Jim Alder
James Noel Carroll Alder MBE is a British former distance runner, from Morpeth.
Alder, who was born in Glasgow, was a foster child. His mother died of tuberculosis and his father was killed on the last day of World War II. He moved to Morpeth, north of Newcastle, and became interested in running.Athletics career
Alder's athletic career saw him compete at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston winning Marathon Gold,. He competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the 1969 European Athletics Championships in Athens and the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.
He set a new world record for 30,000 m of 1 h 34 min 01.8 s in 1964. In that race he also set world records for 20 miles and 2 hours. The IAAF did not recognise the latter two marks for world records, but they were accepted as United Kingdom national records.
At the 1968 Olympic Games, in Mexico City, his height was recorded at 5 ft 8 in and his weight was 141 lb.
Alder ran his last marathon in the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. In September 1970, in London, he set a new record for 30,000 m of 1 h 31 min 30.4 s which still stands today.
He won The Great Northern Half Marathon, Belfast in 1971 promoted by County Antrim Harriers in a time of 1:05:05. date=June 2017citation needed|date=June 2017
