My first issue as Road Editor for Track & Field News was November 1979.
It was a most excellent time and place for a writer who lived and breathed the sport.
That garlicky smell was probably DMSO.
August 25th, Herb Lindsay won the Bobby Crim Ten-Miler in 48:00, beating England’s Steve Kenyon by fifteen seconds. The women’s race was just as good, with Joan Benoit (55:41) taking the measure of Ellison Goodall (56:10).
Aussie Chris Wardlaw won the 10,500 meters section of the Pre’s Trail Races (run on barkdust) in 31:37, beating Matt Centrowitz by twelve seconds. Mary Decker won the women’s 5850m event (19:48) over Oregon frosh Eryn Forbes (20:35). John Gregorio won the men’s race at that shorter distance in 17:58.
Bruce Bickford and John Flora crossed the line together in Maine’s Spudland Mini-Marathon in early August but Bick was given a one-second edge in 1:06:38. Jack Fultz followed in 1:07:21 for the 13.1 miles. Patti Lyons (1:16:11) won the women’s section ahead of Joanie B.
Any “25th Annual” event might make one nostalgic, but memories were really aroused at August 4th’s San Diego 8-Mile Run, when the leaders in the men’s 30-39 division were announced The winner was Tracy Smith (41:59), about a minute ahead of Bob Day (42:56). The pair, you may recall, were teammates on the 1968 USA Olympic squad.
Herb Lindsay, just coming into his own off the track, reveals, “The marathon interests me. I’d like to try it after the Olympics. Maybe I could go after Quax’s record.” That’s Quax’s 2:11:13 at Nike, the fastest debut ever.
[Dick beat me by less than thirty-five minutes, but that’s another story. *See below.]
Speaking of Dick Quax, the former 5000m record holder claims he didn’t really train for that marathon.
However, he does admit he was training at gulps of 130 (210km) per week.
Ric Rojas made the 1975 Pan-Am team, and has been a class roadie ever since he graduated from Harvard, but surprisingly enough, he’s never won a major marathon.
“That’s what’s so frustrating to me – my inability to get in a good marathon,” he sighs.
“I feel like I have a 2:10 body and a 2:20 head.”
This year’s Pan-Am 26.2-miler was run in 93-degree heat, and Tom Fleming didn’t enjoy it at all.
“This is madness,” he exclaimed after finishing sixth. “I didn’t want to kill myself.”
Ever-increasing marathon quality – with its attendant rise in quantity – has forced Boston to tighten up notably on its 1980 qualifying standards.
“We didn’t feel we could care for runners the way we would like to care for them,” explained Race Director Will Cloney in announcing the new standards.
The new criteria: men under forty must have broken 2:50. Old standard was three hours flat. Men over forty, 3:10, was 3:30. Women must run 3:20, used to be 3:30.
Many more people getting much faster.
In another change, all qualifying times must be made on AAU-certified courses.
You wouldn’t want to not run far enough, right?