Bruce Tulloh
{{short description|British athlete}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Bruce Tulloh
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Bruce_Tulloh.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Tulloh in 1966
| nationality = British (English)
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|09|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = Datchet, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|04|28|1935|09|29|df=y}}
| death_place = Marlborough, England
| sport = Athletics
| event = middle distance
| club = Portsmouth AC
| pb = {{unbulleted list
|Mile: 3:59.3
|5000 m: 13:49.4
|10,000 m: 28:50.4
}}
| show-medals =
| medaltemplates =
{{Medal|Sport | Men's athletics}}
{{Medal|Country | {{GBR2}} }}
{{Medal|Competition|European Championships}}
{{Medal|Gold | 1962 Belgrade|5000 metres}}
| medaltemplates-title =
| module3 =
}}
Michael Swinton "Bruce" Tulloh (29 September 1935 – 28 April 2018) was a long-distance runner from England who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Athletics career
Tulloh became the British 3 miles champion after winning the British AAA Championships titles at the 1959 AAA Championships{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003359/19590712/194/0012 |title=Barefooted Bruce kicks out stars |work=Weekly Dispatch (London) |date=12 July 1959 |via=British Newspaper Archive|url-access=subscription |access-date=3 May 2025}} and at the 1962 AAA Championships.{{cite web|url=https://www.nuts.org.uk/Champs/AAA/index.htm |title=AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists |website=National Union of Track Statisticians |access-date=3 May 2025}}
Tulloh won the European title in the men's 5000 metres at the 1962 European Championships in Belgrade, Yugoslavia with a winning time of 14:00.6. He was also part of a national title winning team Portsmouth A.C. in cross-country and road running in the 1960s. He was famous for running barefoot in many of his races. His twin daughters were teenage running phenomena in the 1980s setting age-best marks running for their club Swindon A.C. They also ran barefoot.
He represented England in the 1 mile and 3 mile races at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia. Four years later he competed in the 3 mile and 6 mile races at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In between he won his third AAA 3 miles title at the 1963 AAA Championships.{{cite web|url=http://www.gbrathletics.com/bc/aaa.htm |title=AAA Championships (men) |website=GBR Athletics |access-date=3 May 2025}}
In 1969, Tulloh ran 2876 miles across America from Los Angeles to New York City in 64 days. This is described in his book Four Million Footsteps, published by Pelham Books and as a Mayflower paperback in 1970.
He was coach to British marathon athlete Richard Nerurkar.
| class="wikitable"
|+ Personal bests | |||
| Distance
! Time (min) ! Date ! Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Mile | 3:59.3 | 27 January 1962 | Hamilton, New Zealand |
| 3 miles | 13:12.0 | 17 August 1961 | Southampton, U.K. |
| 5000 m | 13:49.4 | 22 July 1964 | Helsinki, Finland |
| 6 miles | 27:23.78 | 8 July 1966 | London, U.K. |
| 10,000 m | 28:50.4 | 30 August 1966 | Budapest, Hungary |
Personal life
He taught biology at The Bulmershe School, Dr Challoner's Grammar School and then Marlborough College for 20 years.
He wrote a book, Running is Easy, that is essentially an amateur's guide to becoming a good runner.
Tulloh also wrote for Runner's World. One of his most important contributions was a three-fold training programme for the ten-mile race (16.1 km): the first programme was how to get sub-80 mins (4:58 per km), the second was for sub-70 mins (4:21 per km) and the third for sub-60 mins (3:44 per km).
Death
Tullloh died at his home in Marlborough on 28 April 2018. He was 82.
Publications
See also
References
{{reflist |refs=
{{cite web
| last = Cobley
| first = John
| date = 9 May 2015
| title = Bruce Tulloh Profile
| url = https://www.racingpast.ca/john_contents.php?id=293
| website = Racing Past
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite magazine
| date = 16 December 1985
| title = Great Britain's Budding Zolas, the Tulloh Twins, Are 15-Year-Old 1,500-Meter Running Sensations
| url = http://people.com/archive/great-britains-budding-zolas-the-tulloh-twins-are-15-year-old-1500-meter-running-sensations-vol-24-no-25/
| magazine = People
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite web
| title = Athletes: Perth 1962 Team
| url = https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/perth-1962/athletes
| website = Team England
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite web
| title = Athletes: Kingston 1966 Team
| url = https://teamengland.org/commonwealth-games-history/kingston-1966/athletes
| website = Team England
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite magazine
| last = Tulloh
| first = Bruce
| date = 7 May 2002
| title = RW's Classic 10-mile Schedules
| url = https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/training/a760095/rws-classic-10-mile-schedules/
| magazine = Runner's World
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite magazine
| last = Smyth
| first = David
| date = 17 April 2020
| title = Remembering Barefoot Bruce
| url = https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/a32170247/remembering-barefoot-bruce/
| magazine = Runner's World
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite magazine
| last = Robinson
| first = Roger
| date = 29 April 2018
| title = Bruce Tulloh, barefoot champion of the 1960s, dies
| url = https://athleticsweekly.com/featured/bruce-tulloh-barefoot-champion-1960s-dies-96306/
| magazine = Athletics Weekly
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite news
| last = Nichols
| first = Peter
| date = 4 May 2018
| title = Bruce Tulloh obituary
| url = https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/may/04/bruce-tulloh-obituary
| newspaper = The Guardian
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite news
| last = Shaw
| first = Phil
| date = 8 May 2018
| title = Bruce Tulloh: Long-distance runner who broke records in bare feet
| url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/bruce-tulloh-dead-death-runner-barefoot-long-distance-athlete-european-championships-olympics-a8337136.html
| newspaper = The Independent
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite news
| title = Bruce Tulloh
| url = https://www.worldathletics.org/athletes/great-britain-ni/bruce-tulloh-14344016
| website = World Athletics
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite news
| title = Michael Bruce S. Tulloh
| url = https://olympics.com/en/athletes/michael-bruce-s-tulloh
| website = Olympics
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite news
| last = McGee
| first = Patrick
| date = 11 May 2018
| title = Bruce Tulloh, barefoot runner and biologist, 1935-2018
| url = https://www.ft.com/content/bc2e632e-53aa-11e8-b3ee-41e0209208ec
| newspaper = Financial Times
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
{{cite web
| title = Bruce Tulloh
| url = https://thepowerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=40370
| website = Power of 10
| publisher = UK Athletics
| access-date = 20 October 2021
}}
}}
{{Footer European Champions 5000 m Men}}
{{Japan Championships in Athletics men's 5000 metres champions}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tulloh, Bruce}}
Category:English male long-distance runners
Category:British male long-distance runners
Category:Olympic athletes for Great Britain
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for England
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
Category:European Athletics Championships medalists
Category:Japan Championships in Athletics winners