Clarence DeMar

Clarence DeMar
Clarence DeMar (1912)
Full name	Clarence Harrison DeMar
nation	United States
birthday	June 7, 1888
place of birth	Madeira, Ohio,  USA
size	171 cm
Weight	63 kg
date of death	June 11, 1958
Place of death	Reading (Massachusetts), USA
Career
discipline	Long distance running
Best performance	Marathon: 2:18:10 h
society	North Dorchester AA; Melrose Post American Legion
Medal table
Olympic games 0 × 0 × 1 ×
Olympic games bronze Paris 1924 Marathon run

Clarence Harrison DeMar (born June 7, 1888 in Madeira , Ohio , United States ; † June 11, 1958 in Reading , Massachusetts , United States) was an American athlete and medalist at the Olympic Games , as well as a four-time American marathon champion and seven-time winner of the Boston Marathon . DeMar is an athletic legend in the United States to this day, especially because of his passion for running marathons and the successes he has achieved, but also because of his distinctive personality. As a token of his appreciation, he was often called Mister DeMarathon .

Adolescent years

Clarence DeMar was the oldest of six children. His parents had German and French ancestors. Even as a child, his gait was more like a run. His father died at the age of eight and he had to support the rest of the family by selling everyday items like soap and pins on the street. He often covered more than 20 km a day.

When DeMar was ten, the family moved to Warwick , Massachusetts . Shortly afterwards, he injured his ankle while skating . Infection of the untreated wound almost resulted in his foot being amputated.

The poor conditions in which the DeMar family had to live resulted in Clarence DeMar being sent to the Boston Farm and Trade School , an institution where destitute and troubled boys received a simple education so that they could be properly incorporated into the American community Enable society. After graduating at the age of sixteen, he sought further training, first at Maple Lawn Academy and then at the University of Vermont . DeMar constantly strived for knowledge, but was quite critical and conflicting, which also influenced his development in sport.

At the University of Vermont, DeMar joined the cross-country team, but had constant arguments with the trainer who criticized DeMar's running style and training schedule. DeMar continued to train at his own discretion, and when he first competed in 1909, he immediately defeated the captain of the running team. However, DeMar was not satisfied with that. His goal, inspired by newspaper articles, was to become a marathon runner who could bring honor to his country.

The predicament of his mother and siblings caused DeMar to leave the university in 1909. He moved to Melrose with his mother , where he was to live until 1929. He found work as a printer in Medford . He covered the 8 km to work every day and always carried a clean shirt under his arm.

First running successes and first Olympic Games

In 1910 DeMar, now a member of the North Dorchester Athletic Association , participated for the first time in a significant run over ten miles and won it. A few weeks later he started his first marathon in Boston and finished second, one minute behind the winner. At the end of the year he completed his second marathon at the Brockton Marathon and came third. Inspired by these results, he immediately started extensive training. A medical examination during this time, however, found unusual heart murmurs and advised him not to continue participating in long running competitions.

Unimpressed by the advice, DeMar started again at the Boston Marathon in 1911 and celebrated his first victory. In the same year he took part in a further nine runs over different long distances, all of which he was able to win, including the Brockton Marathon again.

In 1912, DeMar suddenly changed his mind. Driven by doubts about his health, his urge for education and his efforts in social areas, he only took part in smaller competitions. He also did not take part in the Boston Marathon, which was an elimination competition for the Olympic Games in 1912. He was accepted into the US Olympic team anyway, because he was still considered one of the best national marathon runners, and they wanted to send a big, powerful team to the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm . For DeMar, however, the participation was a disappointment, as he later admitted himself. He only reached twelfth place, with six teammates crossing the finish line ahead of him.

Time of reflection and time of war

Between 1912 and 1917 DeMar was active in addition to his work as a lay preacher , as a leader of a boy scout group and attended courses at Boston University and Harvard University . From the latter university he received an associate degree in 1915 .

In 1917, DeMar surprised all experts when he took part in the Boston Marathon again. With third place he showed that the fitness level and running ability had not suffered in the five years without running competitions. In the same year he was back at the Brockton Marathon and won it with a course record. DeMar himself described these runs, however, merely as 'a fun activity before you might have to lose your life in the unavoidable use in the First World War .'

In 1918 DeMar was drafted into the US Navy , but from there he was soon placed under the US Army due to myopia . Army doctors found again that DeMar had an unusually large heart, which they interpreted as pathological and therefore placed him under the logistics force . In 1919 he came to Europe, first to England , then to France , and at the end of the war he was stationed in Koblenz as a member of the US occupation army. He later reported that he did not take part in any combat operation and that he never learned to shoot.

In 1920, when the Boston Marathon was again the elimination competition for the upcoming Olympic Games, DeMar was still uninterested. Instead, he continued to work with the Boy Scouts.

