Can you tell me about hobby running and racing I'm the 70s and 80s boom?

History interest wrote:

What was your fondest memory?

Winning races.

Women running with jogbras

If you used the words " hobby running " around my buddies you would have got punched out.

That's why I waited 30 years to ask this question.

It was better. But back then slow runners were referred to as joggers. Being a jogger wasn't a bad thing but it was better to be a runner. Races were from a couple of $ to $15. Nobody got finisher medals, you had to earn them. 5Ks were rare prior to the early 80s. Nike was just an upstart. The 10K ruled. Boston was pretty big but you had to run fairly fast to get in.

Camel toe Sub-4 shorts! Topped off with a pique polo shirt worn while running a race.

There wasn't many races so everybody within 40 miles would show up to that one race. While 10k was the most popular, races were 3, 4, or 5 miles. Other races were a favorite route so if that was 8 miles, that was the length of the race. The emphasis was more on how fast I can go rather than how far I can go.

History interest wrote:

I know there were a lot faster times and people supposed trained harder for local races at odd lengths like 5 mile and 10 mile road race?

What was your fondest memory?

Your time, place, pace, and age group placing were sent by postcard 3-4 days after a race. There was no internet to check results.

The Boston Marathon was such a small event, all finishers' names & times were published in the next morning's Boston Globe sports section.

You needed to routinely re-build your heels with Shoe Goo.

People like Dr. George Sheehan, Bill Rodgers, Patti Lyons, Hal Higdon, Frank Shorter, Lynn Jennings, Johnny Kelley, and Dick Beardsley were always open and approachable at local races.

A pair of white cotton long johns were worn under shorts on cold winter days... until Damart was introduced.

At smaller local races, numbered Popsicle sticks were given to each finisher to indicate your placing.

Running 59:28 in a ten mile race and barely making the top 50% of the field.

370 of 820.(a fairly accurate estimate) The Cal 10 in Stockton in '83.

My first marathon in '78 cost $5 and included a t-shirt and printed results, which took 6 months to receive.

It seemed like everyone was running at least 40 miles a week. A lot were running 80+ miles a week. I was around 50 a week and was considered a low mileage runner.

The adidas Boston running shorts. I haven't found a pair of shorts in the last 30 years that I like.

Very few slow runners starting right up front.

The competition among the local running clubs. West Valley, the Aggies, Excelsior, Pamakids, Greater San Francisco, Camino West, West Valley Joggers and Striders, Tamalpa.

The running clubs put on most of the races.

The DSE (Walt Stack's club) had a low key race every weekend. Though low key they were very competitive. Everyone, regardless of ability, RACED!

It's great to see so many people out doing something healthy, but I do miss the atmosphere of the 70's and 80's racing scene.

Doing my vehemently protested required two lap shotputter warmup in like 15 minutes so my coach could walk alongside me on the front stretch and yell at me for doing it.

Because that was funny as hell.

Fondest memory? Popsicle sticks.

In 1983 280 Americans broke 2:20 for the marathon. In 2000 I ran 2:19:30 and was ranked 28th in the country.

It will never happen again that running craze. Big population of baby boomers inspired by Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter.

Different than now with the masses getting in waddling shape and training to check off a "bucket list",

It was just a unique time for running in this country and never will be seen again,.

When the Boston Marathon qualifier was sub 2:50 there was always 5 guys from my small hometown who were in their late 30's and most never ran until they were past 30 and would focus on the Boston qualifier.

Local 10k's in small towns with no prize money were won in 30:00.

And at that time everybody that ran was trying to run as fast as the could, They all cared about how fast they ran. Even my mom and dad who never ran until their late 30's.

That's how I remember those days.

Starting training runs based on the seconds hand on your watch.

First road race ('75 Falmouth) you had to get an AAU card or you results were listed as a separate race so as not to "contaminate" the official racers. The entry fee was $2, the AAU fee was $3.

Running in tube socks and cotton gym shorts.

Wearing cotton gardening gloves like Bill Rodgers wore in colder weather.

No chance (for me) of winning anything.. Now those times would put me right near the front of many local races.

The first nylon shorts with built in briefs!

fred wrote:

History interest wrote:

What was your fondest memory?

Winning races.

It was harder to win back then, right? I'm reading James Fixx's book right now and it was a different world.

Is this relay live on USN, BTW?

Shoe goo! What ever happened to that? It was great stuff. I had a pair of Etonics--big hairy leather trimmed blue shoes--that had big a-- heels that would wear down, and I'd plaster that shoe goo on, and I was OK.

Here's one thing I remember from back in the day, and please pass this down to you children: When the race was over and awards were being given out, THE PERSON WHO WON THE RACE was actually given their medal or trophy FIRST.

Hard to believe, I know. It seems crazy that they didn't make him [sic] wait while they cycled up from U-10 girls through O-70 men. But I was there, and this happened: the winner got the first medal. For some crazy reason, RDs back then thought that that was appropriate.

Now, of course, we know better. Awarding a trophy to the fastest runner is so.....talent-ist. So.......excellence-ist. No attempt whatever to make everybody feel good about themselves.

Very few women. Lots of popsicle sticks. HS kids running marathons (I was one). Masters guys routinely running 2:20s and 2:30s (in my area). Streets often not closed to traffic so you had to watch for cars. Carried a metal stopwatch on tempo runs.

jogging became a craze because there were all kinds of crazy claims about its health benefits, and nobody knew much about the risks or ignored them.

Competitive running wasn't a craze then and never has been. There were more people running fast simply because people in general were more active and fitter. The only way to sit around getting fat was to read books, which gets tiresome, or to watch TV. TV back then only had 4 or 5 channels, so a situation called "nothing on" happened a lot. When someone declared "nothing on" everyone would groan and get up to find something to do.

Marathons were marathons alone, not combined events with other races all on the same day. Half marathons were non-existent.

None of this triathlon junk or XTerra or tough mudder or RnR crap or color runs. It was all about running, and mostly 10K or marathon and some other odd distances.