Running Club from the 80's

I never ran with the SMTC people, but I knew some of them through the So. Cal. running. I remember going to a New Year's Eve ('78) party at the Griefinger's house in Pacifc Palisades that had more runners than I care to recall.

Mike Fanelli,

Used to train with you in your SMTC days. You mentioned that you still haven't recovered from the training, then it must make you laugh whenever you hear Johnny Gray talking about making the training so much harder than the racing for Khedevis Robinson.

Pre 841,

You must have been one of the previlaged ones to eat at the Greif's house. He does have a younger brother by the name of Richard. I still remember the UCLA track meets when David Greifinger competed and the group would yell, "Go Dick's Brother!!!" You must also remember Bobby Macias, Tom Wheeler and Vicken Simoneon, all sub 30:00 10K runners. I still see Perry Forrestor (trials marathon qualifier) who is putting up some impressive times for the 50 year old age-group.

Merle Burnout Squad wrote:

Pre841

I think you are mistaken Hector Perez with Ruben Haro, a sub 9:00 steepler. There was another coach at SMTC who coached the third tier athletes, his name is Pat Cady, now a coach at Santa Monica High School, with Tania Fisher as his assistant.

Do you remember Irwin Merein? I believe everybody who has met him never forgets him.

Love the discussion of SMTC. Brings back good memories. By the time I got there ('82), John Hall was training under Merle but with a different group of guys, myself included. He had a hard time staying healthy, but it wasn't because he was Johnny's workout fodder. Also nice to see my buddy Tom Bryant and my former coach (as a GA) Larry Lawson get some mention.

Nobody has remembered to put in such 800 guys as Jeff West, Charlie Taliaferro, and Mark Handlesman. Gary Gregory was an 8:40-ish steepler, plus another steeple guy from Washington who I cannot recall. We're all old now, you know.

And you're right, who could forget Irwin?

Another club: Bud Light TC, with James Mays (800). Johnny had to catch him in order for SMTC to set the WR in the sprint medley at Sun Angel in '85.

Pat Weiler was the 8:45 steepler who came out from Aquinas College in the midwest, after winning D3 title, I think, in '77. Nice guy; he and roommate Don...a 1:49 1/2 miler. John Hall was a great guy. I think he ran around 1:52..I liked him..but, I'd have to agree with other poster, that I think it hurt him, trying to stay with and pace Gray like he did. He ran almost as fast in workouts as he did in meets. Yes, I remember Irwin, Clyde, Farina, Shaver, Greifingers...a bunch of 'cut ups'..lol....that kept things fun. Remember cranky old Ed Stotsenberg, the president of the SMTC? I wonder if he is still alive? Dick Slotkin....in charge of the newsletter and selling t shirts.....a nice guy....Terry Holm....asian lady, sub 3 in marathon...trained like a machine! Memory lane!...Dave Babaraki was the one guy, locally who could compete with the top SMTC guys, there in the late 70's....a tough runner for the SFVTC. He had a 410 miler son in the paper a year or 2 ago...never heard where he went to college or ended up.

from late 70's....Gerald Masterson, NAIA 800m champion, from ARkansas; Andy Bunge, Big 10 800m champion from Minnesota, Stan Vernon, Oklahoma U. , Charlie McMullen, Missouri U. distance standouts. All ran with Joe for 2-3 years.....(alot left, retired or moved back home after '80 season and trial debacle/boycott.)

Reebok Aggies of course and then there was the slightly more National class Reebok Racing Club w/ red-white-blue singlets.

Joe Fabris...nice guy, tall....sub 4 miler....late 70s...for the Aggies....Ivan Huff....828 steepler in the 80s for the Aggies.

Ghost of Ashenfelter,

I believe that there was a friendly rivalry between you and Reuben Haro.

Also one of your quotes is still being talked about. During the Oly Trials, Irwin asked you why you were sitting on the opposite side of the track and you replied, "Because you are sitting on this side of the track."

UCTC was very visible in the past/ Rick Wolhuter-Tom Haydon

Anybody remember the the Evergreen Harriers from Seattle?

Weren't Joe Fabris and Gil Guzman Aggies living in Southern California.

SMTC also had some ultra runners one was Bennett Lundquist the other was Nancy Pearlman. I remember they used to do track workouts (Igloi type training) that would be over 20 miles.

For those who think that Johnny Gray was just a 800 meter runner, I remember a time-trial where I believe that he ran a 2:54 1200M.

zatopek wrote:

Anybody remember the the Evergreen Harriers from Seattle?

That was what I was trying to remember! I was going to post them as the Evergreen Striders but that just didn't sound right.

I always wanted Gray to take his last season and run some 1500m or mile races...but I never heard that he did...I think he could have broken 4 minutes...but, who knows....

Bennett Lundquist....one strange cat!...lol...from Sweden. I remember at the Park, when Joe would be dishing out each person's workouts....he might say Bundy and back, to one person....then turn to Bennett and say....Bundy and back, 3 times! lol....btw...did anyone ever run any slower or have shorter strides than Nancy, Silvia or Slotkin?...lol...I guess when u are training for ultras, you develop that short, shuffle, survival stride....remember Bill Emerton, the old Australian coach who trained an occasional guy around Santa Monica in the 70s and 80s?

merle burnout squad

coincidentally on my block here in Nor Cal lives another merele mcgheeite...long time 800/1500 guy named Bruce Wint...know him?? I didn't at SMTC but do now...pretty good mid 30s early 40s middle distance guy

MF

didn't Emmerton run across USA?? think I used to recall seeing him slog along San Vicente...and Slotkin, eeesh, now theres a piece of work for you...the woody allen of running journalism

Mike,

I don't remember Bruce Wint, but will check with others. The one former Merle runner that I know up there is Luis Sanchez, but not sure if he's still running. I remember that Bill Emmerton was from Australia and he used to work for the City of Santa Monica before retiring back to Australia. Did he walk or run across America, because when I knew him at the time, he was into walking. I also remember when you went back up north, you used to announce for the Bay to Breaker's race.

Yeah, Emmerton would 'semi-train' an occasional runner or 2, most of the time I remember him in the late 70's , early 80's, in Palisades Park, he trained a few ex-SMTC guys for a couple of years before they retired....Cleve Whalen, Jim Scott (2 decent guys), and Pat Story, nationally ranked women's runner...he also trained Carl Stromberg for the marathon. (ex steepler from Kearney State, Nebraska). Emmerton was mostly a motivator-blowhard kind of guy....more legend than fact....but a fun and knowledgable guy to talk to. He was into training racewalkers for a while, too, in the 80s, like u mentioned.He did do some ultra runs for publicity thru Death Valley, etc, in the early 70's; but was pretty old in the early 80s with sore knees... I left the state in the early 80's so don't know much since then....

I think Emmerton trained 4:10 high school miler, Paul Medvin, from University High for a while...not sure what ever happened to Medvin...he disappeared in college...