Passed Monday. Contemporary of Orville Aitkins.
Passed Monday. Contemporary of Orville Aitkins.
Thanks for posting this. Gord Dickson was a Canadian Olympian, one of the greats of his era, and one who gave back to the sport. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago at Around the Bay. Sorry to hear of his passing.
Gord Dickson was a friend of mine. I will miss him! It was a privilege to have know such a gentleman .
I found out about this today. RIP.
I was lucky to have been coached by Gord off and on from approximately 2002 to 2007. He loved the sport so much that in his later years he dedicated a substantial amount of time to coach adults like myself who took running up later in life, and were looking for guidance and knowledge, real-world stuff that might not be found in books.
I will always remember Tuesdays at the track behind M.M. Robinson High School in Burlington Ontario, where he lived, where we would all meet for speedwork. I can hear him now, calling out to me to "relax your shoulders!" as I would be coming around the corner on lap two of an 800m repeat.
He used to hold a yearly 3000m invitational on the track where you would guess your finish time, and everyone had staggered starts so in theory, we would all end at the same time. Closest finish time to the runner's guess would win. Usually it would be followed with a beer or two at his house.
In the winters it was at the 200m indoor track at the David Braley Athletic Centre at McMaster University in Hamilton where we would meet. I ran my first (and only) sub-3 1000m on that track while he timed me, right after a tough speedwork session.
He lived right next to the tough part of the ATB30k, which he won 5 times.
Rest in peace, Gord - you gave so much back to the sport right until the end.
Went to the visitation at the funeral home today. Hike Van de Wal , Ergas Leps and Ron Wallingford, elite runners of the same era as Gord's were among the many visitors. Quite a number of Kenyans from the Hamilton area were there, he helped them with training and in other ways. A great guy and very knowledgeable about all things running.
Ed
Ed Whitlock wrote:Went to the visitation at the funeral home today. Hike Van de Wal , Ergas Leps and Ron Wallingford, elite runners of the same era as Gord's were among the many visitors. Quite a number of Kenyans from the Hamilton area were there, he helped them with training and in other ways. A great guy and very knowledgeable about all things running.
Hi Ed,
Glad that you made it to the visitation. You and I have met and talked running a few times, and you have always been very gracious to take the time to give out some insights. I feel privileged to live in an area where people like Gord and yourself even existed, let alone were kind enough to talk running with the new generations of fans of the sport.
Interesting story - the first race I entered was a low-key 5k in Dundas (in 2000), and I had no idea what to expect. You were there, and ended up running 17:36 if I remember correctly. It was awesome to witness and made a great impression on me. Afterwards we spoke briefly and you left me realizing that this new sport I was trying could become a lifetime journey. Always grateful to have guys like you around.
I just uploaded a great photo of Gord from a coffee table book I have about the Boston Marathon.
Here he is in the 1959 Boston Marathon, running in the lead group. Gord is bib #2, running with Hal Higdon (129) and John J. Kelley (1). He ended up placing 3rd.