Ron Clarke – Running Legend & Gold Coast City Mayor

On February 13, 2008, the World Harmony Run team met with the legendary world-record breaking runner Ron Clarke at his mayoral offices on Queensland's Gold Coast.

Ron Clarke has been Mayor of the Gold Coast since 2004, and met with the World Harmony Run there in 2005. He immediately accepted the invitation to become a National Patron for this year's event.

Ron Clarke lit the Olympic flame in the stadium for the 1956 Games in Melbourne as a 19-year-old and went on to hold 17 world records in the 1960s.

During a 44-day European tour in 1965, he competed 18 times and broke 12 world records. He broke his own 10,000 metre world-record to become the first man to run under 28 minutes for the distance. His time of 27:39.4 stood as an Australian record for 30 years and as a world record for almost 10 years.

Ron Clarke was one of Sri Chinmoy’s running heroes, and they met in Melbourne in 1976 during Sri Chinmoy's first visit to Australia.

– Animesh Harrington

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