Percy Cerutty M.B.E.Print Page

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque commemorates Percy Cerutty M.B.E. (1895-1975) who was an athletics coach. 

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque is awarded for “an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track & field athletics and of out of stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.”

Percy Cerutty – born 10 January 1895 in Prahran, Victoria and died 14 August 1975 in Portsea, Victoria, Australia – was a pioneering and inspirational track and field athletics coach, and the author of six coaching books.

In 1946, Cerutty moved to Portsea and set up a world-famous training camp for runners which especially utilised the local sand dunes for the most rigorous of training regimes.

In Portsea, Cerutty developed his unique and ultimately world famous ‘Stotan’ philosophy – his own special mix of Stoic and Spartan disciplines – based on natural foods, weightlifting, and running in natural surroundings.

Biomechanics were fundamentally important. Cerutty studied the movement of animals with the goal to achieve the most uninhibited, natural form of running. The high speed of most of the training runs he advocated, and the use of short, steep sand dunes of Portsea were central to his conditioning philosophy.

In the distance running world Cerutty was a pioneer in the use of weight training. His emphasis was on low repetitions using maximum weights to build strength but without the risk of bulking up.

Gymnastics exercises such as chin-ups, parallel bars and vaulting were also employed for strength, coordination and breaking the monotony of running.

Cerutty’s system was all about inspiration and flexibility of schedule. “Nothing must be dictated, fixed, or regimented,” he said. “When an athlete goes out to train, his body should dictate his needs and he runs according to its capacities and demands.”

On 19 February we immortalised the memory of former Portsea resident and Australia’s world famous track and field coach, the late Mr. Percy Cerutty MBE. Joining our CEO, Councillors and local MP member, Zoe McKenzie at the unveiling was Mr Herb Elliott, Lord Sebastian Coe (President of World Athletics) and Mr Geoff Gardner (Vice President of World Athletics). We were also joined by Percy Cerutty’s family members, people who trained with the late coach, as well as Kathy Watt OAM and representatives from Victorian athletics clubs and organisations.
 
Cerutty was awarded the plaque in the posthumous category of ‘Legend’ for “an outstanding contribution to the worldwide history and development of the sport of track and field athletics and of out of stadia athletics disciplines such as cross country, mountain, road, trail and ultra-running, and race walking.”
 
The Percy Cerutty memorial plaque was unveiled at the Percy Cerutty Oval, Portsea. This location was considered the most appropriate location to unveil the plaque, arranged to coincide with the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst on 18-19 February.

The World Athletics Heritage Plaque was announced officially on 15 March 2021. It was the world governing body for the sport of Athletics, World Athletics, who originally made the application for Cerutty in October 2020, supported by Mr. Herb Elliott AC MBE, the 1960 Olympic 1500m champion and world record breaker at the 1500m and one mile.
Museum of World Athletics, 19 February 2023. 

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