Marathon distance, and at 40 and 50 Miles.
He was recently featured in the Runner’s World Heroes of Running series. He entered the hospital a few days after receiving the award.
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