I remember I was there, but I don’t remember being there. – Barker Ajax
River Run 15K. Jacksonville, Florida.
March 7, 1992. For Track & Field News.
Somebody left the humidity machine on overnight. Might’ve been the muggiest race conditions I’ve seen in twenty years.
The pack headed 1M in 4:44. About eight minutes after the start, turning a corner in front of the historic Jacksonville Hotel, a couple of contenders tumbled to the pavement. Steve Spence bounced right up, obviously shaken.
Easy Ed Eyestone led past 2M in 9:29. He was still there at 3M (14:15). At 5K (14:45), defending champ John Halvorsen checked his watch and made a modest adjustment to the pace, which I been getting slower. Last month’s Gasparilla winner, Valdenor Dos Santos checked his watch and covered the move.
Slicing through the genteel neighborhood of San Marco, I was struck by a sense of deja vu all over again. The same men running the same distance at the same pace as Tampa. Using the same tactics.
Before the race, one guy in the press truck was asking – everybody but me – who would win. You wouldn’t believe some of the prognostications. Not only were some strange candidates announced, but all had sound reasons for supporting their nominee. I wonder about the media sometimes.
Not one of them picked Dos Santos. Excuse me, I wanted to say, I’ve seen this movie before.
So, the fourth mile takes 4:41 (18:57). “8 and a half in pack,” my notebook says.
About here, that half guy, Steve Spence, sees the competitor who cut him off once already, the guy who made him fall, cut another corner. I mean, this other guy is off the road and on the grass. Eyes shielded by his Terminator sunglasses, Spence sprints forward to catch the cheating sonuvagun.
At 22:38, Steve Spence, now in 8th place, throws an elbow like he’s Charles Barkley right into the cheater’s chest. Spence wags a finger and gives the dude a piece of his mind.
Alright! That’s what this sport needs. Contact.
Alejandro Cruz decided to spring into action at 5M (23:39). Reaching 6M at 28:10, Cruz pulls Dos Santos past 10K in 29:10.
Valdenor checks his watch. Eyestone is third and out of it.
Seven miles in 32:47. At the bottom of Hart Bridge – the toughest hill in the Sunshine State – the Brazilian started to give signs of actual breathing. By 8M (37:37), Dos Santos is FLA Law.
Passing 9M at 42:19, Dos Santos won easily with a 43:42 clocking. Not easy.
“It was a very difficult race,” Dos Santos said. He’s my pick for the first finisher from the Western Hemisphere at the World X-C’s.
On a day it was too humid to watch people run, let alone actually race, Olga Markova took command of the women by 5M (26:39). Her finishing time of 49:30 earned $6000.
Did she expect to win? “Nyet.”
What’s next for her? “Shopping.”
Steve: I honestly don’t remember very much from that race in 1992.
I think I finished third or fourth, but not sure. Jacksonville was where I made my big breakthrough and entrance on the National scene with my win in 1988 and then I won again in 1991.
I remember that the cheater was literally running through the yards of the houses at each turn in the residential areas of the course. I was running on tired legs because I maintained high mileage that week in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Marathon Trials. I was pleased with 8th considering how I felt and it served as a good tune up for the Trials.
Because of my underdog role and surprise win in ’88, the folks in Jacksonville kind of adopted me as one of their own and I received a huge amount of support from the community in subsequent years.
For that reason the River Run was my favorite race.
