Ask "Who ran the first sub-four-minute mile?" and the reply would be "Roger Bannister".

Ask "Who came second in that race?" and a good number will reply "Chris Chataway".

Ask "Who came third?" and very few people will know.

The answer is Tom Hulatt.

William Thomas Hulatt was born and bred in Tibshelf, a mining village in Derbyshire.  He earned his living in a succession of different roles, including colliery worker, ratcatcher and greyhound trainer.  He died in 1990 at the age of 59 and his grave can be found in the grounds of St John the Baptist Church, the parish church of Tibshelf.   He was the Derbyshire and Northern Counties One Mile Champion in 1953 and 1954 and had an outstanding record as a track athlete throughout the 1950's.

Tom was an unassuming man from a typical working-class background and was a natural runner.  He lived close to the High Street road bridge over the Five Pits Trail in Tibshelf.  In the mid 50's he worked at Williamthorpe Colliery and used to run the five miles to work, complete his shift, then run the five miles home.  Once when competing at Newcastle Upon Tyne he was worried that he would not be able to get to the venue if he journeyed on the day of the meeting.  Therefore, he journeyed up the day previous to the meeting armed with a blanket, slept rough that night because he could not afford the cost of accommodation, competed the following day, then made the journey back home.

Tom ran for a number of clubs including Alfreton Athletics Club, Hallamshire Harriers, Chesterfield Harriers and London Polytechnic.  He won the Northern Counties one mile race three times, the three mile race once and the 3000 metres steeplechase once.  He was Derbyshire Champion over One Mile and over 880 yds.  When he was forced to retire through Achilles tendon trouble he became coach for Chesterfield Harriers, one of his former clubs.