Hot Times In Cool Oregon (’79 Nike/OTC Marathon)

Came across a clipping from the “On The Road” column in Track & Field News. (November 1979.)

A Gathering of Eagles and A Day To Remember.

Eugene, Sept. 9 – Tony Sandoval attributed his victory to peace of mind. Jeff Wells thanked the Lord. All in all, it was a very mellow scene as the Athletic West teammates tied for 1st at the Nike/Oregon Track Club Marathon. Their time of 2:10:20 made Sandoval the fastest 3rd fastest in U.S. history. (Wells is already 2nd at 2:10:15.)

John Lodwick, the man who pushed the pace for most of the run, hung tough for 3rd in 2:10:54, the fastest 3rd-place in history. Finishing 4th was Kiwi Dick Quax, claiming a world record for a debut marathon, in 2:11:13. Herm Atkins, continuing his inexorable journey to the heights of world class marathoning, placed 5th in 2:11:52.

On a typically gray Oregon morning, 947 marathoners stood outside Hayward Field. Not for long. Soon after the gun sounded, Lodwick loomed large in the lead. Tucked in behind the 6-4 minister was #908, Bernard Randall of the West Valley T.C. Well, it wasn’t really. It was really Bernie Rose, a South African with a 2:14 PR and a desire not to make waves: “The computer must have made a mistake.”

Lodwick made no mistakes. After breaking free from Rose, his lead grew to 400 meters over a large pack. His 30k split was 1:32:42, but Quax was coming and was bringing the rest of the contenders with him. Soon the lead was 39 seconds, then 25 seconds. 20. About then Sandoval & Wells – never separated by more than 10m – moved past Quax. Wells noted, “Neither one of us was going to let the pace slow down. When Sandy drove, I floated. When I drove, he floated.”

At 38k the duo strode past their friend Lodwick. At 40k, Sandoval glanced back: “It looks like this is ours.”

Wells concurred. “Praise the Lord.”

Joy was the predominant mood of the day. Fifty (50) men broke 2:22 with 45 Americans running faster than the Olympic Trials qualifying requirement. Quax was happy with himself, as he had confirmed his suspicions and his great talent. Young Dave Segura (20) was ecstatic, setting an American debut record with 2:13:59.

341 of the 689 finishers established PRs.

Personally, Joan Benoit was probably just glad to finish. She won in 2:35:41, just 26 seconds slower than her American record but said, “I’d love to do something else for a while.”

Doing great behind her was a women’s field with 17 running under 3 hours. (In fact, 351 people broke the 3-hour barrier.) Gillian Adams placed 2nd – 181st overall – in 2:41:03.

FinishersTotal: 689Race seriesNike-OTC 

Results (men)

