Alan Page ran a 3:22?

I think so....'80, or '81 Grandmas?

Somewhere in MN.

He was on the cover of Running Times (?) afterwards

He would have been 36-38?

TRUE

former university of notre dame nfl minnesota vikings defensive linemen and a judge on the minnesota supreme court, ran a number of marathons one while he was still playing for the vikings and he ran a 3:22 marathon after he retired from the nfl, he also finished a 100k in 1987, he played at 240-260 pounds, but was about 180-190 when he ran his marathon best, even then he was considered very small for a linemen and the vikings wanted him to get up to 265-285, but he had trouble keeping his weight up to even 240-260, still was a great player many times an all star and he himself did not think he would have played better if he gained weight, because he thought it would sacrifice the quickness advantage he had over most of the nfl,s linemen.

this is basically what i have heard him say in interviews and read in articles about him.

It ain't no myth boy. This isn't John Kerry. It's Alan-Freaking-Page. NFL player, 3:22-marathoner, and Minnesota State Supreme Court Justice. He still runs very often (you will always ee him running around the lakes) and seems to spectate at every single Twin Cities marathon (while playing a tuba, yes, for real).

Long time Vikings fan but Page basically played before my time. But I do remember him coming to my hometown to run a marathon a couple times. He ran them fairly regularly right after his playing days.

As a player his greatness was his ability to run and pursue. That was somewhat revolutionary in his day and even compared to today's linemen he would be very mobile. But as someone said, he was a relatively small guy for a lineman and probably did play heavier than what was natural. He was definitely not your typical big, huge Dlineman.

The big problem the Vikings had in winning a Super Bowl in the 70s when they went 4 times and lost was having a small line. They got blown off the line by the opposing AFC Offensive lines.

Ryan Foreman wrote:

Long time Vikings fan but Page basically played before my time. But I do remember him coming to my hometown to run a marathon a couple times. He ran them fairly regularly right after his playing days.

As a player his greatness was his ability to run and pursue. That was somewhat revolutionary in his day and even compared to today's linemen he would be very mobile. But as someone said, he was a relatively small guy for a lineman and probably did play heavier than what was natural. He was definitely not your typical big, huge Dlineman.

The big problem the Vikings had in winning a Super Bowl in the 70s when they went 4 times and lost was having a small line. They got blown off the line by the opposing AFC Offensive lines.

Yes, Alan did run 3:22 for a marathon, and if memory serves me, he also ran an ultra on the North Shore...the Edmund Fitzgerald, which finished in Duluth. I can not remember if it was 50 or 100k ( they had both distances). I want to say 100k, but not sure. Alan's comment after was someting like: "That's too much time to be doing ANYTHING!"

His marathon training did strain the relationship with the Vikings, especially Head Coach Bud Grant. Alan was became very light for a D. lineman, even in those days. He rationalized the weight loss by saying it made him quicker, which it did. Some games, he would be in the backfield before the ball was handed off! His great career at Minnesota ended sourly, being peddled off to the Bears for a an insultingly low amount. His few games for the Bears v. the Vikings, showed Alan playing with a certin degree of vengeance, wanting perhaps to show the Vikings how good he still was. I still see him running early mornings around the lakes in Minneapolis.

Alan's wife was a pretty good runner at the time, and I think she got him into it.

A friend of mine was a football fan, and had the opportunity to spend the evening with Page at a college faculty get-together some years ago. He said that he wanted to talk to Page about football all evening, but all Page wanted to talk about was running!

I've been a Vikings fan since 1969 - many a heartbreak. This is true about Alan Page - late in his career, the Vikings were becoming upset with his running because he was dropping weight...he countered with the fact that he was getting faster and more agile.

This could be our year!!!..Go Vikings!!

mcgato wrote:

Alan's wife was a pretty good runner at the time, and I think she got him into it.

Yes, Diane Sims Page was an excellent runner for several years in Minnesota. She won many age group 5 and 10ks. I don't believe that she was fond of the marathon, however. I think she finally lost her competitive edge, and now runs, with Alan, for fitness.

Avocados Number wrote:

A friend of mine was a football fan, and had the opportunity to spend the evening with Page at a college faculty get-together some years ago. He said that he wanted to talk to Page about football all evening, but all Page wanted to talk about was running!

That sounds about right. Alan would often come into the running store to buy shoes, get advice, etc. Although I wasn't a huge Vikings fan, I admired his defensive skills and would ask him questions about the Vikes. I always got the feeling he didn't like to talk about football. Understandly, now that I think about it, as it was business for Alan. Running had become his passion, although he still played football with a passion. I remember one day after he had retired, a customer asked him if he was going to watch the upcoming Vikings playoff game. He gave the guy a "you've gotta be kidding" look. Don't know if it was the Vikes in particular or pro football in general, but Alan Page was definitely more into running at that point than football.

