RIP. An inspiration to me, a young runner from the USA. I always thought he was cool.
damn straight! not only did he run 2:10 way back in 75, i believe that is the fastest marathon in history wearing a pair of aviators.
I ran against him in the December 1980 Maryland marathon, old course which was notoriously hilly, with the famous Satyr hill. I think he won that day in 2:19:00. Ron Hill was also in that race and ran 2:27:00, with yours truly running 2:37:43.
At the runner's post race gathering, it was interesting to compare the extrovert nature of Ron Hill, OBE, ebullient extravert, with Drayton, rather withdrawn and introverted. I don't think Drayton ever married or had children. A classic Canadian introvert, who after his career was over, rarely involved himself with track and field. A pity as he was surely a huge resource to marathoners. Modest to a fault. RIP.
This brings back memories of what a big deal the Springbank race was in the 70's. Many of the top distance runners in the world ran there (Shorter, Rodgers, Drayton, Ron Hill, Miruts Yifter). It was an odd distance, 11.5 miles.
Jerome Drayton still holds the record for the fastest marathon in Michigan , 2:12 in the 1969 in the Motor City Marathon . That was a North American record at the time .
This brings back memories of what a big deal the Springbank race was in the 70's. Many of the top distance runners in the world ran there (Shorter, Rodgers, Drayton, Ron Hill, Miruts Yifter). It was an odd distance, 11.5 miles.
Was in that 1975 race (sort of) and watched the duel between Shorter and Drayton as they lapped me. Great day and great field. Was less aware of Rodgers then as that was his breakout year (Boston 2h09 and World XC bronze) and there was no internet and didn't have TFN. Shorter being the OG marathon champ and Drayton as the local star (Toronto) were better known to me. Was surprised that Drayton won it actually. But as a 10mile WR holder - and half marathons were rare then - it shouldn't have been a surprise.
This brings back memories of what a big deal the Springbank race was in the 70's. Many of the top distance runners in the world ran there (Shorter, Rodgers, Drayton, Ron Hill, Miruts Yifter). It was an odd distance, 11.5 miles.
And a kid name Salazar came up from Massachusetts to win and set the junior course record, later broken by Dave Reid.
This brings back memories of what a big deal the Springbank race was in the 70's. Many of the top distance runners in the world ran there (Shorter, Rodgers, Drayton, Ron Hill, Miruts Yifter). It was an odd distance, 11.5 miles.
I think that was a great event. They called the long race 12 miles even though it was a bit less. There was a shorter race, maybe four and a half miles, a masters' race, forget the distance, maybe six miles, the specifics are vague. But it was a day of racing in a big park that was longer than wide so it was easy to get from one side of the course to the other and see runners twice per lap. I thought, still do really, that it was great model for road races as the size of fields grew, one that was much more economical than the "tour a big city" model that caught on because traffic control was a snap if nothing else. I only ran there once and planned to go back but kept putting doing so off and then it was gone.
Some years ago, I found his book Running To The Top, by Runners World, 1980 . Have read it probably twice over the years and is a nice addition to anyone's running library. Sorry to hear about his passing. Will read again.
I still have that book about Derek Clayton, he worked for Runner's World back then. I remember reading about how destroyed his body felt after running that 2:08, it seemed like that was the ultimate effort. Now the record is 8 minutes faster!
This brings back memories of what a big deal the Springbank race was in the 70's. Many of the top distance runners in the world ran there (Shorter, Rodgers, Drayton, Ron Hill, Miruts Yifter). It was an odd distance, 11.5 miles.
I think that was a great event. They called the long race 12 miles even though it was a bit less. There was a shorter race, maybe four and a half miles, a masters' race, forget the distance, maybe six miles, the specifics are vague. But it was a day of racing in a big park that was longer than wide so it was easy to get from one side of the course to the other and see runners twice per lap. I thought, still do really, that it was great model for road races as the size of fields grew, one that was much more economical than the "tour a big city" model that caught on because traffic control was a snap if nothing else. I only ran there once and planned to go back but kept putting doing so off and then it was gone.
Are there results to be found on those old races? Thanks!
Through a cursory google search I didn't see anywhere that he has died.
I did find this wikipedia entry:
He was born as Peter Buniak in Germany, and came to Canada in the mid-1950s when his mother moved there after divorcing his father. He reportedly based his new name on two famous sprinters he admired: Canadian former world record holder Harry Jerome and American Paul Drayton, former world record holder in the 4 × 100 m as part of the American relay team. However, Drayton has denied this, stating that he chose Jerome because it was a name he had always liked, and Drayton because he thought the two names fit well together.
"Ever since I was 10 years old, I disliked my name Buniak," said Drayton. "So after the Mexico City Olympics, I looked through European phone books in hope of finding a name I would like. I found a name Jerome Drayton and adopted it as my name. Soon after my name change, I started winning races," explained Drayton of the process how he changed his name. But the question remains. Is it a pure coincidence that sprinters named Harry Jerome (CAN) and Paul Drayton (USA) were both medallists at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games?
I think that was a great event. They called the long race 12 miles even though it was a bit less. There was a shorter race, maybe four and a half miles, a masters' race, forget the distance, maybe six miles, the specifics are vague. But it was a day of racing in a big park that was longer than wide so it was easy to get from one side of the course to the other and see runners twice per lap. I thought, still do really, that it was great model for road races as the size of fields grew, one that was much more economical than the "tour a big city" model that caught on because traffic control was a snap if nothing else. I only ran there once and planned to go back but kept putting doing so off and then it was gone.
Are there results to be found on those old races? Thanks!
I went looking to see if I could find which year Drayton won it as much to see when I ran there as anything. I couldn't find anything but I'm at best mediocre at doing that sort of thing.