A lifetime of athletics

New Athletics New Zealand life member Ron Cain in his role as meeting manager at the Caledonian...
New Athletics New Zealand life member Ron Cain in his role as meeting manager at the Caledonian Ground. Photo by Jane Dawber.
It was not what he expected. Ron Cain was given a rude awakening into the realities of international sport when his protest was turned down at Madrid in 1981.

Cain (79), a new life member of Athletics New Zealand, was manager of the New Zealand cross-country team at the world championships in Spain.

New Zealand's second best runner, Mary O'Connor, finished in the top 20 in the women's race but tripped in the chute and other runners pushed passed her before her race number was checked.

Cain was standing at the finish, saw what had happened, and put in a protest when O'Connor was officially placed 25th.

"They heard my protest but said I wasn't an official and dismissed it," Cain said. "I was flabbergasted. They did not have electronic monitors at the finish and had no way of checking."

Cain as manager of the New Zealand cross-country team in Australia in 1980. Photo supplied.
Cain as manager of the New Zealand cross-country team in Australia in 1980. Photo supplied.
It affected the whole team. A top 20 place to O'Connor would have given New Zealand the bronze medal in the teams race. The team finished fourth with 90 points and was just one point behind Italy, which was awarded the bronze medal.

It was a harsh learning experience for Cain. He waited at the course to argue New Zealand's case and had to hitch a ride back to the city.

Strong protests by Athletics New Zealand led to the introduction of electronic and video monitoring at the finish to enable officials to accurately check any future protests.

New Zealand's position in 1981 was made difficult because of the pending Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand.

"There was a lot of anger at us because of the tour," Cain admitted. "The African countries were talking about a boycott."

Cain diffused the problem when he told a meeting of team managers that "we are here to run and will not play politics".

Cain's most important contribution to New Zealand athletics was his 15-year term as a cross-country selector when New Zealand achieved podium spots in men's and women's events.

Cain, a selector from 1977 to 1992, was chairman of the panel for the last 11 years.

The New Zealand women's team finished runner-up at the world cross-country in 1986 and won the world road relay championships in 1986 and 1988.

Another highlight for Cain was to be an official at the Commonwealth Games at Auckland in 1990.

"I had to check everyone's bags before they competed," he said. "I had some interesting moments with one or two women. No radios were allowed out in the arena.

"The delightful part of it was the opportunity to meet all the athletes at the Commonwealth Games."

Cain, an administrator and official with Otago athletics for 65 years, was educated into the Otago system, where everything had to be done correctly and by the book. 1Otago administrators did not make the blunders he experienced at the world cross-country championships in 1981.

Cain would not have remained an official for such a long time if he had not enjoyed the sport.

"I enjoy dealing with people," he said. "I learnt at an early age that you make people feel happy by keeping a smile on your face."

Cain, the meeting manager at the Caledonian Ground, is prepared to remain in the post.

"I don't want to become a doddery old so and so," he said. "I know the basics and if they still want me I will stay."

Cain fell from a tree at his Fairfield home and had serious back problems when he was president of Athletics New Zealand from 1991 to 1993.

"It was a disappointment for me," Cain said. "I'd only just taken on the job and I could do very little. When I went to the national championships I had to be assisted because I was in great pain. I'd put a disc out of place and needed an operation."

Cain, a natural leader, represented Otago between 1950 and 1964 and was in five winning senior teams at the New Zealand cross-country championships.

He was the winning team captain for three years from 1954 to 1956 and a member of the winning senior team in 1951 and 1958.

His best individual performance was to finish runner-up to Kerry Williams (Otago) in Timaru in 1955.

Cain's time was special, because Otago has not won the senior men's teams race since 1958.

"We trained harder," he said. "We ran on the roads, over cross-country paddocks and up and down hills. We learnt to jump over fences and become more flexible."

Cain joined the Caversham Harrier Club in 1947 at the age of 15 and helped the club dominate the Otago harrier scene from 1949 to the early 1960s. Caversham won the Otago cross-country teams event and the Edmond Cup 10 times.

His coach was Alex Barr, who moulded Caversham runners into winning teams. A key to this was the Wednesday night speed sessions at Tahuna Park and Corstorphine.

"Corstorphine was very dark, so we put 24 torches around the track so we could see," Cain said. "There were a dozen runners who came each week for speed work and we competed against each other.

"That session made me as a runner. It was difficult to do it by yourself."

Cain ran in the era of the great Pat Sidon, who was the dominant runner in Otago.

"I was always the bridesmaid to Pat," Cain said. "We developed comradeship by winning teams races."

Cain, and his older brother, Jack, developed a strong stamina base for running by hunting rabbits on Otago Peninsula.

From the age of 8 he used to cycle down the Peninsula with his father and brother and carried a dog on the back of his bike.

"We trudged around the steep Peninsula hills," he said. "It was hard yaka, but enjoyable because we were out in the fresh air.

"It built up my stamina. All I had to do from then on was to gain speed."

Cain has been happily married to Betty and has lived in the same house at Fairfield for 52 years. The couple have three grown-up children.

He is a keen vegetable gardener and plants 180 seed potatoes each year.

Cain left Kings High School at the age of 15 and spent his working life in the motor trade and retired as credit manager of Repco in 1988.

Cain has integrity and has always been up-front in his business dealings and in athletics.

"I told my first boss a lie and he gave me the facts of life," Cain said. "You can tell white face lies but not deliberate lies."

Another useful piece of advice from an early boss was "to know the facts if you are going to open your mouth".

This policy has worked well for Cain.

"If I make a mistake I admit it straight away," Cain said. "If you get in first and admit you have done something wrong, nobody can come back at you."

Cain carefully planned his retirement and golf and gardening have played a significant part.

"Athletics was everything to me but golf gave me another outlet," Cain said. "It's an individual and challenging sport."

His home club is Gladfield and he is also on the committee for Otago Veterans Golf.

His best golf handicap was 21.


RON CAIN - FACT FILE
Age: 79.
Family: Wife Betty and three adult children.
Education: Macandrew Intermediate, Kings High School.
Occupation: Motor trade.Retired branch manager.
Sport: Athletics.
Club: Caversham.
Competitive record: Member five winning Otago senior cross-country teams (1951, 1954-56, 1958); runner-up NZ cross-country 1955; four NZ Masters cross-country titles.
Administration: NZ cross-country selector 1977-92 (chairman for 11 years); manager NZ cross-country team 1980-8, 1989; Official CWG 1990; president Athletics NZ 1992-93.
Highlights: Meeting athletics legend Jessie Owens (1969).
Honours: Life member Caversham Athletics Club (1964); Athletics Otago (1989); Athletics NZ (2010).


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