- Cliff Young (athlete)
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Cliff Young 
Born Albert Ernest Clifford Young
February 8, 1922Died November 2, 2003 (aged 81) Nationality Australian Known for Ultra Marathon winner at the age of 61 Albert Ernest Clifford "Cliff" Young (8 February 1922[1] – 2 November 2003[2]) was an Australian potato farmer[2] and athlete from Beech Forest, Victoria, best noted for his unexpected Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon win at 61 years of age.
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Early life
Born the eldest son of Mary and Albert Ernest Young on 8 February 1922, Albert Ernest Clifford Young grew up on a farm in Beech Forest in southwestern Victoria.[1] The family farm was approximately 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) in size with approximately 2,000 sheep.[3] Young would round up the stock on foot, reckoning that it was the easiest method.[1]
In late 1982, after training for months around the Otway Ranges, Young attempted to break Siggy Bauer's then world record for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of 11 days and 23 hours. The attempt took place in Colac's Memorial Square. Young had to abandon the world-record attempt after 500 miles. Reflecting on the failed attempt, Young wrote that he and his support team were inexperienced and ill-prepared.[1]
Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon
In 1983, the 61-year-old potato farmer won the first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon (875 kilometres, 544 miles). The race was run between what were then Australia's two largest shopping centres: Westfield Parramatta, in Sydney, and Westfield Doncaster, in Melbourne.[4] Cliff arrived at the start line with overalls and gumboots. He ran at a slow loping pace and trailed the leaders for most of the course, but by denying himself sleep and running while the others slept, he slowly gained on them and eventually won by a large margin.
Before running the race, he told the press that he had previously run for two to three days straight rounding up sheep. He claimed afterwards that during the race, he imagined that he was running after sheep and trying to outrun a storm.
He became very popular after this "tortoise and hare" feat, so much so that in Colac, Victoria, the Cliff Young Australian Six-Day Race was established that same year.
The Westfield run took him five days, 15 hours and four minutes,[1] trimming almost two days off the record for any previous run between Sydney and Melbourne. All of the six competitors who finished the race broke the previous record, but Young beat them by running while they were sleeping.[4]
In 1997 at age 75, he made an attempt to beat Ron Grant's around Australia record and completed 6,520 kilometres of the 16,000-kilometre run, but he had to pull out because his only crew member became ill.[5] In 2000 he achieved a world age record in a six-day race in Victoria.[6]
Personal life
He was a vegetarian from 1973 until his death.[7] He lived at home with his mother and brother Sid. After the race, at 62, Young married Mary Howell, 39 years his junior. The race sponsor, Westfield, hosted the wedding for the entertainment of shoppers.[4] They divorced five years later.[6] Renowned for his then ungainly running style, Young ran more than 20,000 kilometres during his competitive career.[6] After five years of illness, he died of cancer, at 5:21 PM on Sunday, 2 November 2003[2] at the age of 81.
The Young Shuffle
The "Young shuffle" has been adopted by some ultra-marathon runners because it expends less energy. At least three winners of the Sydney to Melbourne race have been known to use the "Young shuffle" to win the race. In 2010, comedienne Hannah Gadsby named her Sydney Comedy Festival show "The Cliff Young Shuffle" in tribute.
References
- ^ a b c d e Young, A.E.C. 1995, Cliffy's Book, High Country Publishing, Dargo. ISBN 064623241
- ^ a b c "End of the road for Cliff". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). 3 November 2003. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/03/1067708126175.html.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ a b c McGirr, Michael (8 Nov 2003). "Running the Good Race". The Age. Fairfax Media. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/07/1068013394824.html?from=storyrhs. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ "The Legend of Cliff Young: The 61 Year Old Farmer Who Won the World’s Toughest Race". Elitefeet.com. 30 December 2007. http://www.elitefeet.com/the-legend-of-cliff-young-the-61-year-old-farmer-that-won-the-worlds-toughest-race. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ a b c Willis, Louise (3 November 2003). "Cliff Young dies aged 81". The World Today (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2003/s981189.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
- ^ Jamieson, Tania (Winter 1997). "Interview with Cliff Young". New Vegetarian and Natural Health (coolrunning.com.au): 40. http://www.coolrunning.com.au/ultra/1997032.shtml. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
External links
- Cliff Young at ultralegends.com
- Cliff Young Rest in Peace
Categories:- 1922 births
- 2003 deaths
- Australian long-distance runners
- Australian farmers
- Australian vegetarians
- Ultramarathon runners
- Cancer deaths in Queensland
- Otway Ranges
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