“With decades of experience, if running, triathlons or endurance is your game, Lee is your go-to. He is also well equipped to help you get started on any fitness program, with special consideration to injury prevention and longevity.” – LIV Fitness
Good to hear from you, Jack. I am well and running an hour every other day.
Why an hour every other day?
I cannot remember how 60 minutes stuck. It seems like a fair amount of running without stirring up my knees. Every two or three weeks, I will run 90 minutes. Also, I run 4 – 8 x 200 about once per week for my gait ( or what is left of it.)
Enough catching up. When did you start running and why?
I began running in 9th grade in Carollton, Georgia. Every six weeks we had a P.E. [Physical Education] test which included a 600-yard run. I was the fastest in my class and I thought I might have a future in track. Athletics were always valued in my family. My grandfather – after whom I was named – starred in basketball, played football for Georgia Tech and was a great baseball pitcher. His baseball skills earned him a job at the Standard Oil Company to play for their semi-pro team. My dad played football, boxed and ran track and was mediocre in all.
My first spring in track I did not know the events. I signed up for the 440 because I thought it was closest to the 600. In my first track meet I led off the 440 relay, then the mile relay, and I ran the open quarter. Coming out of the blocks in all three races enabled me to finish last in each. The next day Coach Bonner moved me up to the 880 and I have been running longer distances ever since.
Toughest opponent and why?
I had a number of tough opponents: Russ Pate, John Dimick, and Benji.
That would be THE Benji, Benji Durden? No surprise there.
What would you do differently if you could do it again? Why?
If I could do anything differently, I would have experimented with easier easy days. When Benji and I trained together, we ran separately on recovery days. He ran an hour. I ran 15 miles to maintain my 100-mile weeks. Maybe I was over-trained for a decade?
I probably did. I averaged 100 miles/week for ten years, ending with severe plantar fasciitis and a sympathetic foot injury in the summer of 1983.
Favorite philosopher?
I do not have a favorite philosopher. However, I can remember a couple of helpful thoughts. My freshman year at Furman was very challenging. I even finished last in the two-mile at the UNC relays. Max Morrow, a senior, mentored me. In May, he said,” Keep working hard and one day it will pay off. ” I referred to this encouragement for the next 3 years when life was difficult.
The hard work paid off my senior year: school records @ 2-miles (indoors & outdoors), 3-miles & 6-miles, the marathon and the home XC Course (for the course, not just Furman athletes.) Also, conference T&F MVP, NCAA qualifier, and USOC Development Camp selection.
Quote?
Another thought is the story of the 3 servants using their talents. in Matthew (25 v14 – 30) & Luke (19 – 27) . However, this parable may be more in retrospect. I went from 4:35 mile, 10:13 to 2:15 marathon.
Special song of the era?
Music was so great during my era, I cannot think of a specific favorite song. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Run Through The Jungle” comes to mind.
Favorite comedian?
I did not have a favorite comedian.
What was your ‘best stretch of running’?
My best stretch of running was 1971 – 1980.
And so why do you think you hit that level at that time?
What was your edge?
My edge was probably willingness to work hard and have a long time focus. By long term focus, I mean goal setting and the belief I could achieve my goals. High volume + adequate intensity x time = success.
What supplementary exercises did you do?
Supplementary exercises: stretching beginning in 1973, weight training beginning in 1980, swimming 1980-81.
What was your toughest injury and how did you deal with it?
Plantar fasciitis was my toughest injury. I had plantar four times. It was very tenacious.
Dealing with it: came in stages. First recovery = cortisone injection, second = strong oral anti-inflammatory drugs, third = stretching, fourth = hard friction massage, first with my knuckle, then a massage therapist’s t-bar (pressure bar).
Most memorable run and why?
My most memorable race was the 1975 BAA Marathon. The event was my first time to break 2:20 and I ran 2:16:51. I finished in 11th place. Two of my lifetime goals were running under 2:20 in the marathon and placing in the top ten at Boston. Eleventh was my highest finish. Also, my performance earned me a small amount of national notoriety.
My second most memorable race was in the SOCON Championships in1971. I won the three-mile, beating Snyder from William & Mary who had beat me in the conference indoor two-mile. The previous day, I had won the six-mile, outrunning NCAA XC All-American Ron Martin, who had defeated me in the SOCON XC Championship. I set the conference record in the six-mile, but the three-mile victory earned me the conference MVP award. I had never placed in the outdoor conference before. 1971 was my senior year at Furman.
My third most memorable race was the 1977 Charlotte Observer Marathon. However, you only asked for one race.
Biggest disappointment and why?
My biggest disappointment was the U. S. National Championship for the marathon in 1976. I was very fit and planned to run 2:19 – 2:15. The race was in Crowley, Louisiana, and against the advice of my friend, J. D. Evilsizer, I consumed the pre-race meal of pasta & Cajun meatballs.
