AUTHOR ON THE RUN: Rob Hadgraft, the writer of "Plimsolls On, Eyeballs Out," pictured competing for Tiptree Road Runners at the South of England Cross Country Championships on Hampstead Heath, in north London

ROBERT Hadgraft, a local sports writer and long-standing member of Tiptree Road Runners, has written a number of athletics biographies over the last decade.

I was a big fan of his first athletics book, on Alfred Shrubb (“The Little Wonder”), and Hadgraft has gone on to write four others, the fifth and latest on Essex marathon legend, Jim Peters.

Published by Desert Island Books, of Southend-on-Sea, this is a must read for all running fans.

The book - “Plimsolls On, Eyeballs Out” - has a sub-title that betrays the main theme – ‘The rise and horrendous fall of marathon legend Jim Peters.”

Incredibly, this is the first biography of Peters, a man who used to dominate the world at the sport of marathon running.

Wearing his trademark Woolworth’s plimsolls, Peters smashed several world record during the 1950s.

The secret of his success was a punishing training schedule, and a “never-say-die” attitude.

He was in his 30s when he blazed a trail, quite literally, because his general style was to run opponents into the ground, rather than rely on any subtle tactical approach.

But that only tells half the 
tale.

The added attraction of Peters’ story is his fall from grace, when his policy of running “eyeballs out” in the heat of the Empire Games of 1954 was to prove his dramatic downfall.

Author Hadgraft, a former sports journalist at the East Anglian Daily Times and Evening Star, is himself a keen runner, having completed nearly 900 races over varying distances during the last 30 years. He is a former member of Ipswich JAFFA.

In addition to his book on Arthur Shrubb, and his latest one on Peters, he has also written biographies on infamous long distance runners Walter George (“Beer and Brine”) Louis Bennett (“Deerfoot”) and Arthur Newton (“Tea with Mr Newton”).

As a long-distance runner myself, I found Hadgraft’s latest book another absorbing read, superbly researched and written in an engaging style.

This 272-page, illustrated book, priced at £14.99, is ublished by Desert Island Books and is also available as an e-book for Amazon ‘Kindle’ users.