I put on a seven-mile road race in 1973. About 130 people ran in it. Jim Crawford was the winner, but I don't recall his time. He mainly ran it as a workout, but he did get a cheap trophy and a gym bag for his effort. I think the second place finisher was Tom Hess, who was the best local runner at the time (not counting Crawford).
Fanelli-Because the LX 8500's were a great shoe!!
Someone asked about pictures on the website-yes, that is dad training with Billy Mills. Jack, correct me if I am wrong, he would come up to Alamosa and train with your group, correct? I've got a great picture of dad, Conrad Nightengale, George Young and Mills doing strides on grass as well. Again, in Alamosa, I think.
As for the questions could Ned and I have run faster if we'd train like dad (ie more mileage, etc). We tried. We pretty much crashed and burned. KevinM can attest to one summer when I averaged something like 80 miles a week (summer of 1997). Didn't respond to it well at all.
Mike Fanelli. I happen to be a great fan of the early John Updike, but it doesn't bother me that you don't share my enthusiasm. What I do have trouble with is your statement that, while you don't like Updike's fiction, you greatly admire Updike's artistic achievement. That's having it both ways. Maybe what you mean is that you respect the fact that he has a wide audience. I could say that about Kenny Moore.
To the two guys who threatened to beat me up for criticizing Coach Timmons. Not only are your threats a reportable offense, they reflect poorly on Timmons, as they reinforce the negative stereotype of the ex-marine who tolerates no dissent.
What I do have trouble with is your statement that,
Sir, Please give it a rest! Whoever said, "He rarely misses an opportunity to be quiet." had to be thinking of someone like you.
Do you judge yourself by the same standards that you impose on others? If so, I understand why you sound so miserable. If not, try it.
Jayhawk wrote:
jscott, I was there. What a rainy miserable day at the league meet. I had forgotten that Ryun ran that triple. I was also at the twilight meet where Jim was supposed to go for the world record in the two mile. I ran the 800 as well. Those were the day. Say hi to your brother Tom!
Rink
Where can a person buy the video "Jim Ryun, America's Greatest Miler"?
Oletimer. I'm actually enjoying this thread. You seem to be the one who is miserable.
no...what I mean is I don't care for the opera but respect and appreciate excellence
MF
Drew -- In the summer of 68 Jim, Conrad, Billy and George did much of their altitude training here in Flagstaff (not Alamosa) as it was less crowded (the entire top 10 in every men's T&F event were housed in trailers on the top of the pass outside South Lake Tahoe and it could get tense now and then with everyone trying to figure out what everyone else was doing for workouts and then often trying to top that. I was doing my research with many of the distance guys and that actually was a good distraction for them (not sure if they always enjoyed giving me every drop of their urine for 5 weeks, but I have found that if you treat your subjects with respect, they are more than wlling to participate in most anything). I once rolled Von Ruden off the hood of the car (at about 60-second 400 pace) when helping me test Conrad on the track in Tahoe. Tom immediately jumped to his feet and held the filled expired-air collection bag high in the air to show he hadn't lost any of it. I have a great photo (was cover of a science magazine) of us testing Jim down a dirt rode in Flagstaff. Rich Clarkson took that one
Living in the past wrote:
Oletimer. I'm actually enjoying this thread. You seem to be the one who is miserable.
Highlighting your ability to gather information and make a valid conclusion as well as my previous statement concerning your ability to be quiet.
MF, How was your Fifth Ave. Mile?
In what sense do you appreciate John Updike's excellence?
Drew,
Maybe Jack will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that your dad, Young, Mills, and Nightengale were in Flagstaff. I say that because, 1) I think there was a story in Sports Illustrated about it and 2) I had a friend who was on the faculty at NAU then who'd begun to do a bit of fitness running and always paid attention to the sport. He told me he'd gotten to know Young when that group was training there.
I just finished the part of Men of Oregon where Moore writes about the movie Personal Best.
If I had a chance to talk Mr. Moore, this is what I'd say:
Kenny, that movie was NOT good. Just because Bowerman laughed during the screening does NOT mean that he liked the movie. Despite your excellent nude scene, the movie is second-rate.
Otherwise, I've really enjoyed the book.
Jack-weird how the cycles of life can be. 1968-Flagstaff. 2006-Flagstaff. Ever get lost in thoughts of the past? I'll bet you've got some great stories to tell about the altitude training in 1967-68. I've got to remind myself to have you tell them at camp next summer. The one about Von Ruden is hilarious-and there was a guy who would eventually make the 1968 team at 1500m! Helping you with tests.
You know, I've got that magazine with you and dad on it somewhere. I'll see if I can find it, scan it and post it on the running camp website.
Dr. Daniels- a 3 point question: 1.)just curious, what was Ryun's maximum oxygen uptake? 2.) In addition, how did his natural lactate buffering abilities compare to other elites you have tested? 3.)Lastly, what are your thoughts on Dr. Martin's book- "Training Distance Runners"? I know Falcon did quite a bit of testing with him in Atlanta in '90 and '91. My apologies if any of these questions have already been answered.
Where can a person buy the video "Jim Ryun, America's Greatest Miler"?[/quote]
Check Jim Ryun's website, or ebay, etc. You should be able to get it. I got mine at a major track meet from a vendor set up outside the stadium selling stuff.
Mike...I think it may have been at Peoria when you talked to Jim...I just remember you and I talking and someone approached and you had to talk with them...but my memory does not serve me well on who it was...and charlie, I think only you would remember that...it is funny the things you remember along those lines...kids???
I saw that movie once and didn't think it was that bad, not nearly as bad as people said it was.
I think they filmed it during the 1980 Oly trials and I thought it was cool to see a lot of track footage plus I like the coach that would sit in the stand during workouts and make fun of guys that were getting beat by his female athletes.
Jim's typical VO2max was 5.9 liters (which of course is 5900ml) and if you divide that by his body mass that varied a bit (usually around 73kg), you get 80.8. I did get a 6.0 liter max one time, and that gives an 82.2 per kg value (identical to what I usually got for G L). The highest I personally ever tested was Ron Clarke, at 6.4 liters (use whatever weight you have confidence in to get a per kg value). In those days lactate evaluations were not available in the field and we did not do any. Can't comment on #3 -- ganske pa Svenske nagontid (sorry don't have all the Swedish letters on my keyboard)
Drew -- one of my favorite Alamosa stories was the time Jim and I had breakfast at a pancake house and as we got up to pay a teenage girl (who ate near us with her younger brother) said to Jim, "My brother thinks you look like Jim Ryun," to which Jim replied, "Yes, I am," to which the girl replied, "No you're not," and after one more round of the same we just had to let it go at the fact that he was not Jim Ryun. And Jim went back to his $1.50 per hour job at a local grocery store, to pay for his time training at altitude (an even better story one day at that store).
I better start writing all this stuff down before it gets lost.