Background
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 the World World War World War II
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 the World World War World War II
He moved to Morpeth, north of Newcastle, and became interested in running. He set a new world record for 30,000 m of 1hr 34min 01.8sec in 1964. In that race he also set world records for 20 miles (1hr 40min 580sec) and 2 hours (37,994m).
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"8" (172 cm) and his weight was 141 lbs (64 kg). In September 1970, in London, he set a new record for 30,000 m of 1hr 31min 30.4sec which still stands today.
He was featured in The Sunday Times, on 15 April 2007, which profiled his gold medal winning run in the 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica. Later that year in October, Alder featured on the British Broadcasting Corporation One series Inside Sport and was interviewed by Ray Stubbs.
In 2012, Alder was selected to carry the Olympic flame through Northumberland, for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
His biography is called Marathon and Chips.