The great unknown Mike Slack.

mcgato wrote:

I think that Slack's only attempts at the marathon were at Grandma's. One time he had a huge lead but dropped out at about the 24 mile mark (old school steve mentions this above). I think the other time he ran with Bjorklund and faded late, I think dropping out. This is all from a very hazy memory of long ago.

Slack did drop at Grandma's (forgot where) with a sizeable lead. The race I remembered, though, was the old City of Lakes Marathon around Harriet and Calhoun. Probably late 70s, and he did basically the same thing: built up a big lead, but totally bonked. He could have "jogged" the last 3 miles around Lake Harriet, but couldn't even pick up his feet. (If the Marathon was 20 miles,instead of 26.2, Slack would have been a world beater. I guess you can't be talented at everything). For a great middle distance runner, Mike liked dabbling in the longer events. We ran some very fast 10 milers on the track, and he always thought he could run a good marathon.

The race I will always remember, though, was a relatively small race that our store sponsored called the Grand Old Days 5 Mile. As the sponsor, we really wanted Mike (a partner) to win. He should have quite easily, but he got really hammered the night before. He showed up at the race quite hung over, but still thought he could win. A pretty good runner took it out quite fast and Mike was down about 200m at the turn around. We were in the lead vehicle laughing our a$$es off, but Slack was getting really pi$$ed off at this guy and the fact that he was going to lose in front of all these people. Probably his hangover got better, and he really picked it up the last 2 miles. He passed the lead runner and won by about 10 seconds. Wish we had a split on his last half mile. Never saw a guy close so fast in a road race!!

From the History of the Olympic Trials about the 1976 1500:

Tom Byers only made the final on appeal after being fouled in his semi-final. With little hope of making the team in a kickers race, he decided upon blasting from the gun, racing past 400m in 53.6 and 800m in 1:51.3 with a 12 yard advantage over Centrowicz and Wohlhuter (1:52.8). Byers faded in the third lap and the two leaders held 10 yards over Durkin and Manke with a lap to go. Durkin closed up on the final backstraight, and he stayed with Centrowicz all the way to the line, as Wohlhuter eased away over the last 100 meters.

Results were

1. Rick Wohlhuter (UCTC) 3:36.47

2. Matt Centrowicz (Or) 3:36.70

3. Mike Durkin (UCTC) 3:36.72

4. Mike Manke (unat) 3:37.05

5. Mike Slack (UCTC) 3:39.09

6. Rick Musgrave (Col) 3:40.73

7. Steve Scott (UCI) 3:48.9

8. Ken Popejoy (UCTC) 3:53.9

9. Tom Byers (Ohio St) 3:55.9

mcgato wrote:

From the History of the Olympic Trials about the 1976 1500:

Tom Byers only made the final on appeal after being fouled in his semi-final. With little hope of making the team in a kickers race, he decided upon blasting from the gun, racing past 400m in 53.6 and 800m in 1:51.3 with a 12 yard advantage over Centrowicz and Wohlhuter (1:52.8). Byers faded in the third lap and the two leaders held 10 yards over Durkin and Manke with a lap to go. Durkin closed up on the final backstraight, and he stayed with Centrowicz all the way to the line, as Wohlhuter eased away over the last 100 meters.

Results were

1. Rick Wohlhuter (UCTC) 3:36.47

2. Matt Centrowicz (Or) 3:36.70

3. Mike Durkin (UCTC) 3:36.72

4. Mike Manke (unat) 3:37.05

5. Mike Slack (UCTC) 3:39.09

6. Rick Musgrave (Col) 3:40.73

7. Steve Scott (UCI) 3:48.9

8. Ken Popejoy (UCTC) 3:53.9

9. Tom Byers (Ohio St) 3:55.9

http://www.usatf.org/statistics/champions/OlympicTrials/HistoryOfTheOlympicTrials.pdf

Thanks for providing facts. Now we really know. I forgot that Byers was put into the finals on an appeal. That probably made Slack even more upset: the guy's let into the final, then "messes" it up by going out at suicidal pace! Finishes at 3:56.9....for 1500m. Actually the last 3 places are interesting for their slower times (Scott, Popejoy, and Byers) How much were their times affected? I agree that Byers was talented enough to make the team, possibly. He did have a tendency as I recall to always go out super-fast. Maybe adrenalin got the best of him; who knows, but it was a crazy race.

How exactly does Byers selectively screw up Mike Slack? Did he see a witch doctor and put a spell on him and forgot to put the spell on Wolhuter, Centrowitz, Durkin and Manke?

