Absolute legend. Trained in Toronto all year long. No specialized gear, shoes or nutrition. Just went out and did it. I was lucky enough to meet him once. RIP
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.
Thanks. I thought someone here might do a better search job than I did.
Here is the story of Jerome's early life and why he changed his name, writen by Jerome:
This will put all speculation to rest. His early life, might explain his personality. I have know Jerome for over 50 years, as a member of Toronto Olympic Club. Once you knew him he was a wonderful human being, he had a great sense of humour, loved life and was determined and focused as the results of his running career has proven.
Jerome Peter Drayton RIP
Why and How I became Jerome Peter Drayton. 1. My early life. I was born on January 10 th , 1945 of Russian (Sonia) and Ukrainian/Polish (Peter Buniak) parents in Kolbermoor in what was then still Nazi Germany. Since we were not of German blood my mother went to the hospital at night, removed me from the crib and ran out of the hospital. It was normal German policy to have non-German babies adopted by German Families or have them disposed of by other means. I was named Peter Buniak after my father. The Second World War was still raging until May of 1945 after Hitler committed suicide on April 30 th 1945. 2. How my parents Ended up in Germany During the War Before I was born On September 1 st 1939, my parents were in Warsaw, Poland visiting relatives when Hitler’s Germany invaded Poland and bombed Warsaw. My future parents were still teenagers at the time – mother (14) and father (16). Both survived the bombing and were deported by the Germans to Kolbermoor, Germany. They married after I was born and moved to Munich, Germany. After Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, my parents worked for the American Army who liberated Munich. My father was a cook at the American Army Base. My mother worked as a maid at the homes of the American families. In my early years, war torn streets served as playgrounds, Most of the American Kids and I became friends and playmates. Occasionally, my father would take me to the Army Base where an American soldier would allow me to steer a tank while sitting on his knees. A couple of times I nearly hit a tree. While Munich was being rebuilt in postwar Germany, my life was somewhat uneventful with the exception when I almost burned down our apartment while playing with matches. At the age of five, I was home alone while my parents were at work. As a result, my life underwent a dramatic change. My parents could not afford a nanny or child care. I was also 6 years old and ready to start school. 3. My life in Group Homes. My parents placed me in two Group Homes. The first one (Eggenfelden) was located far from Munich. I was there for two years but saw very little of his parents on weekends. Two years later I was transferred to a second Group Home in Munich which allowed me to see my parents more often. I spent about three years there. Both Group Homes has about thirty boys. On school days the whole Group walked to and from school. On weekends Group excursions were taken outside the cities. When my parents were able to visit me, I was happy when taken to the movies. However, I was never happy in both Group Homes. I got into a lot of fights with usually two or three against me. The problem was that most of the other kids were German. Their memory was still fresh from Germany losing the War only Six years ago. They knew that I was half Russian. Russia was one of the Allies during the War and invaded Germany from the East while the rest of the Allies invade Germany from the West after D Day. I learnt how to throw rocks with some decent accuracy at them when I was outnumbered. Some of the fights were in a packed Church on Sundays. I got punished a lot by the Catholic Nuns who were in charge of running the Group Homes. Many times, I was forced to spend an hour in a dark closet. My now I was eleven years old but unknown to me my life was about to undergo a dramatic and wonderful change!!! 4. How I ended up in Canada (1956) I was beginning to wonder whether I was going to finally escape this unhappy confinement. Also, I was beginning to see less and less of my parents, particularly my mother. The one day in November 1956, one of the Nuns, without explanation, forced me to take a shower and give me a new suit to wear. About an hour later I was placed in a taxi. I had no idea where I was being taken. Another Group Home I ended up at Munich’s International Airport with a suitcase and a tag hanging round my neck containing personal identification and destination. I was put on a TransCanada Airline flight to Toronto, Canada. When I arrived in Toronto around at midnight nobody was there to pick me up. Apparently, my mother was supposed to meet me. I ended up wandering aimlessly around the airport for about an hour before a tall RCMP officer noticed me. He checked my identification tag after he i realized I was unable to understand English. He then telephoned my mother. It turned out, my mother was at the movie theater with her new husband. They thought that I was supposed to arrive the next day, 24 hours later. Both finally arrived at about 3 am and took me to my new home near Kensington market. The next year we moved to a house in Mimico. What a start to becoming a Canadian!!!!! I later learned that in Germany in 1955 my parents had separated, divorced and my mother emigrated to Canada. She also retained custody of me and decided to send for me a year (1956) later. The Munich’s Group Home was informed of this matter and contacted my father that I was to be taken to the Airport. Unfortunately, I was not able to see him to say Goodbye. He remained din Munich for the rest of his life. He also remarried and had two children. I did not see him again until 1989. 5. Becoming a Canadian Citizen. In public school, during class each day, I was placed in a small back room with another student who spoke German. With a Canadian History Book, it took me about four months to read, speak and write with a fair command of the English language. I became a Canadian Citizen in 1961. At Mimico High School in 1964 and 1965, I decided to become a distance runner after winning three events at the school’s Athletic Day. I was invited to join Toronto Olympic Club by a TOC scout (Cedric Wedemire) at the WTDIA high school track and field championships at Gordon Graydon Collegiate. I met Paul Poce and with his help. The rest is History!! Thanks Paul!!!!!!!! 6. Change of my name. Becoming a Canadian, speaking a new language, involvement in a new Sport (Marathon) and the Olympics, I thought many times of changing my name to help erase my memories of an unhappy life in Germany. I chose Jerome Peter Drayton. I picked the last name from the telephone book and the first name from a Baby First Names book. I retained my original first name Peter as my new second name for my mother’s sake. I could not see her addressing me as Jerome. Contrary to an idiotic belief or rumour I did NOT change my name after two Sprinters: Canada’s Harry Jerome and USA’s Paul Drayton (I had never heard of him at the time). My heroes, as a young distance runner and eventual Marathoner, were Australia's Ron Clarke, distance runner (17 World Records at various distances) and Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila, Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist (1960, 1964). Had I wanted to change my name after them, it would have been Rob Bikila or Abebe Clarke. Also, contrary to another idiotic rumour, I did not join the Hell’s Angels when I had a small Italian motorcycle while as student at Mimico High School. I used it to travel to my girlfriend’s new address in Mississauga when her parents bought a house there. It was easier to travel by bike in half an hour than taking up to two hours by public transportation. Cheers Jerome P Drayton
Impressive career and accomplishments given Drayton had a fulltime, non-running related job that he had to show up in person to go to, no working from home or working virtual in those days. If I recall correctly, he had an office job with the Canadian government. No lucrative pro contracts for those guys in those days. Get up early for a run prior to work, then hammer out another one after work. Eat, go to sleep, repeat.
yeah impressive how old school his approach was--my dad ran Boston in '77 and he was fortunate enough to have met him. RIP to a Canadian running legend...