Looks like running on pure hate/ambivalence got him the record. Well written article.
Looks like running on pure hate/ambivalence got him the record. Well written article.
Dude ripped his dad a new one, wow. You should have titled this thread, "Michael Granville calls out his dad."
exactamundo wrote:
Dude ripped his dad a new one, wow. You should have titled this thread, "Michael Granville calls out his dad."
Great to see Urkel and Big Perm- I mean Big Worm- get some love.
I've heard his dad was a big time LA gangbanger who put major fear into everyone he encountered. Granville didn't go into detail about that part, but it sounds like there was major emotional (and possibly physical) abuse going on. Anyone know more details?
Hope MG has found some peace.
too bad he never improved on that time.
martalus wrote:
too bad he never improved on that time.
because being a national record holder for the last 21 years is not a goal any runner should have ... roflol
I've been planning a letter to my younger self.
Don't get me wrong-It's a great time and achievement. I am just saying, too bad for him that he never improved, went to the Olympics, etc.
martalus wrote:
Don't get me wrong-It's a great time and achievement. I am just saying, too bad for him that he never improved, went to the Olympics, etc.
Many Olympians were not pretty good but not super-star high school athletes.
PS. While at UCLA Granville was a member of two national championship relay teams.
That should have been: Many Olympians were pretty good . . .
Nice read
A great article. It's always interesting to see how tough, disciplined training leads to great results but, if executed with fear and oppression, can't be sustained. That being said, many younger successful runners can also just be over-trained and reach a plateau from which they can only improve so much. Running 1:46 in HS is unreal but I'm not sure whether he could have improved much more than that.
Either way, it's better that he enjoyed his time in college and didn't endure the constant oppression from his father.
recod holder wrote:
martalus wrote:too bad he never improved on that time.
because being a national record holder for the last 21 years is not a goal any runner should have ... roflol
Really? You're actually rolling on the floor?
I had a similar experience. I didn't run at the level of 1:46, but was in the top five in the country in high school in my event. It was engineered solely through fear, physical abuse, and isolation, as well as terrific abuse heaped on my mother, who reacted by engaging in substance abuse and becoming homeless. Like Granville, I obtained an identity in college, and ended up doing well academically, actually reaching heights in that endeavor far greater than track and field. It is an odd thing - running was physically rewarding and I was modestly successful at it - but every other aspect surrounding it was miserable, and so are the memories. I married a woman with absolutely no background or appreciation for athletics - it was a way to get myself entirely away from the athletic world.
i would be very interested in a few things from granville....one would be to reveal more about the home life and all that. sounds brutal and very intense. two i would love to hear about his workouts. found an article that said his dad planned out 3 month sessions in notebooks and kept detailed records on all the workouts. would be interesting to see what he was doing. i imagine some super hard workouts all driven by fear. some of you douche bag LR's keep asking how fast one can run an 800 on pure hate, well i think granville is the closest you can see on that, but it was prob a mixture of pure hate, insecurity, self doubt and fear.
he obviously had to have a certain amount of talent, but i think he prob had marginal talent but produced amazing marks due to the brutality he had to endure. does anyone know what his pr's were from 100-1600? said he had his hs school records in all of them.
I hope he raises those sons of his far differently than his dad did. Sounds like he's got his life together pretty well now and that's great to hear. He's definitely one of those "what might have been?" kind of stories. He was a legend to me, I was in HS the same time as him and couldn't imagine how someone could run those times he did. Sad to hear it was a product of a fear of his father that had such a big influence in that.
at least then we could see what the workouts were and end this bullsh*t that he did too much speed work to soon and burnt himself out.
like i said maybe he wasnt that talented but with super detailed specific workouts his dad was able to maximize his potential....oh and putting the fear of God on him to perform at 120% of his potential.
then he goes off to college, runs at 100% of his potential, the 20% effort from fear is now gone. so it would be very interesting to see his workouts from 11 yrs old till he graduated since it said his dad kept super detailed records of the workouts
Granville's article is immensely illustrative and explains a lot about why that was the acme of his running career. His achievement did last and some great ones, including Alan Webb and Donavan Brazier, could not beat it. Hopefully, this is a cautionary tale for fathers whose ambitions for their children lead to a form of excessive discipline that leads to burnout and rejection.
mindweak wrote:
i would be very interested in a few things from granville....one would be to reveal more about the home life and all that. sounds brutal and very intense. two i would love to hear about his workouts. found an article that said his dad planned out 3 month sessions in notebooks and kept detailed records on all the workouts. would be interesting to see what he was doing.
My dad was extremely abusive and I completely disown him as a person.
I'm curious if his dad had a background in running. I talked with a guy at a
community college in south LA a few times between classes who was training his son and have wondered if it was him.
I ran in SoCal and graduated two years behind Granville. Watching him battle Obea Moore in the 800 at arcadia was one of my racing highlights. It's a bummer they both peaked athletically in HS but glad to see Granville has a healthy view of it. A good reminder to find balance in your life and keep sport in perspective.