Marathon runner, coach Arthur Lydiard dies

HOUSTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- New Zealand marathon runner and coach Arthur Lydiard, who coached Olympic champions, has died at age 87 in Texas, while on a U.S. lecture tour.

Lydiard, coach of 1960s New Zealand Olympic champions Murray Halberg and Peter Snell, died of a suspected heart attack, reported TV New Zealand Monday.

Born and educated in Auckland, Lydiard, a shoemaker by trade, who also worked in public relations, developed the training methods which revolutionized middle and long distance running throughout the world.

He triggered the spread of jogging in the mid-1960s after he suggested jogging be used as rehabilitation following cardiac surgery.

Lydiard is survived by his third wife, Joelyne Van der Togt.