The next morning during the race, I had diarrhea and had to make four or five trips into the bushes. I finished 5th in 2:25. Gary Tuttle won in 2:15. Benji Durden was 2nd in 2:20, first time he beat me in a marathon.
Looked around my site https://www.jackdogwelch.com/?cat=3 for a Lee Fidler mention and came up with this.
From Bob Hodge:
We parked overnight at Piedmont and went for a run there in the morning. Afterwards, I washed and shaved in the van, using a bucket of water and the rear view mirror. We went to a market and when I came out, I noticed the Pheidippides Running Store across the street, owned by Olympian Jeff Galloway.
I went in to say ‘hello’ and chatted with Lee Fidler, whom I had met in Boston the previous year. We planned to go for a run together with Galloway later in the day. While at the store I poured over Track & Field News with Bill Rodgers on the cover and a story about my teammates Randy Thomas and Danny Dillon at the Cross-Country Trials. I was getting psyched to get back into competitive mode and quit “picking daisies,” as Coach Squires had referred to my travels.
Hodge, On The Road
Benji Durden:
The 1970 Cross Country Season is when I met Lee. He was one of the stars of southern distance running and for many years soundly beat me whenever we raced each other. After we both were out of college, we became teammates, first as part of Club South (an homage to Club West), then the Atlanta Track Club and finally as part of Racing South.
We won the team title together with other teammates at the 1976 AAU Championships (I think that was the 1st time I beat him in a race, he made a few pit stops along the course and I passed during one of those) and again the the 1978 Boston Marathon.
We both moved to Stone Mountain, GA, in the late ’70s and began training together as well as working together for Jeff Galloway at his Phidippides running store.
One of things we did was workout together at the Atlanta Athletic Club. We worked on the Nautilus machines and a couple days a week we would swim as much as a mile in the pool. Triathlons were becoming popular at the time and we thought it would something Lee should try, since he was probably a faster runner that anyone who would enter as well as a decent swimmer. There was one at Stone Mountain Park where we frequently ran, so we were familiar with the area.
Lee entered and I was his support. The swim was an out and back section that went towards a bridge on the far side of the lake. Lee had a swim cap that I could recognize at a distance and I watched as he moved away near the middle of the pack. Eventually, swimmers began to turn around and head back.
Then I saw that Lee wasn’t turning around. I realized he couldn’t barely see without his glasses and had not seen the turn buoy. He was heading towards the bridge that was some distance away by road. I hopped on his bike and furiously rode around the lake arriving at the bridge in time to yell at him “turn around Lee.”
He didn’t win.
Lee and I would eventually form a coaching partnership that became his primary occupation, leaving the shoe store business. He and his teammate at Furman, Mike Caldwell, remain my oldest friends, though we started knowing each other as competitors.
John Dimick:
As I recall Lee always raced wearing a baseball hat of some sort. Coupled with his ever present beard, he was a pretty recognizable runner. We crossed paths several times and were pretty similar in our competitive level, so we were apt to be dueling it out late in the race. Lee was always friendly and gracious as a competitor.
In 1978 at Boston I was running pretty well as I approached the Citgo sign and Kenmore Square when I spotted that white baseball cap up ahead in the distance. The possibility of getting past my old friend was pretty motivating and I put the pedal to the metal as best I could at that late stage of the race. I just managed to sneak by him for 13th and Lee finished 14th, just behind me. My wife took a great photo of the two of us after the finish heading out through the chute.
Lee and I have touched base over the years by snail mail. He continues to run, coach, and mentor other aspiring runners. They are fortunate to have access to his experience and expertise.
I think his description of himself as a Don Quixote is priceless. A scruffy bearded Don Quixote who could run like the dickens and was always striving to improve. We weren’t all Frank Shorter or Bill Rodgers but we all trained and raced hard.
It’s a real honor for a great runner like Lee Fidler recognize me as one of his toughest competitors. Almost as much of an honor as being remembered as a friend in running and life.
Or being selected to OGOR fame….
The following is from ARRS. (Association of Road Racing Statisticians)
Lee Fidler – BD 3/21/1949 – is credited with nine (9) career wins and zero (0) career prize money won.
I’m guessing he did better than that.
Personal bests
Don Kardong was also on the bus and noticed Lee’s team name “Furman.”
Don asked, “What’s a Furman?” Lee responded, “Stanford is the Furman of the West”.
Performances
Database updated with data from 23 Sep 2022 01:22:29.
“Terrific story on Lee Fidler. I remember him well, perhaps to a degree from his affiliation with Benji Durden who I know very well. Kind of terrific that they were tied in with Jeff Galloway, one of the real leaders of our sport in the first running boom – Olympian, Mr. Health and Fitness, nothing could stop him.
Very cool, what teammates the southern runners were – they made their mark.” – Bill Rodgers