Archive For The “Running Free” Category

Running Up The Mountain Still

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Running Up The Mountain Still

Flagstaff, in the mid-1970s, I was self-coached by something of a maniac. There were stair workouts, observatory runs, tofu loaf for Thanksgiving, there were two-mile repeats, lost in the woods, European goats on the loose and Native American buddies, the devotion of young wives and so much darn fun. Must have been all that fresh…

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Where’s Don’s Bronze???

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Where’s Don’s Bronze???

“I ran my PR and almost snagged a medal. My whole Olympic experience was a blast, and to top it off with a great performance made it especially memorable.” – Don Kardong, 1976 Olympic marathoner TRIGGER WARNING: What follows is CRT – Critical Running Theory. CRT is the highly insightful albeit often inexact academic study…

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Audain Just Wanted To Be Number One

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Audain Just Wanted To Be Number One

If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad. – Jane Austen Audain Wins Bonne Bell Championships (’82) Boston, USA. October 11, 1982. – Some 7700 women entered the 6th Annual Bonne Bell 10K Championships. As third-place finisher Francie Larrieu put it, “Just to be a part…

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Kenny Moore Creative Writing Fellowship Endowment Fund 

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Kenny Moore Creative Writing Fellowship Endowment Fund 

Jogging through the forest is pleasant, as is relaxing by the fire with a glass of gentle Bordeaux and discussing one’s travels. Racing is another matter. The frontrunner’s mind is filled with an anguished fearfulness, a panic, which drives into pain. – Kenny Moore Kenny was special to all of us. We knew him as…

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OG Running Store Owner (Laurel James)

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OG Running Store Owner (Laurel James)

 “What makes you think you can take on a woman with five kids?” Seattle’s James Gang was among the first to retail RUNNING magazine. And then I became a store owner myself. Remember one day I sold a single pair of shoe laces for eighty-one cents. Only sale of the day. I’m telling you, retail…

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Waikiki Mile: Back To The Future

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Waikiki Mile: Back To The Future

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. –  Albert Einstein I covered the inaugural Waikiki Mile in 1994 for Track & Field News. I know I did. You’d think I could find the results somehow. But no….

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For Mike

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For Mike

You may have raced away, But your legacy runs on. The Garage still Gold. I got this e-mail. I had no idea. I was shocked. Subject: Some Sad News The news of Mike Fanelli’s death hit me hard. Real hard. Haven’t been this struck by a runner’s passing since Steve Prefontaine’s. I never really knew either…

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OG Race Directors (The Swartsleys)

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OG Race Directors (The Swartsleys)

“Running and racing is the only sport where it doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or how much you have, how big a house you live in or how much you make. In shorts and running shoes, everyone is the same.“ – Zellah & Jerry Back in the day, nothing happened in this…

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1978 Pear Blossom Not-A-Half Marathon

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1978 Pear Blossom Not-A-Half Marathon

Pear Blossom Festival parade marshals have included Governor Holmes (1957), John F. Kennedy (1960), and Frank Shorter (1977) who led over 650 participants in the festival’s first annual mini-marathon. Think January, 2023. Gainesville, Florida. The Florida Track Club’s 50th anniversary after-party. I am having a private one-on-one conversation with Frank Shorter. He’s a good listener….

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Pedals Of Gold

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Pedals Of Gold

The Purple Runner, as far as running-themed novels go, is one of the top three or four stories that speak to serious runners in the language that is accurate and captures the essence of daily training and the runner’s life. – Christopher Kelsall P.J. (Paul) Christman has given us a new book, one many of…

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