At the end of the day, Byers was a National Champ at 1500 meters and Slick was not. Byers had a faster PR than Slick. Byers had the balls to get after it. Slick did not, in fact, I don't ever recall Slack getting after it in any race, he was always a leech. More power to him if he can get away with it. Unless Byers tackled him during the race, he had no reason to complain. He didn't get the job done.

old school steve wrote:feet. (If the Marathon was 20 miles,instead of 26.2, Slack would have been a world beater. I guess you can't be talented at everything)

I don't think so. If the marathon would have been 20 miles then he would have bonked at 16 miles. If it was 13 miles, he would have bonked at 10.

The Olympic Trials 1500m might as well been a marathon, and he bonked at 1200m.

Rather than diminish the performances of the people who actually won those marathons or that 1500m with idle speculation about the runner who didn't, why not accept the fact that running is a competition, and it all sorts out on race day?

But he almost beat James Robinson!

malmo wrote:

How exactly does Byers selectively screw up Mike Slack? Did he see a witch doctor and put a spell on him and forgot to put the spell on Wolhuter, Centrowitz, Durkin and Manke?

At the end of the day, Byers was a National Champ at 1500 meters and Slick was not. Byers had a faster PR than Slick. Byers had the balls to get after it. Slick did not, in fact, I don't ever recall Slack getting after it in any race, he was always a leech. More power to him if he can get away with it. Unless Byers tackled him during the race, he had no reason to complain. He didn't get the job done.

No, Byers did not selectively screw up Slack. Slick was waiting for the race to play out the way it "should" have(usually tactical in OTs, etc.) and he could have used his leg speed to get the job done. It is strange that Centrowitz, Wohluter, Durkin and several others weren't adversely affected to the degree that Slack was. This is a flaw on Mike's part; he didn't react properly to Byer's tactics, and this resulted in him not making the team. I was not aware of Slack being a "leech". On the contrary he often pushed the pace, as at '78 Falmouth reportedly coming by the mile in 4:12 enroute to a solid 4th place. Also, how do you run a sub 4-minute mile in Fargo, ND totally by yourself? On the cover of T &F News and other mags, Slack was usually at or near the front. He may have used sit back tactics in larger meets because of his leg speed. Can't fault him for that, I guess. However, he should not have let Byers disrupt his race tactics like he did. Ultimately, it was his own fault that he didn't make the team,and he was probably just as mad at himself.

Malmo, obviously I was kidding about Slack being a great "20 mile" marathoner. The idea is, of course, to FINISH the race, whatever distance. what you do at any point in a marathon is immaterial if you can't finish. My point really was that Slack was blessed with incredible fast twitch muscles allowing him to run 1:47/3:55; it would be unlikely that he would be a great marathoner, also, as others have pointed out. I would be the last person to diminish the performances of anyone who actually wins a race. I was not seriously speculating about Slack as a marathoner; he was 0-2 at the distance. I do disagree with your speculation that he would "bonk" at any given distance. I saw him run too many great races. Having said that, I would add that Mike did not live up to his potential in making an Olympic team, as he had the potential. There are, however many great athletes that have not made Oly teams, etc.

malmo wrote:

old school steve wrote:feet. (If the Marathon was 20 miles,instead of 26.2, Slack would have been a world beater. I guess you can't be talented at everything)

I don't think so. If the marathon would have been 20 miles then he would have bonked at 16 miles. If it was 13 miles, he would have bonked at 10.

The Olympic Trials 1500m might as well been a marathon, and he bonked at 1200m.

Rather than diminish the performances of the people who actually won those marathons or that 1500m with idle speculation about the runner who didn't, why not accept the fact that running is a competition, and it all sorts out on race day?

But he almost beat James Robinson!

My point that he would bonk at any distance was in gest, as I thought the example of him bonking at 1200m of a 1500m would have told you. My point is that whatever the distance shorter than the marathon you want to make it, there will always be guys who would run faster at those, as well. Even though my slowest marathon was 2:13:44, I had fueling problems too, feeling like I owned the world at 16 or 18 miles, then suddenly not able to move my legs. I've actually DNF'd a marathon at 24 miles while still being in the lead before. Believe me, I have empathy with Slick.

I'm quite hesitant to say that Mike, or any other athlete, didn't live up to his potential to make the Olympic Team. Those are lofty expectations to have for someone to have to improve his PR (3:38.5) by 1.8 seconds just to be in a 3-way lean for the 2nd and 3rd spots!

FWIW, when Slack ran his 3:38.5, a young college freshman named Tom Byers ran 3:37.9.

The point of saying that Slick was a 'leech' wasn't to be pejorative, it was to remind you that if you want to live by the sword, you will eventually die by the sword.

He ran with a sword? Man, you '70's guys were something!

frog woman wrote:

He ran with a sword? Man, you '70's guys were something!

yes,and that sword was heavy and really chafed. And if you lost a race back then, the honorable thing was to use "the dreaded sword". Cowards used hemlock. It's the reason there aren't many of us still around....and the older we get,the faster we was!!

Hey old school steve, you really seem to know alot about Slick, do you mind giving a name so i can bring you up to mike on saturday, hes coming over to direct my workout.

