Words: Ultra Magazine
Although he recalls progress as ‘erratic’ with many injuries and blisters, he
broke the existing record by almost two days, finishing in 10 days 18:23
Few individuals have left as indelible a mark on the world of ultrarunning and long-distance walking as Richard Brown. Brown’s extraordinary feats of stamina and resilience have inspired countless athletes to push beyond their perceived limits.
Born 18th November 1946 in Beckenham, Kent, Brown met and married Sandra (see above) while they were studying history at University College London and they shared a love of walking. Soon their strolls became longer and more energetic, and following the 1982 Winchester Marathon they took part in longer LDWA events and quickly built up to the 100-mile Pilgrims Hundred from Guildford to Canterbury, where they both completed with Brown significantly slower than his wife. Initially he was not interested in further long-distance walks, but spurred on by his wife’s achievement in her first Centurion race later that year they both joined the local walking club, and he also became a Centurion in 1983. By 1984 had completed a 100-mile walk in 18:50:23, and by 1988 Brown had completed 30 races of at least 100 miles, including his best time of 17:00:35 at Leicester.
During those years Brown took on one of Britain’s most famous endurance challenges: Land’s End to John O’Groats, from the northern tip of Scotland to the southernmost point of England, a distance of 875 miles. Although he recalls progress as ‘erratic’ with many injuries and blisters, he broke the existing record by almost two days, finishing in 10 days 18:23 – only beaten four years later by the legendary Scottish runner Don Ritchie.
In 1988 Brown set out to support John “Paddy” Dowling in his attempt to walk the 375-mile length of Ireland south to north, but Paddy dropped out and Brown continued to the finish and set a new world record time of 4 days 12 hours, a feat that stood until 2017.
Among Brown’s most remarkable feats was his participation, just a few weeks later, in the Sri Chinmoy 1000-mile race; an endurance challenge that requires exceptional mental and physical strength. He reached 621 miles in a world age record of 7 days 11:40 (a record which stood until 2018) and completed 720 miles in 9.5 days.
A year later Brown became only the sixth man to achieve 400km in a 48-hour race, reaching 401km and 3rd place at Surgeres, France.
In 1990 Brown and his wife Sandra participated in the Paris-Colmar Race, an esteemed long-distance walking event covering around 324 miles (for the men – the women started at mile 113 alongside the first male walker!), where he competed against 35 of the world’s best endurance walkers. Just to qualify for the race each had to finish four French 24-hour races within a two-month period, which both Richard and Sandra did. Sandra finished 2nd female, with Richard completing in 9th place with a time of 73:29.
A year later Brown became only the sixth man to achieve 400km in a 48-hour race, reaching 401km and 3rd place at Surgeres, France, and then over the following two years he set a series of British walking records with 200km in 21:42, 100 miles in 16:50:28, and 221 miles in 48-hours indoors.
Brown returned to LEJOG in 1995 with a determination to retake the record from Don Ritchie. Helped by Don himself for a day, he alternated walking and running and achieved a steady walking pace of up to 4.5 miles per hour, with a regimented daily routine he managed to break the record by 13 hours with an amazing 10 days 2:25.
Richard and Sandra’s walking achievements continued, with both achieving 100x100 (completing 100 events of 100+ miles) in the early 2000s, and Brown taking a world M65 record of 406 miles in 6 days at Balatonfured, Hungary.
Beyond his personal achievements, Richard Brown played a crucial role in the development and promotion of British ultrarunning, coaching the British Ultramarathon Team between 2006 and 2016. The team became World Champions in 2015 at Turin, and Dan Lawson, under Brown’s mentorship, became individual European Champion in 2016 with a distance of 162 miles in 24 hours. His experience and wisdom were invaluable to those looking to understand the intricacies of long-distance racing, from nutrition and hydration to pacing and mental strategies.
Richard Brown’s contributions to the world of ultrarunning and long-distance walking are immeasurable. He has inspired a generation of endurance athletes. Whether through his record-breaking performances, his mentorship, or his sheer passion for the sport, Brown’s influence will continue to be felt for years to come. His legacy is one of endurance, inspiration, and an unshakable belief in the power of the human will. And he, like Sandra, is still running and walking races, and doing them together. Legends.