Finished	Time	Flags	Given name	Surname	Alternate name	Citizenship	Birth date	Prize money	Actions
1=	2:10:20		Tony	Sandoval		USA	19 May 1954
1=	2:10:20		Jeff	Wells		USA	25 May 1954
3	2:10:54		John	Lodwick		USA	16 Mar 1954
4	2:11:13		Dick	Quax		NZL	01 Jan 1948
5	2:11:52		Herm	Atkins		USA	30 Mar 1948
6	2:13:47		Benji	Durden		USA	28 Aug 1951
7	2:13:59		David	Segura		USA	13 Sep 1958
8	2:14:08		Paul	Ballinger		NZL	25 Mar 1953
9	2:14:23		Dan	Cloeter		USA	16 May 1952
10	2:14:47		Michael	Layman		USA	30 May 1954
11	2:15:04		Bernard	Rose		RSA	02 Jul 1953
12	2:15:07		Kevin	McCarey		USA	27 Jun 1954
13	2:15:14		Don	Greig		NZL	23 Oct 1956
14	2:15:33		Mark	Anderson		USA	03 Nov 1958
15	2:16:12		Walter-Blair	Johnson		USA	14 May 1952
16	2:16:30		John	Dimick		USA	20 Sep 1949
17	2:16:34		Kevin	Foley		USA	27 Oct 1954
18	2:16:40		Don	Kardong		USA	22 Dec 1948
19	2:16:45		Mike	Manley		USA	14 Feb 1942
20	2:16:48		Chuck	Smead		USA	04 Aug 1951
21	2:16:52		Joe	Kreutz		USA	16 Jul 1956
22	2:16:54		William	Britten		CAN	16 Dec 1955
23	2:17:03		Leonard	Hill		USA	11 Aug 1952
24	2:17:29		Lee	Fidler		USA	21 Mar 1949
25	2:17:57		Ben	Wilson		USA	03 Jan 1948
26	2:18:16		Kyle	Heffner		USA	12 Sep 1954
27	2:18:28		Harold	Schulz		USA	10 May 1958
28	2:18:32		Michael	Cassaday		USA	21 Apr 1951
29	2:18:37		Ted	Castaneda		USA	26 Dec 1951
30	2:18:39		Ronald	Wayne		USA	16 Aug 1949
31	2:18:42		Matt	Yeo		USA	16 Jan 1955
32	2:18:43		Richard	Langford		AUS	11 Dec 1952
33	2:18:50		Lionel	Ortega		USA	30 Jul 1954
34	2:18:51		Gary	Wallace		USA	02 Jul 1949
35	2:18:52		Frank	Bautista		USA	09 Jan 1950
36	2:19:01		Richard	Holloway		USA	15 Apr 1948
37	2:19:15		Yair	Karni		ISR	27 May 1951
38	2:19:24		Richard	Saxton		USA	30 May 1954
39	2:19:25		William	Seaver		USA	14 Nov 1949
40	2:19:47		Graham	Barr		USA	20 Dec 1953
41	2:20:00		Jean	Ellis		USA	23 Nov 1946
42	2:20:01		Phil	English		IRL	28 Nov 1954
43	2:20:13		Roy	Kissin		USA	04 Feb 1957
44	2:20:22		Dick	Beardsley		USA	21 Mar 1956
45	2:20:28		Fred	Doyle		ENG	1952
48	2:21:39		Mark	Sisson		USA	14 Jul 1953
49	2:21:40		Robert	Hensley		USA	28 Jun 1954
52	2:22:27		David	Odom		USA	17 Jun 1956
56	2:22:58		Brad	Roy		USA	1954
57	2:23:15		Denis	O’Halloran		USA	17 Dec 1951
59	2:23:31		James	Miller		USA	06 Sep 1958
61	2:23:40		James F	Johnson		USA	04 Jan 1950
62	2:23:55		Henry	Barksdale		USA	07 May 1954
66	2:24:21		Jon Peter	Anderson		USA	12 Oct 1949
67	2:24:21		Tom	Lux		USA	11 Feb 1953
69	2:24:27		Jack	Foster		NZL	23 May 1932
70	2:24:36		Norbert	Sander		USA	1942
72	2:24:47		Francesjon	Gailson		USA	08 Aug 1953
79	2:25:20		Scott	Eden		USA	20 Aug 1953
83	2:25:53		Tom	Wysocki		USA	19 Oct 1956
102	2:29:31		Steve	Chase		USA	1954
112	2:30:25		Kaj	Johansen		USA	1945
113	2:30:38		Daryl	Zapata		USA	15 May 1945
114	2:30:55		Robert	Day		USA	31 Oct 1944
134	2:33:36		Terry	Williams		USA
135	2:33:36		Matt	Centrowitz		USA	28 Jan 1955
149	2:35:24		Alex	Ratelle		USA	12 Sep 1924
150	2:35:29		Jim	Pearson		USA	30 Apr 1944
179	2:40:46		Chris	Hamer		USA	12 Oct 1958

Results (women)

Finished	Time	Flags	Given name	Surname	Alternate name	Citizenship	Birth date	Prize money	Actions
1	2:35:41		Joan	Samuelson	Benoit	USA	16 May 1957
2	2:41:03		Gillian	Horovitz	Adams	ENG	07 Jun 1955
3	2:43:38		Cindy	Dalrymple		USA	05 Mar 1942
4	2:43:43		Laurie	Binder		USA	10 Aug 1947
5	2:43:51		Jane	Robinson		USA	13 Apr 1947
6	2:44:33		Dana	Slater		USA	04 Aug 1959
7	2:46:13		Debbie	Eide		USA	31 Jan 1956
8	2:46:50		Marilyn	Belwood		USA	10 Jul 1953
9	2:47:21		Elizabeth	Berry		USA	11 Nov 1956
10	2:47:49		Sue	Petersen		USA	06 Sep 1944
11	2:50:36		Patricia	Story		USA	06 Mar 1949
12	2:51:28		Susan	Henderson	Rossiter	USA	16 Oct 1946
15	2:57:37		Judy	Groombridge		USA	06 Nov 1939
17	2:59:46		Gayle	Proudfoot		USA	01 Jan 1946
18	3:00:45		Judy	Bouma		USA	01 Jan 1948
19	3:01:15		Marilynn	Harbin		USA	30 Aug 1937
22	3:05:02		Margaret	Miller		USA	12 Dec 1925
32	3:14:23		Ruth	Anderson		USA	27 Jul 1929
100?	4:37:37		Mavis	Lindgren		USA	02 Apr 1907

The Woodstock Of Running Was A Gathering Of Eagles