- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJohn Adelbert Kelley
- Nicknames
- Johnny
- The Elder
- King of the Marathoners
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- Long distance runner John Adelbert "Johnny" Kelley was born on September 6, 1907 in West Medford, Massachusetts. The oldest in a family of ten children, Kelley ran track and cross country at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. Johnny twice represented the United States in the Olympics: He finished in 18th place in the men's marathon in the 1936 Olympics and finished in 21st place in the same event at the 1948 Olympics. However, Kelley achieved his greatest enduring popularity with his frequent participation in the Boston Marathon: He not only won the 1935 and 1945 Boston Marathons, but also finished second in seven additional Boston Marathons, placed in the top ten in eighteen Boston Marathons, and ran his last full Boston Marathon at age 84 in 1992. (Marathon officials erected a statue in Kelley's honor the following year.)
Moreover, Johnny won the Amateur Athletic Union Marathons in 1948 and 1950 as well as won nine other AAU titles in various long distance events. Kelley was married four times and worked as an electrical maintenance man for the Boston Edison Company until his retirement in 1973. Johnny was named Runner of the Century by Runner's World magazine in 2000. Outside of running, Kelley also did seascape and landscape paintings; he averaged twenty paintings per year and sold most of them. Johnny died at age 97 on October 6, 2004 in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. He was survived by his fourth wife Ginger DeLong, a stepson, a stepdaughter, three sisters, and many nieces and nephews.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
- SpousesGinger DeLong(2002 - October 6, 2004) (his death)Laura Harlow(1956 - 1996) (her death)
- Competed in the Boston Marathon a record 61 times.
- At age 70 was still running 50 miles per week and competing in about 15 marathons a year.
- Ran 29 times in the Yonkers Marathon in Yonkers, New York.
- Ran his first race in a Boston park at age 11. It was a 100-yard dash for children that his brother Jim won.
- His father was a letter carrier who lived to be 96.
- [comment at age 65] For me, the race these days is to try to beat the girls to the finish and to wave to all my old friends along the course.
- [comment at age 70] I'm afraid to stop running. I feel too good. I want to stay alive.
- [on the Boston Marathon] For those who are in shape and can run this thing I think it's the greatest race in the world. I hope it goes on forever.
- People always ask me why I keep on running. I keep running because I love it. To me, there's nothing else like it in the world.
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