Time of success

1922 was the year for Clarence DeMar in which he finally recognized his calling to be a marathon runner. Now at the advanced age of 33, he took part in the Boston Marathon for the third time after a five-year break and scored his second victory. The time of 2:18:10 hours meant a course record over the usual distance of 24.5 miles (39.2 km) run in Boston at the time. He was also victorious when he participated again in 1923. In connection with his adopted country, he now started for the Melrose American Legion Post. His running shirt with the imprint Melrose became his trademark and nationally known.

In 1924 DeMar won the Boston Marathon for the third time in a row, which also meant qualifying for the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. In the meantime, the length of the route in Boston had also been changed to the usual length of a marathon of 42.195 km. With his winning time of 2: 29: 40.2 hours, DeMar was the first runner to stay under 2:30 hours over this distance. The press celebrated him as a world record holder, but the running time was never included in an official list of world best times, because 3 years later a re-measurement found that the distance was 176 yards (161 meters) too short.

At the Olympic Games in 1924 DeMar achieved his greatest international success with third place. He trusted in his strength and was the only runner who was consistently in the front of the four best runners after 10 km. After 30 km, he was still in second place, but with his steady run he could not fend off the attack by Romeo Bertini , who finally came second.

DeMar finished in the 1927 Boston Marathon

In 1925, DeMar's streak of victories at the Boston Marathon was broken, of all places, the run in which the first American championship in the marathon was held. DeMar finished second behind Charles Mellor . Even in 1926, it was only enough to finish third in the Boston Marathon, but victory just four weeks later at the Laurel- to- Baltimore Marathon meant Clarence DeMar's first US championship, which he would win in a row until 1929. In 1926 he won two more marathons in Philadelphia and Port Chester . It was followed by his second championship title at the marathon in Baltimore and his fifth victory in Boston. With five wins out of five marathons within twelve months, DeMar was finally a celebrated hero.

DeMar's training also included runs that exceeded the length of a marathon run. Such ultra-marathons were not uncommon at the time, and DeMar also took part in these competitions. In 1928 he won the Providence -to-Boston long distance run over 44 miles (70 km). A month later, the Boston Marathon was again the venue for the US American marathon championships, for DeMar it was the sixth victory here and the third championship title. He also achieved the re-qualification for the US Olympic team, which was sent to the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam .

In Amsterdam DeMar was already 40 years old. In 16 years he had participated in the Olympic Games three times. There have been more marathon runners, but no other runner has been there for so long. DeMar ran almost exactly the same time as in 1912 and was therefore not disappointed with his 27th place. Curiously, it was also his 27th marathon (13 wins).

The placements at the Olympic Games for Clarence DeMar:

• V. 1912 Summer Olympics, Stockholm
  • Marathon - 12th place with 2:50: 46.6 hours (gold to Ken McArthur from South Africa with 2: 36: 54.8 hours)
• VIII. 1924 Summer Olympics, Paris
  • Marathon - bronze with 2: 48: 14.0 hours (gold to Albin Stenroos from Finland with 2: 41: 22.6 hours; silver to Romeo Bertini from Italy with 2: 47: 19.6 hours)
• IX. 1928 Summer Olympics, Amsterdam
  • Marathon - 27th place with 2: 50: 42.0 hours (gold to Boughera El-Ouafi from France with 2: 32: 57.0 hours)

End of career

DeMar in 1930
at the Boston Marathon

In 1929 DeMar took part again as a matter of course in the Boston Marathon, where the US championships were held again. The fourth championship title for DeMar had a small blemish, however, because he not only had to leave the victory to the Canadian John Miles , but also had to admit defeat to a number of other foreign participants. As the best American runner, he finished ninth.

That same year, DeMar married Margaret L. Ilsley and moved to Keene , where he taught industrial professions at Keene State College . He also coached the college's running team.

In the 1930 Boston Marathon, DeMar set two unprecedented records with his victory. With a total of 7 races won, he had won the most victories here to date and at 41 he was the oldest winner so far.

An athlete's life in old age

In 1932 DeMar resumed his work in addition to studying at Boston University, which he completed in June 1934 with a master's degree . In 1937 he published his book Marathon , which still includes training theories and training practices that are recognized in professional circles.

Clarence DeMar participated in a total of 34 Boston marathons by 1954. In 1957, already marked by cancer , he competed in his last competition, a 15 km run. Clarence DeMar passed away 4 days after his 70th birthday.

In 1971 DeMar was inducted into the RRCA American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame , and in 2000 into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame .

Since 1978, the Clarence DeMar Marathon has been held in his last hometown, Keene, in his honor , a run with an international character, which also counts as a qualifying run for the US Olympic qualifying competitions.

literature

• Clarence DeMar: Marathon (The Clarence DeMar Story). Cedarwinds Publishing Company, Tallahassee FL 1998, ISBN 0-915297-09-4 .

Web links

• Clarence DeMar Marathon
• National Distance Running Hall of Fame
• Clarence DeMar in the database of Olympedia.org (English)