Mike Slack

I'm sure others can add more. He was a buddy of Bjorklund. Good at distances from 1500 meters (an old RW picture showed him a half stride behind Steve Scott) to marathon. Jack of all trades. Possibly ran collegiately in one of Dakotas.

Since my useless buddy won't weigh in, I looked around and found:

Two time NCAA Div II XC Champ (71 & 72) for North Dakota State.

Track and Field News ranked him US #6, 5, and 2 in 74, 76, and 77 for the mile.

I'm pretty sure that he finished second to Bjorklund in Minnesota state high school mile. He ran about 4:12 to BJ's 4:05. I'm sure others can add more.

I can tell from experience that he ran really fast.

Didn't he win the AAU 1500 one year wearing a tie-dyed singlet and sunglasses? Very cool. As I recall, he was a fairly tall guy with a very light, quick stride -- the Gabe Jennings prototype.

I think he was the shoe buyer for Sportmart at one time.

I guess this is what I was thinking of. Can't really tell if he's wearing shades, though. That looks like Steve Scott and Mike Boit in his wake.

If memory serves, that T&FN issue was the one where some clever Dick wrote a letter to the editors saying it's clear that left leg hopping is superior to right leg hopping, as the guy who looks like he's hopping on his left leg won the race against the three right-leggers.

No, wait. Maybe it was the other way around and all of the righties beat the lone leftie.

Looks like memory doesn't serve, after all. But, you get the jist.

ask and you shall receive...

1998 article from St. Paul Pioner Press

SLACK RUNS TO HALL OF FAME//4-MINUTE MILE JUST ONE HIGHLIGHT IN LONG CAREER

Published on 11/15/1998

Tag:

Section: Sports

Page: 14B

Column: Recreation

Byline: Bruce Brothers, Staff Writer

St. Paul native Mike Slack once was Minnesota's fastest track athlete, as well as one of its most versatile. Slack, 47, will be recognized for his achievements by induction into the Minnesota Track & Field Hall of Fame.

Slack, who lives in Denver, became Minnesota's second 4-minute miler in 1973. He and the first, former Mankato State athlete and Faribault native Ted Nelson, are among six who will be added to the Hall of Fame at the USA Track & Field Minnesota annual meeting in January.

Slack's big moment came in January 1973 when he produced a time of 3 minutes, 59.7 seconds in the mile on the 220-yard track in North Dakota State University's fieldhouse.

``I was pretty lucky,'' he said last week. ``I had a pretty good college coach (Roger Grooters, who now works at the University of Nebraska), and he helped me quite a bit. I had done some pretty good training runs, and I had a pretty good idea I could run 4 minutes all by myself.

``I set out and did it, almost all by myself. Gary Bentley of South Dakota State was second in 4:08.''

There were ``maybe 1,000'' spectators on hand, Slack recalled, none of whom knew he was attempting to crack the 4-minute barrier. ``And that was pretty much the way I wanted it. Just low-key it and go in and do it.''

A week later, Slack registered a time of 3:58.7 in the mile at the Astrodome in Houston, and suddenly he was in demand. He was invited to run in the Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden in New York, where John Walker of New Zealand won the mile in 4:02.7 and Slack was second in 4:02.8. As the first American, Slack, who worked as a janitor on the North Dakota State campus, earned a trip to Russia.

There were other highlights. After winning the NCAA Division II cross country title on a Saturday in Chicago in 1972, Slack was invited to the 1972 NCAA cross country meet two days later in Knoxville, Tenn., where he lined up against Olympians Steve Prefontaine of Oregon and Garry Bjorklund of Minnesota.

Prefontaine, Bjorklund and Slack finished one-two-three.

Bjorklund and Slack, who ran one-two in the mile at the 1969 state high school track meet where Bjorklund set the still-standing state prep record of 4:05.1, later became roommates and eventually partners in a chain of Twin Cities running stores.

During the late '70s and early '80s, Slack was a fixture on the Twin Cities running scene, winning most road races of a half-marathon or less in the region. ``Anything beyond the half-marathon, I seemed to struggle.''

Slack is the senior buyer of men's athletic footwear for Gart Sports, which owns 125 sporting goods stores in the United States, most of them west of Chicago. He said he runs about 45 miles a week, in-line skates, cross country skis, bikes and plays in-line hockey, but rarely races.

``I didn't figure I needed to run any more races,'' he said.

In 1966, Nelson, the former world-record holder for the 800 meters indoors, ran the mile in 3:59.2 to become Minnesota's first sub-4 runner.

