Back in 1996, prior to LetsRun.com and other internet running sites being mainstream (yes we know it is hard for some of you to imagine), there was a track and field email listserve where people would discuss issues in emails that are mailed to everyone on the list (it still exists by the way).

Two young college students and Princeton roommates, Robert Johnson (who would become LetsRun.com founder Rojo) and Chris Lear, (who would go on to write two of the most popular running books in the last decade, Running with the Buffaloes and Sub 4) went to the Millrose Games that year (Chris ran the collegiate mile we believe). For Rojo it was his first Millrose Games as a spectator.

Rojo and Chris were struck by how boring the meet was and how no attempt was made to try and entertain the fans between events and how little effort was put into the presentation of the meet. So they composed an email (or perhaps multiple emails) stating their view on the meet, and sent it to the track and field listserve (if someone has an archive of the email(s) we'd love to see them).

Well, some of the old guard in track and field and the announcers at the meet, did not like the criticism and a lively discussion ensued on the email list. (And for those of you who still think track meets are presented in a boring manner, take heart as some prominent people in the track and field world emailed Robert and Chris privately, supporting them)

And then, the April 1996 edition of Track and Field News arrived in the mail, and the lead editorial singled out Chris and Rojo (but not by name because no one would have known them at the time), saying they were likely "lost to track forever".

Considering what Rojo and Chris have gone on to do in the sport, they can only laugh at what was written about them. But they often wondered what the exact words were. This summer, when LetsRun.com's Wejo was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, he found an incredible archive of old Track and Field News magazines, found the quote about Rojo and Chris  and typed it up:

Garry Hill writing in the April 1996 Track and Field News:
"When it comes to indoor track, there isn't anything much steakier than the Millrose Games, a meet at which I had the honor to be part of the announcing crew this year.  To be sure, it wasn't one of the greatest Millroses on record but for a track fan I thought it was a wonderful evening of track & field.

Imagine my dismay when a young Internet writer (editor's note: we're not sure without seeing the old email(s) if Chris and Rojo wrote separate emails or a single joint email, but know it was them) said of his first-ever Millrose, "If this is the best track meet in America, then I see why the sport is in trouble."

Head announcer Bob Hersh wrote a far more reasoned Net response than I ever could, but the fact that he even had to try put ice cubes in my coffee.

I fear that that young initiate, like much of his generation-- and worse, increasing numbers of my generation- is brainwashed as to what constitutes "sports", and is lost to track forever...."

This just shows that although many hard core fans of the sport may disagree on the direction the sport is taking at any time and may get upset with one another, this does not mean we do not all love this sport. And although we may not always agree with a lot of the posters on email listserves or on our message board, people do notice what is said.

So we're here to say, we're here to stay (for who knows how long), and like this sport too much to be "lost to track forever."

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