Louisa Wall: The running man who set the pace

There are those who make a difference and those who are the difference. Arthur Lydiard was both.

It was that afternoon at the Rome Olympics in 1960 when, within an hour of each other, Peter Snell won the 800m and Murray Halberg the 5000m, the trademark mentorship and directorship of Lydiard first blossomed.

Lydiard was a master of challenging convention. He rewrote the coaching theories by advocating stamina as the answer for athletes who could run at a certain rate over a short distance and wanted to continue that pace over a greater distance.

This regime of preparation concentrated on interval training and repetition as a means of increasing basic speed.

It required hard work and commitment - but what one sowed, one reaped.

And this torturous regime involved a "Do what I do and what I say" relationship with his proteges, as he ran alongside them, asking them to run no more or less than he.

This ensured that he could say to his athletes: "It's just a fact ... You've put in the work ... You know, you can win that race."

This attitude and this legacy continue to motivate and inspire.

He was a sporting pioneer - unafraid to try new methods and test the boundaries of accepted practice.

This LSD - long slow distance for everyone - theory could be applied to everyone, over every distance. This logic was perfectly demonstrated in Rome by Snell, who was sharpened, rather than jaded, by three races preceding the final.

And his legend extended beyond the sports domain to traverse recreation, health and wellbeing.

Lydiard is better known internationally for sparking the worldwide spread of jogging which he suggested was an effective rehabilitation tool from cardiac surgery.

In 1961, Lydiard told friend Colin Kay he was getting fat. All of us (especially retired athletes!) need a friend like Lydiard.

In response, the Auckland Joggers' Club was formed in Kay's Remuera lounge, where Lydiard talked to about 12 overweight businessmen, and then later moved to Cornwall Park.

The club, under Kay, set up the Round the Bays run, and Lydiard was long a patron.

A visiting athletics coach from Oregon during this time, Bill Bowerman - who was also co-founder of Nike - took note, and jogging soon began to spread across the United States.

Even President John F. Kennedy called on his nation to get fit, and the rest, as they say, is history. Lydiard even inspired headlines such as "Jogging movement has spread like fever in Oregon" and his legend will endure in every corner of the globe.

In 1973, the Round the Bays run attracted 1200 participants, a figure that swelled to 80,000 by 1982. It was the first publicly advertised and publicly attended fun run, and the precursor of the big-city marathons.

In 1990 Lydiard was awarded the country's highest honour, membership of the Order of New Zealand.

What a great loss he will be, but his memory will burn brightly for many moons and Olympics and fun runs to come.

Snell continues to speak about Lydiard's model of preparation and part in his success.

Snell was booked to speak about Lydiard in Atlantic City last week, and the subject of his speech embodied the Lydiard method: Why slow running makes you fast.

Kua hinga he totara o te wao nui o Tane.

Haere ra, takahia atu te ara whanui ki nga papa takaro o te rangi.

Haere ra.

(A totara tree has fallen in the great forest of Tane.

Farewell, depart on your journey to the great athletic fields of heaven.

Farewell.)

* Louisa Wall is a former New Zealand rugby and netball representative