Others going into the 3-year-old Hall of Fame, which is expanding to 25 members, are veteran distance runner Bill Andberg of Anoka, American-record holder at 10,000 meters Mark Nenow of Anoka, former world-record holder in the discus Tom Lieb, and longtime track coach and administrator Orv Bies.

``I remember Slack,'' said Bies, 71, who helps to coach the National Sports Center Track Club in Blaine. ``There were a lot of premier milers around here during about a five-year period, and he was second to Bjorklund. Then he went on to an exemplary career at North Dakota State.''

``It's a really good group,'' said Bruce Mortenson, president of the Hall of Fame committee, noting that a few nominees fell just short of the required 50 percent of the votes. The 35 voters include track and running enthusiasts as well other hall of famers.

Oh, all right. Slicker was my "boss" at the old Dinkytown GBS store. I could tell you drinking stories about the guy that would curl your nose hairs, but the truth is that I was usually on the losing end of those, hands on knees. I CAN tell you that we got a lot more BS-ing done at that store than work.

Not too many guys tougher than Slick, a product of the jungles of East St. Paul. If I am not mistaken he for years held the unofficial fastest road 10K time in MN, somewhere around 28:45. He also dropped out while leading Grandmas one year within a mile of the finish. Dude coulda walked in, but refused to finish if he couldn't finish running. I don't think he ever ran a great marathon, but anything under the half, he could run with anybody. BJ and Slicker were absolutely hell on wheels during the middle-late seventies in MN, but they seldom raced seriously there. Certainly two of the very best ever from the land of 10K lakes. I would be hard pressed not to have Slicker in my top five MN runners all-time.

Oh yeah, the singlet was faux rattlesnake skin, not goddamned hippie-dippie tie-dyed. And the shades were photo-sensitive prescription glasses he wore all the time.

Slicker, if you are out there, the first one tonight is for you, boy. Look me up if you ever get out to the Bay Area.

Squid

squid wrote:

Oh yeah, the singlet was faux rattlesnake skin, not goddamned hippie-dippie tie-dyed. And the shades were photo-sensitive prescription glasses he wore all the time.

Wow, faux rattlesnake skin. Even cooler. No doubt inspired by all that North Dakota road kill.

``I was pretty lucky,'' he said last week. ``I had a pretty good college coach . . . I had done some pretty good training runs, and I had a pretty good idea . . .."

Pretty funny. Sounds pretty much like a Garrison Keillor doing a Minnesotan.

Trivia quiz:

OK, we've got Mike Slack, Steve Scott, and Mike Boit in the picture below. Who's the fourth (shortest)guy?

A Lincoln says that's Wilson Waigwa.

squid wrote:

A Lincoln says that's Wilson Waigwa.

Ah hell. You guys are too good. The Lincoln's in the mail.

squid wrote:

A Lincoln says that's Wilson Waigwa.

Gee, The headline on the cover was "Scott Finally Beats Waigwa" I wonder if that was a giveaway?

Hey guys, a week after that race, Slicker also beat James Robinson, perennial National Champ in the 800, running 1:46.

Anyone who's ever seen Slack run can imagine how funny it was to watch - Slack takes two steps to the average runner's one!

You should know better than to challenge an old dude like me. . .

I'll let you off the hook if you buy me a Summit Porter next time I get back that way.

Hell Malmo, you catch everything! If you can read that headline on my small screen though, I'll buy YOU the porter.

re: Slicker's form, a short 2x4 has more flexibility than he did. MS: "stretching is for pussies."

squid wrote:

MS: "stretching is for pussies."

Never seen a lion stretch before it kills lunch, have you?

malmo wrote:

A Lincoln says that's Wilson Waigwa.

Gee, The headline on the cover was "Scott Finally Beats Waigwa" I wonder if that was a giveaway?[/quote]

Oh. I guess I shouldn't assume everyone's screen resolution is as lousy as mine.

Hey guys, a week after that race, Slicker also beat James Robinson, perennial National Champ in the 800, running 1:46. Anyone who's ever seen Slack run can imagine how funny it was to watch - Slack takes two steps to the average runner's one!

I think I remember T&FN describing Slack's style as "mincing" in that race. That's some damn swift mincing. I guess that's another reason Jennings reminds me of him. I think they've both run around 1:46.

Actually, if my memory serves me, the headline was "Scott finally TAGS Waigwa" wasn't it?

No it was "Scott finally BAGS Waigwa."