In 1979 Page became the first active NFL player to finish a marathon. His best marathon time was 3:27:50

In 1987 he completed Edmund Fitzgerald 100-kilometer (62-mile) race

As a result of his long distance running, Page played his last 5 NFL seasons at 225 pounds.

He is the only person in NFL history to have both worked on the construction of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

So he was into marathon training when he was still playing? Interesting. I always assumed that he got into marathon training after retirement to overcome the apathy that pro football players too often suffer after their playing days end.

I can actually see why Bud Grant would have been highly annoyed by that.

Page was a great, great football player. I was a fan of the Vikings and Steelers as a kid in the 1970s and he was a game changing figure, like many of the Steelers of that era.

My dad was a lawyer in minneapolis and the two of them used to run together. He said page was a cool dude. My dad ran some similar times in the 80's and 90's so 3:22 doesn't supprize me.

Alan Page was definitely a cool dude. Back when I was in college the swim team shared the training center in the locker room at Mankato State. We were weighed a couple times a week and the Vikings were weighed every day. We stood in line and talked while we waited our turn either at the scales or the body fat tub. When guys were dinged up we'd run into them in the sauna where we went to stretch.

Right after camp opened one year I was standing in line and this rookie comes up and shoves me out of line and tells me to clear out because I'm not with the team. Next thing I see is two big forearms hitting the rookie in the chest and knocking him up against a locker. Alan Page then put one of those forearms on my shoulder and said "get back in line". He then told the rookie to go wait at the back of the line because I'd been around longer than he had. This was the 75-77 time frame and he was still pretty good sized. I'd start swim season around 185 and he was significantly larger than I was at the time.

He and Tarkington used to show up for practice in suits carrying briefcases quite often. Odd to see them slap on the face black and head out to knock some heads, then come back and put the suit back on.

I could easily see how Alan Page could hold a grudge against the NFL. He made far more money for the NFL than what the NFL ever gave him. He was definitely before the time of endorsements and huge NFL TV contracts. It wouldn't have been unusual for even good players in those days to have a job in the offseason to maintain a comfortable living. Page probably has made more money in law than he ever did as a HOF player. A favorite story I know is when Ahmad Rashad caught a hail mary pass against Cleveland around 80 or 81 to put the Vikings into the playoffs. Apparently all the Viking players mobbed him screaming with the joy "We got $5,000!". That was the measly amount of bonus money players got for being on a playoff team then. That illustrated the amount of pay players got back then.

I'm sure Page also keeps in touch with former players from his era who are virtually crippled from their playing days and live in near poverty. Although I think the NFL finally stepped up and arranged some benefits for former players.

Ryan Foreman wrote:

So he was into marathon training when he was still playing? Interesting. I always assumed that he got into marathon training after retirement to overcome the apathy that pro football players too often suffer after their playing days end.

I can actually see why Bud Grant would have been highly annoyed by that.

Alan got into running and eventually marathon running towards the end of his tenure with the Vikings. As someone earlier said, it may have been because Diane (his wife) got into it. Alan's weight loss from running may have been a big reason that the Vikes, e.g. Bud Grant,were getting down on him. I think it was more than that though. In that era, individuality was looked down upon. Alan was the ultimate individual, although he was a great competitor and certainly wanted the Vikes as a team to succeed. There was just more to his life than football, and that didn't sit well with the Vikings management. I really believe that that was the main issue; Bud and company couldn't control Alan and they saw that as a problem. That was somewhat the culture back then, especially with the Vikes and a coach like Bud Grant.

I am remembering a few more things about Alan and his running in the 1970s. There used to be an informal group that met at Lake Calhoun (Mpls.) Sunday mornings at 11:00. It was even called the 11:00 club. The numbers would vary and the talent ranged from 2:2X guys to 4 hour guys and gals. Alan and Diane started showing up (obviously during the Vikes off-season!), and Alan kept getting better, eventually running with the faster guys and going 15-20 miles. The pace was usually pretty tame and Alan would be right with us usually. I remember one time a few of us "put the hammer down" with about a half-mile to go. Alan picked it up, to our surprise!, and stayed right with us. It was pretty quick for finishing a long run, probably 5-5:30 mile pace. We were impressed that Alan was that fast at the end of a long run and pretty competitive!!

The other thing that I remember from that time was the outrage from the running community (albeit a relatively small group at that time) over Alan's departure from the Vikings. He was treated very poorly by the Vikings, being put on waivers for $100. It was an insult to a great man, and a group of us ran with picket signs, declaring our outrage with the Vikings and support of Alan. I don't believe we had much impact, and none of us were hard-core Vikings fans. It was just our way of showing support for our running buddy, Alan Page, who happened to play in the NFL.

What's the deal with him playing the tuba though? It's like his schtick.