Question: What author wrote a short story that was adapted for a film by an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades?
Context: William Conrad (September 27, 1920 – February 11, 1994) was an American actor, producer, and director whose career spanned five decades in radio, film, and television. Richard Michaels (born February 15, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York) is a retired American film and TV show director and producer whose career spanned five decades. Frederick Walter James Peisley (6 December 1904 – 22 March 1975) was a British stage, film and television actor and theatre director whose career spanned five decades.  He is known for "The Secret of the Loch" (1934), "Gentlemen's Agreement" (1935) and "Murder at the Cabaret" (1936).  His later career was mostly in television. "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" is a short story by Alan Sillitoe, published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same name.  The work focuses on Smith, a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a working class area, who has bleak prospects in life and few interests beyond petty crime.  The boy turns to long-distance running as a method of both an emotional and a physical escape from his situation.  The story was adapted for a 1962 film of the same title, with Sillitoe writing the screenplay and Tony Richardson directing.  The part of Smith (now called Colin) was played by Tom Courtenay. Mihail Sadoveanu (] ; occasionally referred to as Mihai Sadoveanu; November 5, 1880 – October 19, 1961) was a Romanian novelist, short story writer, journalist and political figure, who twice served as acting head of state for the communist republic (1947–1948 and 1958).  One of the most prolific Romanian-language writers, he is remembered mostly for his historical and adventure novels, as well as for his nature writing.  An author whose career spanned five decades, Sadoveanu was an early associate of the traditionalist magazine "Sămănătorul", before becoming known as a Realist writer and an adherent to the Poporanist current represented by "Viața Românească" journal.  His books, critically acclaimed for their vision of age-old solitude and natural abundance, are generally set in the historical region of Moldavia, building on themes from Romania's medieval and early modern history.  Among them are "Neamul Șoimăreștilor" ("The Șoimărești Family"), "Frații Jderi" ("The Jderi Brothers") and "Zodia Cancerului" ("Under the Sign of the Crab").  With "Venea o moară pe Siret..." ("A Mill Was Floating down the Siret..."), "Baltagul" ("The Hatchet") and some other works of fiction, Sadoveanu extends his fresco to contemporary history and adapts his style to the psychological novel, Naturalism and Social realism. Davis Roberts (born Robert A. Davis, March 7, 1917 – July 18, 1993) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades, from the late 1940s until just before his death in 1993.  He started out making films in the 1940s and 1950s and expanded into television work in the following decades.  Davis was known for his dignified portrayals which were often in contrast to prevailing stereotypical roles.  He played the role of Dr. Caldwell in three episodes in the second and third seasons of the NBC-TV sitcom series "Sanford and Son", and as Dr. Ozaba in the 1968 episode "The Empath" in the original "Star Trek" series. John Marriott (September 30, 1893 – April 5, 1977) was an American actor of the stage, film and screen, whose career spanned five decades.  His acting career began on the stage in Cleveland, prior to his moving to New York City, where he was a regular performer on the Broadway stage.  In the 1940s he also began to perform in films, when he reprised his role from the hit Broadway play, "The Little Foxes", in the William Wyler movie of the same name, starring Bette Davis.  While he appeared infrequently in films (only ten during his career), he was quite active in theater, both on Broadway and in regional productions.  His final performance was on-screen, in the Al Pacino film, "Dog Day Afternoon". Cecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades.  In 1964 he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film "Tom Jones". Jayne County (born Wayne Rogers in 1947 and previously known as Wayne County) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned five decades.  She was the vocalist of influential proto-punk band Wayne County & the Electric Chairs and has been known for her outrageous and unpredictable stage antics.  She went on to become rock's first openly transgender singer. Frank O'Connor (April 11, 1881 – November 22, 1959) was an American character actor and director, whose career spanned five decades and included appearances in over 600 films and television shows.  Early in his career he was also billed as Frank A. Connor and Frank L.A. O'Connor.  During the silent film era, he directed or was the assistant director on numerous films; he also penned several screenplays in both the silent and sound film eras.  He is sometimes erroneously identified with the Frank O'Connor who was married to author Ayn Rand.
Answer: Alan Sillitoe