John Tarrant (runner)

John Tarrant was an English long-distance runner nicknamed The Ghost Runner, born in Shepherd Bush, London, in 1932 and died in 1975. He earned the nickname by gatecrashing races from which he was barred for professional status, picked up during a brief career as a teenage prize-fighter. In 1967 he became the first man to win the grand slam of Britain four principal ultra-marathons, the London to Brighton, Isle of Man, Exeter to Plymouth and Liverpool to Blackpool. He set world records of 4 hours 3 minutes 28 seconds for 40 miles at Maindy Stadium in 1966 and 12 hours 31 minutes 10 seconds for 100 miles at Walton-on-Thames in 1969, finished fourth at the 1968 Comrades Marathon and won the 1970 Stanger to Durban race.