Amazing.... 6 second improvement from last year.
Amazing.... 6 second improvement from last year.
Who? Did he run in college or as a pro when he was younger?
This guy is an animal, and you know that he wasn't going to be satisfied with 4:24 at 45. He was among the best runners of our generation and represented the U.S. in Barcelona (13:20 pr, not sure if it was there) in 1992, but injuries curtailed his pro success after a stratospheric high school and college career.
John was a Georgetown Hoya.
The first time I saw him run was on the Rockland Community College's crappy indoor "track" (it was basically a rubber coated cement floor) when he was a freshman in high school. He ran a 2-mile in around 9:45, all by himself, which in and of itself was not indicative of future greatness, but it certainly caught my attention.
Second edition of Better Training for Distance Runners features Trautman on the cover right next to Aouita.
Yeah, he was good. Maybe didn't pan out like his High school results indicated but he still did pretty well.
To put just how incredible he was yesterday into a frame of reference, the world record for age 45+ (outdoors!) is 4:16.
Actually, this may be a new age-group world indoor record. Can anyone confirm this? I'm really surprised at the apparent lack of interest in this on the boards. This guy is truly remarkable. He quit running for many years and weighed like 210 lbs. just a few years ago, before he decided to take up running again.
Those of us who are old enough to not have to ask, "who?" are suitably impressed with his return to elite performances.
NCAA outdoor 5000m champ outdoors, runner-up indoors, 7 time Big East indoor/outdoor 5000m champ, beat BK in the 1992 Trials, had to take 8 days off before the Olympics that year and had to drop out of the semis with an injury, two foot surgeries, could not run in 1996 and took off from 1996-2008, once in high school he ran 14:35 on the 3.05 M NY state xc course to win, in another race puked three times enroute to a victory. According to this article, the M45+ indoor mile world record was 4:20, which would make this a new M45 record.
www.recordonline.com/article/20120727/Sports/207270354
"Sommerlad can fill a notebook with Trautmann stories. There was the time that Trautmann, feeling under the weather when the gun went off, stopped three times to puke before winning a race. There was the time junior year when he won the state cross country title with a 14:35 clocking on the 3.05-mile course."
Trautfish wrote:
Amazing.... 6 second improvement from last year.
nice. didn't he have some sort of big toe issue that ended his pro career?
As many remember, John Trautmann was a cannot miss as an American talent.
He did run a great 13:20 and who knows what he might have done if so not often injured.
I have followed this progress since he started back up less than three years ago and was running 4:30 indoors as recently as last year I think, I think he got to 4:24?. And running those Thursday Night at The races in the Armory doubling back in 2:06 in the 800.
It really has paid off, his amazing progress is just a reflection of his enormous , enormous talent. Many younger folks would not remember him running 8:05 3K at Penn in April in HS.
This is some feat. Last year at this time , he ran 4:24.
Good for him, a real inspiration. He was and is something, that's for sure.
For those who are not familiar, this was a classic.
Nice. I remember reading about Trautmann when I first got into running, which was in 1996. He had broken some HS record of Prefontaine's, maybe a 3000 (although I think Pre set it en route to a 5000). He's one of those forgotten legends. Didn't he have a problem with alcohol? Anyway, great to see him out there. Everybody takes different paths in life. He didn't have quite the pro career that might have been expected, so this is probably redemptive for him. Nice work.
Sorry, that should read "when I first got into running, which was in 1986."
Hayduke wrote:
Trautfish wrote:Amazing.... 6 second improvement from last year.
nice. didn't he have some sort of big toe issue that ended his pro career?
I read that he had developed severely painful degenerative arthritis in his great toe joint (hallux limitus/rigidus) which was unsuccessfully treated surgically with several attempts, ultimately doing in his professional running career. Apparently he had the joint surgically fused, long after his professional career had ended, which has enabled him to run again, albeit with some residual pain.
Little Boss Man, I think you could be a little more gracious, but...
I also forgot about the ill placed obscenity on the end of that video, my apologies
It was one of the, if not the, definitive DMRs at Penn of all time. and I was not there, my kids were young.
Thanks for sharing that race vid. Great stuff!
That's fantastic. I bet he smiled the whole way through, too! ;-)
His problem was injuries, and that's all.
I had the opportunity to watch him race a bunch of times in track in his ninth grade year. His size and physical maturity level appeared average for his age, but he had an unbelievable competitive spirit that was immediately obvious. I first saw him run in an indoor mile, at a low-key meet probably in December. He sat behind a senior from another school and then ran his last 400 in near 60 flat to beat the guy in 4:34 if I remember correctly.
The 8:05 3000 at Penn was a national record I believe, for about 18 years. I think Rupp finally broke it.
It was always a thrill to watch him compete and I wish him the best in his masters competitions.
Since I presume John approved this article, maybe this will add some perspective.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20120727/Sports/207270354
quite a story