Distance running icon Leslie Watson dies aged 78

Prolific and pioneering racer in the 1970s and 1980s was a popular and striking figure who won dozens of marathons and set world bests in ultra-running

Distance running trailblazer, world record-holder and multiple magazine cover star, Leslie Watson will be fondly remembered as one of the most iconic athletes during the original jogging boom.

The glamorous globe-trotting runner notched up more than 60 marathon victories around the world. These included the Women’s AAA title in 1981, plus world best performances at 50 miles and 100km.

Following several years of declining health, she died on New Year’s Day aged 78 after being hospitalised over Christmas with blood clots in her legs.

“I imagine you will struggle to find a single person in the world who would have a bad word to say about her,” says Lawrence Brampton, one of her friends and former training partners.

Born as Janice Leslie Watson in Glasgow in February 1945, her father was a doctor and her mother a dancer who specialised in Russian Cossack dancing.

Despite having modest ability as a runner, she was attracted to athletics and joined Maryhill Harriers, where she came into contact with a PE teacher called John Anderson. Under Anderson’s coaching she won the Scottish Schools 880 yards title followed by the Scottish one mile crown, plus Scottish cross-country national titles in the late 1960s. Later, she put much of her success down to Anderson’s guidance.

She qualified as a physiotherapist, moved to London and began to be drawn to the marathon, although this wasn’t a straightforward option for a female runner in the 1970s due to rules that forbade women from racing against men.

“I’d much rather be a sprinter,” she later told AW, “but as I have no natural talent the marathon is my next favourite event.”

Leslie Watson (Mark Shearman)

In 1975 she made her debut at 26.2 miles in the Masters and Maidens Marathon in Guildford. Her motivation? She thought running such a long way would help her lose weight off her already slim physique. “It crossed my mind that marathon running might be slimming,” she said.

The race didn’t go well, though, as she clocked 3hr 31min “knowing that I had run a stupid race and knowing that I was unfit. But it was certainly slimming!” she added.

She soon found her stride in the marathon, though. Whereas her absolute best remained a relatively modest 2:44:18 from the New York Marathon in 1982, she became a…