YMMV / The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

• Retroactive Recognition: Several familiar faces on the large and small screen in Britain made early appearances in this film.
  • Colin's ne'er-do-well friend Mike is played by James Bolam, who was still several years away from his breakout role as the equally ne'er-do-well Terry Collier in The Likely Lads.
  • Gunthorpe, the star runner for Ranley, is played by James Fox, who was working in a bank at the time and took the role over fierce opposition from his father.
  • A 20-year-old John Thaw appears (uncredited) as Bosworth, one of the Ranley students (you can see him most clearly when the two groups of boys are getting changed before the race).
  • A pre-The Basil Brush Show/Yes, Minister Derek Fowlds also has an uncredited role as a student.

---