Ian Reginald Thompson (born 16 October 1949) is an English long-distance runner, who gained success in marathon running. His Commonwealth Games marathon record set in 1974 remains unbeaten.
Born in the town of Birkenhead, Cheshire (now Merseyside), Ian Thompson was regarded as just an ordinary club athlete and ranked 90th in Britain's 5,000 metres list at the time,[1] but suddenly broke through to world class as a marathon runner when asked to make up the numbers for his club, Luton United, in the Amateur Athletic Association of England (AAA) marathon championship on 27 October 1973. It was his first race of over 10 miles, but he won in 2:12:40, at the time, the fastest ever debut at the distance and qualified him for the Commonwealth Games three months later
Thompson travelled to Christchurch for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games with little expectation that he would be able to reproduce the performance that got him there. This was not the case however and he won with a margin of over 2 minutes in a time of 2:09:12, the fastest ever run in a championship race, a British record and only 39 seconds off the then world record of 2:08:34. This is currently (19 September 2020) the eighth fastest time by a British athlete (according to runbritainrankings.com) and still a Commonwealth Games record.[2]
In the early autumn of 1974, Thompson competed at the European Championships in Rome, again he proved to be the class act of the field. He stayed with the leading group until the 20 kilometre mark and then steadily opening up a gap on the rest of the field[3] that stood at 98 seconds when he won in a time of 2:13:18.8.
Thompson's achievements were recognised in the 1974 SJA Annual Sports awards, where he was runner up to John Conteh in the Sportsmen of the Year category.[4]
In 1976, he suffered cramps and finished only seventh in the trials for the Olympics, for which he was not selected. Although for many years among Britain's best, he never regained his 1974 eminence and contested only one more major championship. He won the AAA title in 1980 to gain selection for the Moscow Olympics but dropped out at the Games. His best times each year between 1977 and 1982 were in the 2:12 to 2:15 range.
His wife Margaret was an early pioneer of marathon running for women in Britain and ran a British best time of 3:07:47 in Korso, Finland on 26 October 1975 and for a few months they held both the men and women's British marathon records, until Margaret's time was beaten by Christine Readdy (Kilkenny) in Feltham on 4 April 1976. Margaret (nee Tunstall) trained at Bedford College of Physical Education. At the time of his victory at the Commonwealth Games Thompson was studying for a PGCE at Trinity and All Saints College (TASC).[5]
Thompson was famously quoted at his 1974 peak as saying "I prefer to remain in blissful ignorance of the opposition. That way I'm not frightened by anyone's reputation".[6]
| Event | Time | Date | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | 2:09:12 | 31 January 1974 | Christchurch | |
| 25,000 m | 1:17:36.4 | 15 May 1975 | Oulu | |
| 15,000 m | 44:56.0 | 15 May 1975 | Oulu | |
| 10,000 m | 29:33.0 | 1979 | ||
| 5,000 m | 14:05.4 | 19 June 1971 | Cardiff | |
| 1,500 m | 3:51.0 | 1969 | ||
| One hour | 19.831 km | 15 May 1975 | Oulu |
| Event | Time | Date | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA Marathon | 2:12:40 | 27 October 1973 | Harlow | 1st |
| Orion Harriers Fifteen | 1:24:14 | 24 March 1973 | Epping Forest | 2nd |
| Commonwealth Games Marathon | 2:09:12 | 31 January 1974 | Christchurch | 1st |
| Athens Marathon | 2:13:50.2 | 6 April 1974 | Athens | 1st |
| European Championships Marathon | 2:13:18.8 | 8 September 1974 | Rome | 1st |
| Fukuoka Marathon | 2:12:54 | 5 December 1976 | Fukuoka | 2nd |
| Amsterdam Marathon | 2:17:47.4 | 21 May 1977 | Amsterdam | 4th |
| Polytechnic Marathon | 2:14:32 | 11 June 1977 | Windsor | 1st |
| New York City Marathon[7] | 2:17:46.0 | 23 October 1977 | New York | 13th |
| Auckland Marathon[8] | 2:03:31 | 13 November 1977 | Auckland | 3rd |
| Auckland Marathon | 2:13:49 | 12 November 1978 | Auckland | 1st |
| New York City Marathon | 2:14:12 | 22 October 1978 | New York | 2nd |
| Montreal Marathon | 2:15:24 | 26 August 1979 | Montreal | 6th |
| New York City Marathon | 2:13:43 | 21 October 1979 | New York | 4th |
| AAA Marathon | 2:14:00 | 3 May 1980 | Milton Keynes | 1st |
| London to Brighton Race | 5:15:15 | 28 September 1980 | London | 1st |
| Stockholm Marathon | 2:19:25 | 23 August 1980 | 3rd | |
| Tokyo Marathon | 2:14:39 | 1 March 1981 | Tokyo | 7th |
| Duchy Marathon | 2:27:53 | 29 March 1981 | 1st | |
| Amatrice-Configno 8.4 km | 24:45.8 | 18 August 1981 | 1st | |
| Birmingham Marathon | 2:13:50 | 20 September 1981 | 1st | |
| Romatona Marathon | 2:12:09 | 14 March 1982 | 2nd | |
| Geneva Marathon | 2:15:28 | 21 March 1982 | Geneva | 2nd |
| Paris Marathon | 2:14:07 | 16 May 1982 | Paris | 1st |
| Intercontinental Istanbul Eurasia Marathon | 2:32:35 | November 1983 | 1st | |
| Paris Marathon | 2:17:14 | 14 May 1983 | Paris | 3rd |
| Stoke-on-Trent City Marathon | 2:20:54 | 17 June 1984 | Stoke-on-Trent | 1st |
| Manchester Marathon | 2:16:08 | 1 July 1984 | Manchester | 1st |
| Guernsey Marathon | 2:25:22 | 25 August 1986 | Saint Peter Port | 2nd |
| Malta Marathon | 2:29:06 | 15 February 1987 | Malta | 1st |