Terrence Mahon Asks: What Happened to the Great Track Clubs of the 70s and 80s?

Obviously what came of clubs like Greater Boston, the FTC, Southern California Striders, San Diego Track Club, etc. was that teams spomsored by shoe companies came along and plucked the runners who'd made those clubs great and had them running for shoe companies rather than for actual clubs that were open to anyone.

What happened to clubs like AW and Nike Boston was that the shoe companies decided not to continue sponsoring them.

Weldon, 1986 was the year that all of the shoe companies simultaneously abandoned or dramatically curtailed sponsorship, about the same time their marketing emphasis went to court and aerobics shoes and apparel.

Nike was in dire straits at that time having lost the market lead to Reebok. Reebok was all over the soft aerobic shoe craze and Nike was left in the dust.

Enter Michael Jordan and the Air Jordans and Nike never looked back.

AW morphed into Nike International in 1990 minus all save the top runners. Thus you had Pat Porter and the like running for Mizuno, Asics and Reebok rather than Nike.

Within the last couple of years a national-level researcher/coach said that what happened to Athletics West was that when they weren't training they were sitting around reading and stressing about what others were doing, and their cortisol levels went up.

malmo wrote:

Weldon, 1986 was the year that all of the shoe companies simultaneously abandoned or dramatically curtailed sponsorship, about the same time their marketing emphasis went to court and aerobics shoes and apparel.

It's funny, I got into running in the late 70s, and was a huge fan of the runners for all those clubs mentioned. In 1986, I tore up my knee and had to stop running completely, and graduated college, and basically stopped paying attention to the elite American running athletes altogether.

I decided to give running another try a few years ago--as long as my knee holds out--and consequently, my interest in paying attention to the Elite American running scene has come back in a big way. Just in time, huh? From what I can tell, all I really missed was Dan Kennedy!?

Hey orbit boy. I think you strayed too far from the planet, his name was Bob Kennedy.

Well there used to be Reebok Boston (not sure if this is where the Nike Boston group ended up) which is now New Balance Boston.

Summary: Sneaker companies offer money, or incentives. Clubs can offer something called support. Sneaker companies prohibit runners under contract from running with clubs. Runners who can improve from group training don't get that opportunity.

That is all true, but also the shoe company teams would find/develop talent only to have other companies come in and cherry-pick as well.

planet earth wrote:

Hey orbit boy. I think you strayed too far from the planet, his name was Bob Kennedy.

I know. It didn't sound right to me either, but I was too damned lazy to double check. All I really know about him is that he ran the 5,000, ran under 13:00, and had some shoes named after him. And now, I know his first name! But it does kind of underscore the point that someone can acheive Kennedy's stature and still never really be a "household name."

"No respect, I tell ya..."

Not always true. Nate Jenkins, Olympic Marathon Trails qualifier, has run competitively for Greater Lowell RR AND Saucony, just this past season. (Although now it appears he is exclusively Saucony- I'm don't know Nate personally so I'm not sure about this.)

In response to the original question, the consensus of shoe companies grabbing top runners seems to be spot on. Case in point- Bill Rodgers went from GBTC to Etonic (I think, not positive, but I know it was some shoe company) circa 1982 or so. Many of the clubs from the 70's and 80's still exist, but their membership is mostly post-collegiate sub-elite runners (2:22 - 2:30 marathon guys and the like) as well as "serious" recreational runners looking for a team training environment for workout partners and the resulting performance improvement.

Aren't most of the runners who comprise today's clubs individually as well as collectively sponsored? If so, how have today's clubs avoided the same fate as their predecessors (assuming individual athlete sponsorship by the shoe companies caused the collapse of the 70s and late 80s club system)

Most club runners are not individually sponsored.

here are some more: Philadelphia Pioneers, Athletic Attic, Stars & Stripes, Bud Light TC, Santa Monica TC, Club Northwest, Macabi Striders, Bay Area Striders....some of these still exist but are shadows of their former selves!

Todd's Road Stumblers

Florida Track Club

Oregon TC (making a comeback)

Pacific Coast TC

Scrubs International (Malmo can tell you about this one)

New York AC

Ohio TC

The USATF CLUB National Championships in XC and outdoor track have gotten bigger and more competitive every year.

Jamul Toads

That one up in Davis can't remember the name but they might still be goin

California Track Club

LA Track Club

seems like some others from Bay Area and So Cal

What about those Aggies???? Started at Davis, I think, in the mid 70s. Great bunch of guys with all different levels of talent...from 2:00 800 guys (Dirk) to sub 4 milers (Fab) to great steeplers (Huff) to 2:19 (Joe M) marathoners...led most of the time by Dwayne "Peanut" Harms....many beers at the Pac Steamer after the workouts!!

Santa Monica T.C., and what was, IMO, one of the best names for a club ever - BOHAA (Brooklyn Over the Hill Athletic Association).