Glenn Cunningham (1909-1988), the "Kansas Ironman," was the world-record-holder in the mile race from 1934 until 1937. He was a member of the 1932 and 1936 U.S. Olympic teams.

Glenn Cunningham was born in Atlanta, Kansas on August 4, 1909. His father, Clint Cunningham, was a water-well driller who also did odd jobs. In February of 1916, Cunningham and his older brother Floyd were badly burned in an accidental fire in their schoolhouse. Floyd died from the burns, and doctors thought that Cunningham's legs were so badly burned that they would have to be amputated. However, he eventually recovered after a long battle. Cunningham regained his strength by running. By the time he was 12, he had beaten all the local high school runners. His legs remained deeply scarred, however. Throughout his life, he would have to massage them and spend time doing long warm-up exercises in order to maintain circulation. In addition, his injuries...