Jamul Toads 1976

In San Diego wrote:

Ed Mendoza 28:23/2:10:07

Didn't he run a 2:09 at Boston in the early 80s?

Mendoza ran 2:10 in '83 and Rojas went to Harvard, not Adams State.

What's great is that all these guys showed up for a x-c race Track guys, road racers, marathoner's, none of this only race in your specailty crap you see these days.

There were 9 guys in this race that ran 2:12 or better, at least 4 sub 4 milers, lot's of prolific raod racers.

Especially great that an 800 guy like Byron Dyce could line up and beat a prolific road guy like Chuck Smead.

>The conditions may have been fast but the course sure wasn't. Anyone who has run either the 5 mile or the 10K version knows that this course was a bitch.<

I agree. My most vivid memory of the race was running into a metal pole that was waist high as the pack spread out to go around it Hodgie in the middle nailed it!

Hodgie-San

Do your results go to top 100? I think I ran that race too. Maybe in the upper 70's place wise. I remember running in Philly XC and looking over at the 5 mile mark and see Marty Liquori. I am thinking how can I beat this guy the last mile.

I also remember we drove out from KC in a Winnebago borrowed from one of our team guys wife's parents. Certainly a low budget trip but a blast anyway. We checked into 1 hotel room and rest of us slept in the Winnebago. All showered in the motel room. Certainly a fun trip. Well until Tony Brien (Marymount College and from Ireland) puked up Irish beer in the trash can of the Winnebago and then would not confess to the deed.

Ah, the good old days.

Charlie

Thom Hunt did suit up for the Toads, but later in life...Other guys who ended up living here in SD who have put the Toad jersey on over the years:

Steve McCormick

Alan Scharsu

Matt Clayton

GV, tell your boy Kip his smack talk will come back to haunt him when XC starts.

The "Sub 26 (minute)" club at Belmont (for the 5 mile) is hard enough to get into...I can't imagine a sub 31 10K on that course...fantastic post.

I wonder where Dave Merrick was then..must have been already hurt...he "owned" Belmont.

DAMN...the only name missing from that race is Bill Rodgers. Looks like EVERYBODY hot at the time was there.

Jaco wrote: I wonder where Dave Merrick was then..must have been already hurt...he "owned" Belmont.

except for Craig Virgin, Bjorklund, and Shorter.

Sorry Charlie, only got the top 60. Funny story! I thought GBTC was low budget.

The NCAA Champs were held in Texas on Mon. of the same week.

I don't think that Bill ever competed in the Fall XC champs. He was on the World Team a couple of times.

Hodgie,

Check out 28th place, my old Boulder friend Steve Flanagan. Probably known better now as Shalane's dad. (something about apples falling far from trees)

1. I was googling "Jamul Toads" and this SI article came up.

2. Ha - I was Hedgehog back then.

Anyone have an all time marathon list for the Toad's ?

I am sure it would be pretty impressive.

The scoring Toads were comprised of (all from San Diego area, noting which ones were coached by Bob Larsen at Grossmont College (GC) - a two year community college in the San Diego area):

Terry Cotton (GC, El Cajon HS - had a fantastic CC season in 1976); Kirk Pfeffer (GC, Crawford HS; 2nd at NYC Marathon to Bill R. - a great story); Ed Mendoza(GC, Helix HS; Olympian at 10K as alt to Frank Shorter; Helix is same HS as Bill Walton); Dave Harper (Clairemont HS - team mate of Dale Fleet, who is the father of Mac Fleet - NCAA 1500m champ 2013); Tom Lux (GC, Monte Vista HS; a long-time CC coach at Rancho Buena Vista and other schools in the San Diego area; Monte Vista was the HS where Larson started his coaching career, and MVHS has the record in San Diego County for most SD County Championships - and if you counted CC championships in SD county won by teams coached by Larson proteges, the number would be significant). Also on the team were Dale Fleet, Thom Hunt (former world junior CC champion from Patrick Henry HS in San Diego), and just for fun, Glen Best - who won the 10K Calif. CC championships while at GC (and one of the strongest hill runners I've ever seen).

All, except Harper, were coached as students by Bob Larsen, and when you see how they stacked up to some of the greats of the day, you see a demonstration of great coaching (and I'm sure Harper would say that CBL had some influence on his results). How can so many althletes from one region reach their potential on one day (and some were recovering from illness, etc. - the usual issues a group of althletes can have on any given meet day)? It was the result the methodical and steady guidance of one incrediable man - Coach Larsen.

And Rojas had a spectacular day by all accounts - what a great story. His SI interview is wonderful.

Thank you for posting this list - it would be great if someone posted results from some of the other years. One of my favorites was the National Championships in Seattle in 1978 when Salazar took a wrong turn, and everyone but a few followed him (running the loops out of sequence). Every one of those late 70s/early 80s years seems to have an interesting story.