His professional running career began on July 21, 1984, when he ran in the Victorian Cross Country Championship with a time of 50:02 in the 16 km race. He has competed in a total of 33 professional races in Australia and 6 races in New Zealand. He has also competed in Germany, Japan, Belgium, England, and the United States.
In his marathon debut, he flew to the Midwest to compete in the Twin Cities Marathon, run on October 6, 1991. Norwood said he would have rather run the Chicago Marathon that year, but was swayed to run Twin Cities because the $25,000 prize purse for first place was $17,500 more than Chicago's.[4] More than 5,000 runners started in Minneapolis, Minnesota and headed to the finish line in the state capital city, St. Paul. Norwood battled with a pack of 20, and emerged in the last miles on Summit Avenue with just one other runner, U.S. Olympian Bob Kempainen. With a final kick, Norwood moved ahead, beating Kempainen by only 2 seconds, winning in 2:12:10.[5]
Norwood's lifetime prize purse amounts to $25,350.[6]
Early and personal life
Malcolm Norwood is known for his intense training regimen. He also has professed that he struggles with hyperactivity and uses running as an outlet.[7]