BachelerFan42 wrote:

Hey old school steve, you really seem to know alot about Slick, do you mind giving a name so i can bring you up to mike on saturday, hes coming over to direct my workout.

Sure, tell him Hoagie says hello. He'll know. Is he living in Colorado? He went out west years ago and worked for Gart Brothers as a buyer. P.S. don't mention Byers :)

Really a small world......tell him a few years ago, my wife and I looked at a house in Bloomington (MN). Beautiful house, neat as pin, etc. I looked around and saw a lot of running trophies and at first didn't think much of it. Then I saw a framed copy of Track and Field News with Tom Byers on the cover. I looked more closely at the trophies, plaques, etc. and all of a sudden,-holy shit-- I realized that it was Tom Byers' house for sale. He had a corporate job in Minnesota and was being transferred somewhere and they had to sell the house. The realtor had no clue of course who Tom Byers was, so I told him. Pretty impressive. Seems Tom has done very well in the corporate world, golfs a lot and has a wonderful family. It was just strange to know that Byers lived in Bloomington for awhile and no one knew what a stud runner he was years ago.

BachelerFan42 wrote:

Hey old school steve, you really seem to know alot about Slick, do you mind giving a name so i can bring you up to mike on saturday, hes coming over to direct my workout.

Here's a bit more history -- old school steve was ranked #4 in the world for the marathon in 1975.

I'm enjoying this thread. Good fun stories.

My assumption is that Wohlhuter, Centrowitz, and the Illini guy went out faster (somewhat closer to Tom Byers), and that Mike Slack went out more conservative. The assumption is that Wohl, Centro and Durkin didn't fade that much.

I don't believe Mike Slack chased after Tom Byers and died...the complete opposite in fact.

Fair assessment?????

No yeah sure i'll mention you and definitively leave Byers out, but yeah Slack worked at Gart sports along with my dad until they were bought out by Sports Authority like 5 or 6 years back anyway he has a house in Denver and a house up in Leadville, been up there a couple times, pretty nice, makes me wonder about money and racing in Europe sometimes, but you guys have been awesome with information and all but does anyone know of any specific memorable workout or anything he did with Bjorklund i know theres no unbridged Mike Slack autobiography or anything but it'd still be cool to know.

I had heard that Slick lived in Leadville,but couldn't run much anymore. I heard he was pretty awesome on Rollerblades and bladed something like a 16 minute 10k?! Mike was pretty frugal, so I'm not surprised that he has a couple of homes in CO. Good for him, he worked the running circuit pretty well in the U.S. and Europe. I also heard that he got promoted pretty often while at Gart's. All those years peddling running shoes in the Twin Cities must have helped!

I'm glad that he's taken an interest in your running. You won't find a tougher "son of a gun" than Mike Slack. No nonsense, just work your a$$ off and you will see results.Worked for Slick and many of us "old schoolers" in the 70s/early 80s.

I didn't train much with Slick. He trained with Bjorklund and Don Timm alot. All three had a pretty good shot at the '76 Olympic Team (1500m/ 10,000m and Timm in the steeple.) As mentioned, Mike didn't make the 1500, Timm got 4th by a fraction of a second, and BJ lost a shoe and had to chase Bill Rodgers down in the 10,000 for a spot on the team. These guys really wanted to make the team and trained extremely hard for it. I ran some long runs with them and, after a mile or so, the hammer came down. These guys would be hauling...day in and day out. I'm guessing 100-120mpw for Slack and BJ, a little less for Timm. All had good leg speed, so I'm sure the intervals were quick. These three really complemented each other. I think they really believed in themselves and could make the Olympic Team. That was their goal, plain and simple in 1975/76.

silly old fossil wrote:

My assumption is that Wohlhuter, Centrowitz, and the Illini guy went out faster (somewhat closer to Tom Byers), and that Mike Slack went out more conservative. The assumption is that Wohl, Centro and Durkin didn't fade that much.

I don't believe Mike Slack chased after Tom Byers and died...the complete opposite in fact.

Fair assessment?????

yeah, pretty fair assessment, although it would be fun to see the video of that race......malmo or anyone?? I don't know what Slack's "Plan B" would have been, if someone took it out extremely fast like Byers did. With hindsight now, Slick probably should have stayed slightly behind that talented chase pack of Wohl, Centro and Durkin and looked for 1:54-55 at 800m. Still a very fast pace, but Mike still would put himself in a position to go for the top 3 places, especially with his leg-speed. Still, as malmo pointed out, it would have taken an incredible effort to make the team. Instead, he got in "no man's land", out of contact and essentially out of it. What happened to Scott and Popejoy? Pretty ugly times for those two. Where I coach (HS), we always tell the kids to avoid "no man's land" in a race. Always keep contact and expect the unexpected in any race.