To Orville Atkins

Thanks old and slow. I have seen that picture. Some of that book is on the internet. Thge lead group lost me at about ten miles in 1962. It was a letdown at the time. I too now find it cool! I ran 30 seconds faster in Boston 9 years later and went from 5th to 25th. The running boom was beginning. It has all been great fun.

Man you must have some great stories! I also have a picture of my old "informal" coach Dickie Mahoney leading Boston in 1978 with Rodgers, Seko, Bjorkland and Kardong in tow. Dickie laughed about it saying it had to do more with luck in the placement of the photographer than talent. He said he led the race for all of 20 yards and the picture was taken 10 yards in!

Boston 1962 is a long, fun story for me. Racing and running marathons in 1962 was so different than racing and running them today. I will record my memories in several sections. Here is how I remember that time 48 years later.

I ran my first marathon along with 47 other starters on 9/3/61 in 92 degree temperatures and in very high humidity. 17 runners finished. I ran my second marathon on 3/11/62 on a 2 mile stretch of the road along the Chicago Waterfront in temperatures under 40 degrees and on some slush and ice. There were 15 starters and 9 finished. There were no women.

On Tuesday, April 18,1962, I was on a plane to run the famous Boston Marathon having finished 2 marathons and only having been beaten by one runner, Johnnie Kelley , The Younger. My club, The East York Track Club, had given me half the price of the plane ticket. I was paying my other expenses. Two of my teammates, Danny Pucknell and George Crerar, were driving to Boston to run Boston also. It was exciting. I checked into room 515 on the 5th floor of the Hotel Lenox. I thought that the numbers were a good sign. In addition the Boston Marathon Finish was right out front. That afternoon, I had my physical, was given number 16. I went for a short walk.

The next morning I learned from the papers that the experts were picking me to place in the top ten and as high as fifth. While having breakfast at the Hotel lunch counter, I was befriended by a long time marathon runner who said that the Annual Meeting of the Road Runners Club was being held in the hotel and we could stick our noses into the room so I could meet some of the elite of the road running world. Several of the popular names in the sport at that time were there but I only remember being introduced to Ted Corbitt and saying "I always wanted to meet Ted Corbitt" upon which he said "I have wanted to meet Orville Atkins". The next time I talked to Ted Corbitt was In Helsinki in 2005 at the Tenth World Track and Field Championships.

I remember catching the bus to the start of the race and shocking the other runners by replying to their questions that my aim was to win or at least make the top ten.

After removing our sweat suits and putting them on the vehicle to be returned to the start we were checked off as we were herded into a grass area surrounded by a snow fence. From there we were taken to the start line on a very narrow road. Having number 16 gave me the right to start on the front row. It was exciting! I had never seen such crowds at a road race. There was a noisy helicopter overhead. At the strike of twelve all 181 runners were finally off.

Orville, great story! When did you start running, and since you were way ahead of the running boom, what got you started?

That is VERY cool Orville! I've seen pix of the Hotel Lenox at the finish line photos of the early Boston marathons. It's great hearing these stories first hand. I read Clarence DeMar's "Marathon" which published in 1937. It gave a GREAT perspective to the marathon in that era. He spoke of the "young upstart" Johnny Kelly, etc. Terrific read if you haven't read it already.

I'm also curious as to what got you started in your running career.

I love the way you write, Orville. I definately signed up for the same sport that you did.

And so we were off! I was finally racing The Boston Marathon. I did not run races in those days and times were secondary. I raced races. I do not remember thinking of even pace. I did not think I could win from behind.

The same runner as usually sprinted out at Boston did so again but he was not in front for long. I think that he was the runner who had taken me to see the road Runners Club Members that morning. I do not remember everyone who was in the lead group in the beginning. I do remember the two Fins, Lt. Alex Breckenridge of the U. S. Marines, the best Canadian of that era Gordon Dickson, George Crerar and maybe Danny Pucknell. I loved to talk and kibitz at the beginning of races and remember saying to the other Canadians in the group that we should have just stayed home and gone for our usual long run together. I do not remember when the lead pack was down to just the 4 of us, the Fins, the LT. and myself but I do not think it was long into the race since we were cruising along at about 5:20-5:30 minutes a mile pace. I remember that I was bothered by the noise of the helicopter overhead at first but soon forgot about it. One of the headlines in the paper the next day and in Tom Derderian's Chapter on that 1962 race was "Where's Kelley?". That is what Eino Oksanen kept repeating. He also kept looking back. He veered slightly to the left and asked the Finnish reporters who were on the reporters' bus and flatbed truck alongside us "Where Is Kelley"?. Sometimes it was just Kelley and some Finnish. The four of us went by the first check point which was 6.5 miles in Framingham in 34:37. At about 10 miles I began to drift off the pace. As we approached Natick, I saw an official running down the road towards me. He gave me my time (It was 54:54 for 10.5 miles for the leaders) and said that would be the last time I would get if I did not catch up to the 3 leaders.

