Archive For June 30, 2024

Chapter Eleven: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

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Chapter Eleven: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

The East Regional.  This was not the Buckeye Games.  This was not the Penn Relays.  This was the toughest track meet east of California.  Dozens of Olympic hopefuls were bringing their hopes to the starting line, racing for a breakthrough performance, striving for a qualifying time to enter the Trials, just thirteen months away. Chapter…

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Bob Schul Remembered

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Bob Schul Remembered

I actually had the distinct “pleasure” (probably the wrong word) of racing (no, that is absolutely the wrong word) Bob Schul, Jim Grelle, George Young and a team of LATC pacers in an all-comers mile in August, 1964, at Pierce Jr. College in Woodland Hills, CA. – Jeff Johnson We lost one of the greats…

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Chapter Ten: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

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Chapter Ten: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

More rare than a white sprinter in America is the Black distance runner. Equally rare is the college coach who will encourage an athlete to pursue an individual goal instead of forcing them to “Do-it-for-the-team.” – Ken Davis Chapter Ten CECIL MEDLEY           Cecil Medley was the fifth Cecil Medley on his family tree.  His…

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Original Gangster of Running (Mike Roche)

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Original Gangster of Running (Mike Roche)

“If you only train with people you can beat, you’re cheating yourself. Or, said another way, if you’re the fastest guy in your neighborhood, move to where you are not.“  When did you start running and why? I started running my freshman year at Cranford High School, New Jersey, Spring of ‘68. I wanted to play…

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Juneteenth – That Other Independence Day

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Juneteenth – That Other Independence Day

Slavery is no scholar, no improver; it does not love the whistle of the railroad; it does not love the newspaper, the mail-bag, a college, a book or a preacher who has the absurd whim of saying what he thinks; it does not increase the white population; it does not improve the soil; everything goes…

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Chapter Nine: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

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Chapter Nine: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

She wanted nothing more than to keep touching him.  He wanted that, too – all thoughts of eating and plans for the day had vanished – but he was more frightened than he had ever been before a race. Chapter Nine SURPRISE VISIT           Mary dialed his number early that morning and then hung up. …

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Time For A Tactical Walking Stick?

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Time For A Tactical Walking Stick?

“For those who are uncomfortable with firearms or who are too young for them or who just want a ‘silent’ option to take down prey or use as a self-defense weapon in a pinch, a blowgun may prove to be an acceptable compromise.“ The old man was confident Florida was not fit for human habitation….

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Chapter Eight: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

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Chapter Eight: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

He once read a survey of Olympic aspirants that reported 80% would take an illegal drug that would enable them to win a gold medal, even if the drug would kill them within two years. Chapter Eight MARY SANGER           Jeremy thought he might never fall in love.  Actually, it was unimaginable anyone would fall…

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Routine Reversal Recovery Restart Or Not

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Routine Reversal Recovery Restart Or Not

Albert Schweitzer said, “One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity.” So happy I was there for a minute, started to tell you the tale of another obstacle overcome, but before I could celebrate… How We Got Here Often feel like a hamster on a spinning wheel, round…

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Chapter Seven: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

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Chapter Seven: “Olympic Hopefuls” By Jay Birmingham

“Grab them with a word or a picture,” Beckwith told John.  “Then make your ad dazzle.  Remove them from the world for a moment.  Imagine your reader is standing in a basin of ice water.  Distract him so much he forgets his cold feet.” Chapter Seven HARRY BECKWITH           John Corbin’s importance to Harry Beckwith…

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