John Chodes

Corbitt: the Story of Ted Corbitt, Long Distance Runner John Chodes

Thirty six years have elapsed since the original publication of "Corbitt". Ted Corbitt died in Houston, Texas on December 12, 2007 at the age of 88. Until the very end, he was still competing in marathons, and ultra-marathons! He finished well over two hundred of them. I say "well over" because as age crept up, he lost the enthusiasm to run them, so he raced-walked through his competitions, and often failed to write the results down. Yet, age-group records and new accolades kept coming. At the end of this book, immediately following the "Complete Marathon Record of Ted Corbitt to May l978,'' there is a brief addition of some of his major ultra-marathon races to the end of his life. There is also a listing of his athletic and professional awards. I wrote this book about Ted Corbitt as a tribute and a thank-you to a man who was much more than someone who was a great athlete and who brought me into the running game, and gave me a life-long passion for this sport. I wrote this book because Ted Corbitt was my mentor and spiritual father who, without directly advising me, led me to a productive life by following his example.