Arthur Keily

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Arthur Patrick Keily (18 March 1921 – 2 March 2016) was a British marathon runner from Derby. Born into a large family with Irish roots, he left school at 14 to become a blacksmith apprentice and also worked at the Derby Grand Theatre. His early sport was football, and he helped Osmaston Rangers win several local titles. His life was interrupted by World War II, when he served with the Sherwood Foresters in France; his father, a British Army sergeant, was killed at Dunkirk. After the war he returned to England, stayed on the reserve list of his former football club, and never played again.

Keily began long-distance running in his late 20s after a brother joined the Derby and County Athletic Club. He joined the club in 1949 and ran his first marathon in 1953, finishing 12th in a Doncaster to Sheffield race. He won his first marathon the next year, with a time of 2:30:45, narrowly beating the defending champion. Between 1953 and 1960 he raced 27 marathons, winning 11 and finishing in the top three six more times. He set nine world records during his career.

He was chosen club captain and helped Derby & County AC become national champions in 1960 by introducing stricter training. At his peak he ran more than 130 miles a week. Keily tried to reach the Olympics for 1956, competed in the Košice Marathon twice (12th in 1956, 6th in 1957), and ran the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games marathon for England, finishing 12th after falling ill before the race. He ran the 1960 Rome Olympics marathon, leading the race for about 12 miles, but finished 25th as the winner Abebe Bikila set a world record. Keily later blamed the late arrival in Rome for his poor acclimatization. He also took part in many British national road relays, helping to set several records before retiring from competition.

Keily held nine world records in distances including the half marathon, track marathon, 15, 30 and 45 miles, 45, 50 and 60 kilometers, and the longest distance run in three hours. After two decades with British Rail, he worked for Rolls-Royce from 1957 to 1962, then for Derby County F.C. in promotions, and finally as a greyhound racing adviser for the Derby Telegraph. He wrote several health and fitness books and returned to running at the masters level in the 1990s.

In 1991 he set a world age-class record in the marathon with a time of 3:24:22. In 2001 he was the British masters champion in the 80+ category for both the 400 meters and 3000 meters. The Derby Museum and Art Gallery holds medals and awards from his career, and he was honored with awards for charity work, including the Derby Civic Award (1992) and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). He received the Lifetime Achievement in Sport Award from Derby in 2008 and a Master of the University of Derby honorary degree in 2011. Arthur Keily died on 2 March 2016 in Derby at the age of 94.