A couple of miles later I found out where John Kelley was as he quietly cruised by me and provided me with a silent lesson on how to run tangents. He sure was an expert at running the shortest distance. That is the last time I saw a runner until Heartbreak Hill. Part of the way up the hill a runner came up to my shoulder and I guess that woke me up because no one passed me other than John. I remember that at one point I was just hanging on and saying to myself that I had blown it. I really wanted to quit. Then I realized I could not drop out. At least not while I was in the top ten in the Boston Marathon. I kept repeating that. It had started to rain and there was now a headwind. A bus went by on the hill. I could see some of the runners who had been picked up, wet and dejected with their heads against the windows. I remember seeing Gordon Dickson and realizing that I would finish ahead of my idol in the sport. I remember being cold and wet and finally, crossing the finish line and heading for the Hotel Lobby. It is then that I learned that the Canadian/American Club awarded the first Canadian a large trophy. So several Canadian/American Club officers and a couple of their kids headed to my room with me. I immediatly dried off and crawled into bed.

So I was spaced out in my hotel bed with a mob of people in my room. The phone kept ringing. Each time I answered it, I was asked to attend the awards cermony and get my award and beef stew. I kept saying that I would be down soon.

Finally, we all headed for the banquet room as requsted but by the time we got there everyone had left. My fellow Canadians were still around so we were able to take pictures of the 4 of us, what was supposed to be my trophy, the trophy I received as first Canadian and of representatives of the Canadian/American Club. Afterward I realized that I had used Lt. Breckenmridge's 3rd place troph which was largwer. I guess he had not gotten beef stew either.

(In those days the winner of Boston received a wreath and a medal with a ruby or diamond in the center. 2nd through 10th received good sized trophies. The better you ran the bigger the trophy. The next 25 runners received medals. There were no t-shirts or jackets. Everyone received a bowl of beef stew. My only expense money came from my club. I had to report all of this on the International Permit which was required by the Canadian AAU)

The next morning I had to go down the Hotel steps on my seat for my run. I went out the front door and after a block or so of hobbling went back in the hotel's side door. Understandable since the monthly mileage I ran for the 6 months before that race was; 183, 219, 244, 146, 237 and 253.

I arrived at Canadian Customs with two good sized trophies and was asked how much they were worth. I said I had no idea and was told that I would have to pay duty. I explained what they were and was told that I had to pay a duty. Finally, the supervisor was called over. He said the same thing. I told them they could have the trophies and that I would then go home and call the newspapers. I arrived home with my trophies. I gave those two trophies to the Canadian AAU to be recycled when I moved to the United States.

I worked for an Insurance Company. One of the Toronto Sports columnists wrote that I had proven that "there is nothing like the endurance of a man in insurance".

I have some great memories!

Can this book/photo be found online? I like looking at old race photos. Gives historical perspective.

The book is called "The Boston Marathon, Images of Sports" by Richard A. Johnson and Robert Hamilton Johnson

Arcadia Publishing copyright 2009

would like to see wrote:

Can this book/photo be found online? I like looking at old race photos. Gives historical perspective.

The Boston Marathon By Richard A. Johnson, Robert Hamilton Johnson, Foreword by John J. Kelley

Hodgie‚³‚ñA‚Ç‚¤‚à‚ ‚肪‚Æ‚¤‚²‚´‚¢‚Ü‚µ‚½I Appreciate the link!

OrvilleAtkins wrote:

Several of the popular names in the sport at that time were there but I only remember being introduced to Ted Corbitt and saying "I always wanted to meet Ted Corbitt" upon which he said "I have wanted to meet Orville Atkins".

Wonderful stuff, Orville! I had my own Corbitt encounter ten years later, when the AAU national marathon was held in Syracuse.

Marathons were still mostly "private" affairs then (though Boston had already instituted a qualifying time: 3:30 for me, I remember): it was still pre-Shorter-in-Munich, barely, and the AAU race had fewer than 200 starters. We all had a small locker room to use for dressing, and I remember changing into my running kit (and the knotted handkerchief to cover my head) *right next to Ted Corbitt*!

Naturally I was too awestruck to say anything to the man, who seemed both impossibly ancient (several years younger than I am now) and imposingly buff: he looked like a real *athlete*, compared to the rest of the skinny guys there.

I got to stand next to him at the start, too. Might have shaken his hand before the start, might not--can't remember--but once the gun went, in two minutes he was out of sight, and I never saw him again.

Literally: by the time I dragged into the stadium at three hours-plus (plus), he'd already showered, changed, gotten his award, and vamoosed. Still, I got to spend a few minutes in the company of my greatest running idol.

[Well, Jim Ryun was my idol, too, but I couldn't imagine doing what he did, and I *could* imagine matching Ted's achievements--not that I ever actually did--so I guess I'd have to call Corbitt my inspiration, as well...]

more Orville memories here

http://www.tracktalk.net/showthread.php?p=325793&posted=1#post325793

Orville has a couple of other threads

http://www.tracktalk.net/forumdisplay.php?f=130