“Got a third place medal in the first meet, and I was hooked!“
Ruth Wysocki was a member of the 1984 United States Olympic team which competed in Los Angeles in the 800 and 1,500 meters, finishing 6th and 8th, respectively. She was champion in the 1,500 meters at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials. Wysocki competed five times in the U.S. Olympic Trials. Ruth finished seventh at 1,500 meters at the 1995 World Track and Field Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
She was the 1978 AAU 800 meter champion and 1968 national age group cross country champion. Her personal best times include: 800m – 1:58.47; 1,000m – 2:38.36; 1,500m – 4:00.18; mile – 4:21.378; 2,000m – 5:40.09 and 3,000m – 8:52.91.
In 1997, Wysocki set several Masters Records at distances from 800 meters to 5,000 meters on the track, and 5k and 8k road races. Her Masters personal best times include: 800m – 2:03.95; 1,000m – 2:40.42 and 1,500m – 4:08.69.
Ruth resides in Temecula California with her husband Tom, with whom she has two children. – Gary Cohen wrote that.
When did you start running and why?
When I was 10, the local recreation department opened the stadium at Citrus Jr. College and we could go run and jump. They had all-comer’s meets on Fridays and we would compete for ribbons. Longest race for us was 200 meters. Ran the 50, 100, 200, and long jumped. A local team, the Covina Valley Vikings, would bring kids to the meets. At the end of the summer, my dad asked if I would like to join and signed me up. We met at Covina High School on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I remember the warm up that we called the Big Lap (probably between ½ and ¾ mile) followed by sprints and some sort of intervals.
My dad had resumed running after a nearly twenty-year hiatus. He was fourth in the California State Meet at 880 in 1946 when he was at Dinuba High School. He was the Athlete of the Meet at the first ever Master’s National Championships in 1968. I have three brothers who all ran as well. The oldest two (Alan and Parry) were in high school and running when I started. Brian would follow along several years later.
All were respectable 800 meter runners. Alan just missed the California State Meet in 1970 and continued running while getting a degree in Applied Physics at Cal Tech. He ran about 1:51 PR. Parry, after serving two years in the Army, ran at Citrus under Vince O’Boyle and won the Southern California Championships at 1500 meters, outleaning Chuck Hattersley. Brian ran on the first State Championship XC Team that Vince had at Citrus. Both he and Parry ran at Pt. Loma in San Diego.
I ran the 880 in my first AAU meet and ran 2:44. Two weeks later, I broke the National Record for 10-11 year olds, running 2:33. Ended the season at 2:30. Got a third place medal in the first meet, and I was hooked!
Until I was out of high school, I didn’t even run every day. I always worked hard at practice, but never ran on my own on the weekends or off-season.
Toughest opponent?
Sometimes I think my toughest opponent was my own mind. I tended to be hot or cold, but not often much in between. When it was going well, it was great, but when it was not, it was another story.
Learned later in my running career to fight harder when I didn’t feel so great.
Most memorable run?
Lots of memorable runs! Probably the first was winning the Nationals in 1978 at 800 meters. It was the first year working with Vince O’Boyle, and a real breakthrough for me. Vince and I worked together from 1975 on. Like a marriage – good times and bad, sickness and health, richer and poorer.
Many would assume the 1500 win at the Trials in ’84 would be the most memorable. It was certainly up there on the list! One of my most thrilling moments, though, was breaking 2:00 for the first time in the semis of the 800 at the ’84 Trials.
Biggest disappointment?
My performances at the Olympics in 1984. I think I simply tried too hard. Very disappointing to not run at my best on that stage.
Another big disappointment was in 1995 when I knew I was in fantastic shape, and after the World Championships, the 1500/mile were not Grand Prix events. Never got the chance to get into a fast race in Europe and see what I could do.
Special song of the era?
I used to psych up to Bachman Turner Overdrive’s “Taking Care of Business” and Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time.”
What would you do differently if you could do it again?
Tough one to answer. Having had a long career, it’s hard to know what might have changed things. Doing more, or different, wouldn’t necessarily have changed things for the better.
In 1984, I changed my diet, and it had tremendous impact. However, I let it get a little extreme and got a bit obsessive about it. In 1985, I wasn’t racing well, and ended up finding out I was extremely anemic. If I could go back, I definitely would have been less obsessive about what I was (and wasn’t) eating.
Another change would have been race tactics, especially in races longer than a mile. I should have been a bit more patient in early stages of races, and not tried to control them so much early on. To be honest, when I followed Tom’s advice/suggestions, things usually went very well.
Favorite philosopher? Quote?
Coming up blank on this one….
Favorite comedian?
Rodney Dangerfield and Sam Kinison.
What was your ‘best stretch of running’?
Obviously, 1984 was a magical year for me.
1995 and the comeback from retirement.
1997-98 switching to Master’s Road racing.
And so why do you think you hit that level at that time?
1984 – the years of background running, change in diet, “nothing to lose,” and got on a roll.
1995 – again – nothing to lose.
Master’s – it was like taking on a new sport.
What was your edge?
I think genetics come into play at some point.
Mental toughness.
What supplementary exercise did you do?
Not much, really. However, I was always good about stretching. Cross training (swim, bike) was what I had to do when injured, so it wasn’t very enjoyable. Inconsistent with weights.
Gained confidence from consistently running, so I didn’t have total faith in integrating other stuff.
“It’s funny because when you are competitor, no matter what you do, it seems you always are trying to be a little bit better than you are. Even if there is an Olympic experience, there is always something more to want. We all wished we had run a little faster, got that medal, run for a few more years or whatever.
Now, the more time passes and the more I look back, I realize, ‘Holy Cow! I was one of them!’ At the time when you are living it and even now watching tapes and up close and personal clips of other athletes I think of how they work so hard and are so dedicated. And at the time I never saw myself that way, though I’m sure that’s how it was. It was the lifestyle I chose and I was doing what I wanted to do so I didn’t see it as a sacrifice at the time.
Now I look back and think others are so phenomenal and I don’t see me that way.”
from http://www.garycohenrunning.com/Interviews/Wysocki.aspx