C466 Derek Harrison - New Project

Derek died Friday, 16 August 2021 at the age of 86. He was a true legend of Manx athletics, and in his heyday he was one of the greatest long distance walkers in the world.

Derek qualified as a Centurion in 1971 at Surrey Walking Club's Ewhurst 100 with a time of 19:34:35 and was a member of Boundary Harriers, Isle of Man

In 1976, Derek competed at the Woodford 24 hour track race with a finishing distance of 211.13km (131.21 miles)

intermediate distances:  150km -16:15:07; 200km  22:38:35 -a new 24 hour track record.

Derek went on to better his performance two years later in Rouen (FRA)  where he completed the 24 hours road race in 219,570km (136.43 miles) - to become the new world record holder.

Derek also competed in the many long distance walks on the Isle of Man:

Manx Harriers website End to End 2005: "Parish Walk record holder Derek Harrison, 11 times a winner of the old east coast End to End walk, made an amazing comeback after a serious stroke."

from the Parish Walk website:   Derek Harrison's record time of 15:20:21 set in 1979 stood for 27 years until it was  broken by Sean Hands in the first sub 15 hour time of 14:47:36

Dave Griffiths writes a tribute to Derek - posted on Facebook (23 July 2021)

In addition to these accomplishments, Derek still holds Isle of Man track records for 150k, 100 miles and 200k, these being split times recorded during the Woodford Green race in 1976. He set the 100-mile road record at the National 100-mile Championships on a route from Leicester to Skegness in 1976, a record subsequently beaten by John Cannell. He represented the Isle of Man over a shorter distance of 20 miles in the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch (New Zealand) in 1974.

In 1979 Derek set the Parish Walk record of 15 hours 20 minutes and 21 seconds, a performance that went somewhat under the radar at the time.