Ken Hall, who died on 3 May, was one of Australia’s best middle-distance runners at a time when our middle-distance stocks were almost universally under-rated. He ran fast. He raced aggressively. He held his own against some of the world’s greatest ever milers.
When Melbourne 1956 10,000 metres bronze medalist Al Lawrence passed on some years back I wrote that the US-based athlete, coach and running writer was possibly the best Australian distance runner most readers would never have heard of.
When Ken Hall’s contemporary Graham Crouch, Montreal 1976 Olympic 1500 finalist, died in 2019 I observed that he came from a post-John Landy-Herb Elliott-Ralph Doubell era in which our best male middle-distance runners (few female middle-distance opportunities then) tended to be under-rated against such glorious predecessors.
That you stand on the shoulders of giants should not diminish your own achievements, was the point. The column ran under the heading: “Not Landy, not Elliott, but pretty darned good.” It was about Crouch, but applies equally to Ken Hall.
‘Hally’ as he was universally known was a gifted athlete, coach and club administrator, and had a successful career as an engineer. He was a friend to so many of us in the Melbourne distance scene. Two years ago he was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a pernicious disease that affects walking, balance, eye movement and swallowing. Another year on, he went into full-time care. Until the very end he derived great enjoyment from discussing – frequently reminiscing but he had a passion for contemporary news, too – athletics and Collingwood (AFL) Football Club with visitors.
Ken Hall ran well in Australia – very well. He won a national junior 1500 title (then under 19) in 1970 and senior titles at the distance in 1977 and 1979. He was second on two further occasions and third once.
But it was Europe that saw his best running. On the European circuit in the 1970s you raced hard, raced often and you had to race well, otherwise you went home. Hall was part of an Anzac unit with the likes of fellow-Aussies Crouch and Dave Fitzsimons and Kiwi legends John Walker, Dick Quax and Rod Dixon.
In an email message after the death of Fitzsimons in 2008, Rod Dixon described life on the circuit then as “tough going. (You were) only good as your last race, air tickets, room and board but ‘you had to be top 3’, if not you were bus or train!”
Hall was in the air ticket, room and board class. Charlene Rendina, holder of the Australian women’s 800 metres record from 1976 until 2019, also raced in Europe at the time. She recalls Ken as “a great athlete, (who) gave his all. We ran in many race meets in Europe in ’75, along with Walker Dixon and Quax, and saw some brilliant racing with Ken in the mix.”
Two of those races stand out. Both produced mile world records. At Gothenburg’s Ullevi Stadium on 12 August 1975, John Walker ran 3:49.4, the first sub-3:50 mile. Clinging to his heels every step of the first 1300 metres was Ken Hall. He paid for his ambition – the last 309 metres took over 19 seconds – but Hall ran his personal best at both 1500 and mile, 3:36.6 and 3:55.2.
Just four years later when Coe broke Walker’s record with a 3:49.0 in Oslo, Walker was again in the race, finishing sixth. So, too, was Ken Hall, tenth in 3:55.27. Allowing for the vagaries of manual versus photo-finish recording, essentially the same time. “Validated the distance,” some wag informed Hally on his return to Australia.
Jokes aside, these performances and many more over the period, likewise validated Hall’s belonging in the company of the world’s best milers.
Around this time, Hally purchased the house in Melbourne’s inner-north Clifton Hill that would turn out to be his ‘forever’ home. The address? Walker Street: I’m sure Hally was reminded of this ‘coincidence’ about two million times!
Let’s just say Ken Hall did, and does, belong on Walker’s street and leave it at that.
Sadly, though, Ken Hall’s international performances did not translate into major championship selection. He was named to the 1976 Olympic team before the Australian Olympic Federation cut him and eight others from the sport’s selections. In 1978, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association decided that they could select neither Olympic finalist Crouch nor Hall at 1500 because the team was chosen on the basis of likely medals. Some ordinary athletes were picked, two of Australia’s world class athletes left out.
In these more inclusive times, Hally would certainly be an Olympian (1976 and, possibly, 1980 as well) and a Commonwealth Games representative. As it was, his one national singlet came when he was belatedly selected in a Pacific Conference Games team in 1981.
Like most of his contemporaries, Hally never ‘retired’ from running, but once his peak days were done he turned to coaching at club level. His East Melbourne Harriers club had around the same time merged with Essendon. Ken coached Liam Adams, a three-time Olympic and three-time Commonwealth Games marathoner and nine-time world cross-country representative, and Mitch Brown, two times world cross-country and 2013 national cross-country champion, among many others.
Adams, in particular, gave Hally the Australian singlet representation that he so richly deserved himself. Josh Funder, another Essendon athlete and coaching charge, organised a support group for Ken through his final illness that through the coordination of sisters Shirley and Lynette and niece Vikki, resulted in many visits to his care facility.
His fellow-athletes always knew Ken was an engineer and that he worked for VicRoads through its various iterations, but he also studied economics and acquired an MBA in pursuit of further qualifications. Finally, he worked as a consultant, passing on his expertise to others. He was honoured with an Outstanding Service Award by the International Traffic Engineers Australia-New Zealand chapter. The award made specific mention of his mentoring and supporting of engineering students. Not just athletics, then.
The illness which took Ken Hall away was both rapid and insidious in its progress. Just over two years ago he was still a regular at our favoured Domain café after Saturday morning run/walks at The Tan. Although on a walking frame, he continued for some further time with one or other of us giving him a lift back to Walker St. From there, to full-time care to last days was less than a year.
Through all that, Ken never bemoaned his lot. The loss of mobility is especially poignant in elite athletes. Even as his ability to respond coherently diminished his joy at hearing the news, especially on athletics and football, was apparent. His departure is a loss to Australian athletics.
As one of our chat group respondents put it: “such a sad way to finish his life! He was a quiet man and a very humble human being.”