Athletics: Final lap for the coach who pushed further

At the end of the ceremony Lydiard’s coffin was carried out by his grandchildren. Picture / Brett Phibbs

Arthur Lydiard's athletes yesterday finally got the chance to have a say without being told they simply needed to run further.

But his funeral showed he taught those athletes well.

Dick Tayler asked why they ran so far. "Because Arthur said."

At Lydiard's funeral, several of "Arthur's Boys" from the 1950s and 60s gave a glimpse of life under Lydiard's tutelage, all referring to his inspirational leadership and ability to motivate.

In front of about 800 mourners filling the Auckland Town Hall, Tayler, Murray Halberg and Barry Magee all paid final homage to the coach who led them to glory.

Lydiard died on December 12 while in the United States on a speaking tour. He was 87.

Magee, now a coach himself, had been coached by Lydiard since 1952, when he was 18. He won a bronze medal in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games marathon.

Magee spoke of Lydiard's other athletes, including Peter Snell and Sir Murray Halberg, who won Olympic gold medals in 1960, as well as 1974 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Tayler.

"Each of us touched stardom thanks to one man."

There were also tales of Lydiard the person.

Halberg told of a man who welcomed his runners into his family, of fishing in a new boat and Lydiard "mumbling and grumbling" about having to row, of Lydiard catching a quail claiming he planned to "pluck it, cook it and eat it", but also stopping a run to admire a native pigeon.

Tayler told of Lydiard's "road rage" stuck behind slow drivers, and his strong views on the nutritional qualities of beer.

"One of the greatest things Arthur told me was to drink beer. Thank God he never told me to stop."

Magee said: "I don't know if we think Arthur was a saint or not. I don't think he was a saint. He was a human being, he loved a good joke, he loved picking winners in the four-legged runners, he had sparkling eyes and did not suffer fools gladly.

"He never used two words if he could use one. He called a spade a spade and we definitely know he never read a book about PR or how to win friends. You took him how he was."

Right until he died, Lydiard believed that the further an athlete ran, the better.

Damian and Mathew Shirley, brothers from Beachlands, said Lydiard had coached them for the past 10 years.

Mathew Shirley told of a year in which he had just returned from overseas, was recovering from injury and trying to rebuild his fitness.

"I had just got to 80 miles [129km] in a week, so I went to Arthur's house because I was exhausted and wanted a pat on the back.

"I said 'Arthur, I've done 80 miles this week.' He said 'That's great Mathew, but wait till you are running 100 miles [161km] a week. Then you will really see results.'

"The next week I went back and said 'Arthur, I just ran 100 miles this week,' and he said 'That's great Mathew, but wait till you start running 120 miles [193km] a week. Then you'll really start to see results."'

Sir Murray Halberg said Lydiard was always strong on discipline, especially when it came to the Sunday morning runs.

"We left at 8am, timed by the kitchen clock, and that was it. If you were late you spent the rest of the day trying to catch up. The young Halberg was not known to be an early riser and liked to go out on a Saturday night, so Sunday morning runs were not easy."

Tayler said the year before he won a gold medal and set a Commonwealth record for 10,000m in Christchurch, Lydiard told him to double his mileage from 161km a week in winter to 322km a week over spring.

"The night before the race, Arthur told me I was not the best athlete in the field, but I was the best prepared ... I did it because Arthur asked me to and the rest is history."

Other mourners included many others influenced by Lydiard - Bill Bailey, Jeff Julian, who wore his 1964 Olympics blazer, Ray Puckett, Dick Quax, Paul Ballinger from New Plymouth and John Walker.

Former Auckland Mayors Les Mills and Colin Kay, present Mayor Dick Hubbard and Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey also paid their respects.

Sports Minister Trevor Mallard referred to Lydiard as a man who "shaped our country".

"Like those original pioneers, like those who over 100 years ago decided women should have the vote, like those who fought at Gallipoli, like the Maori Battalion, those who made New Zealand nuclear-free and Edmund Hillary, Arthur put New Zealand on the world stage."

Lydiard's coffin was carried out by some of his nine grandchildren, for a private ceremony at the Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium in Meadowbank.