Author Archive
When asking who means the most to us, we often find it is those who, instead of giving advice, choose rather to share our pain. The friend who is silent in a moment of despair, who stays with us in an hour of grief & bereavement, who faces with us the reality of our powerlessness,…
Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game. – Donald Trump 132 years ago today, the Allegheny Athletic Association defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club with the help of William “Pudge” Heffelfinger, the first person ever paid to play football. Heffelfinger, the son of…
“I thought I would run well tonight, because it was a flat course. But I thought the competition would be easier than it was.” – Bill Rodgers If you remember anything at all about the endurance athlete best known as Boston Billy Rodgers, you can well imagine he had a lot of energy and could…
If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing. – Malcolm X World always seemedupside down.Somethingbeen bothering himsince the fifth grade. The banker was a thief, the minister was a liar, the butcher didn’t like stray dogs. Town cop…
In 2020, 100 years after the massacre, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proclaimed November 2 to be “Ocoee Massacre Remembrance Day.” Let us always remember to never forget. The Ocoee massacre was a white mob attack on African-American residents in northern Ocoee, Florida, which occurred on November 2, 1920, the day of the U.S. presidential election. The town is in Orange County near Orlando….
My marriage was blowing up. I lit the fuse. I was losing control of RUNNING magazine. Had no idea. Only one thing made sense, the Big Apple. From Track & Field News. November 1980. With recollection from Patti Catalano. November 2019. ALL AROUND THE TOWN. East Side, West Side… through all five boroughs. Alberto Salazar,…
I’m an entertainer. I wear costumes for the people, so they can loosen up and not be stuffed shirts. It’s an uptight world, and this is one way to relax. Races are like a parade of humanity. I know it’s OK to wear a costume. I don’t need people’s approval. – GF Sr. You can…
“This was unequivocally the greatest marathon performance of all time. And that makes me queasy. In fact, I’m outraged.” – Amby Burfoot 2:09:56! First got the news from Bill Rodgers. Yeah, that guy, the one with the 2:09:27 personal record. Set at Boston, which is not eligible for World Record consideration. Billy was likely the…
I used to think that it didn’t make any difference how far you ran if you had a good, strong musculoskeletal system and no underlying cardiovascular problems. – Kenneth H. Cooper That right there in that photograph is an important group of distance running pioneers. Respect must be paid. And there is always an accompanying…
Back in the day, when running was young, some of these “little” races could get competitive. The headline read LYONS TAKES BENOIT’S RACE. Brunswick, Maine. July 12, 1980. – The Maine Track Club had a five-mile race to honor Joan Benoit, but Patti Lyons-Catalano had something else on her mind – winning. Her 26:25 was…