Whether it be at the racetrack with his horses, working as Marc the Mazda Man in car sales or behind the microphone at Radio 2AY on Arnold Motors Swap Shop, the Albury businessman was always up for a challenge.

Robert Ballard is glad he backed him in as a raw youngster after joining the Arnold running stable in 1985.

"I don't think I would have made the Olympic Games without his guidance," Ballard said.

"He was my number one mentor.

"Marcus was about building relationships.

"He wanted to understand who you were and what made you tick.

"It's not about someone just turning up and making you run around the oval or do sprints, it's about understanding the character of a person and what works best for them."

Three years after joining Arnold, Ballard found himself running at the Seoul Olympics in the 4 x 400-metres final with Mark Garner, Miles Murphy, and Darren Clark.

Arnold, who passed away earlier this week aged 91, had a knack of getting the best out of his runners.

Although he won the Burramine and Cobram gifts and the 200-metres at Stawell, his innovative coaching stood him out from the pack.

Robert Todd and Adrian Fury spent 30 and 25 years respectively with Arnold and were continually amazed by his ability to implement different training methods.

"He always had new ideas or training techniques he wanted to try," Fury said.

"He had a flotation tank well before anyone else in his shed, he was into hypnosis at times and was making running shoes out of kangaroo leather for a while too.

"Marcus also had a great eye for talent.

"I remember he saw Daniel Steinhauser running one day so he asked him to training and they were together for many years."

One of Arnold's biggest regrets was finishing a close second to Broken Hill's Sam Baldwin in the Bendigo 1000 which carried a purse of 2000 pounds.

Ballard said Arnold was always searching for a competitive edge.

"He was always looking for something new and would research what's happening in the states, Russia or somewhere else," Ballard said.

"In my first few years there was no family allowed at training.

"They could go and watch you compete but when we were training there were no distractions.

"It taught me how to focus."

Arnold, who spent time with South Melbourne as a running coach, received a Australian Sports Medal from Prime Minister John Howard in 2000.