Did people in 1960 think it was humanly possible to break the hour barrier in the half Mary?

I broke the record in 1966 in my first and last attempt at the age of 21yrs.I found out about this record by accident only 3 yrs ago via Google! . I was also privaliged to break one of the great Ron Hills course records in the sale 15ml also on my first and last attempt. These records were set averaging 55mls per week.

I broke the record in 1966 in my first and last attempt at the age of 21yrs.I found out about this record by accident only 3 yrs ago via Google! . I was also privaliged to break one of the great Ron Hills course records in the sale 15ml also on my first and last attempt. These records were set averaging 55mls per week.

Bobby1 wrote:

No one ran a half anything in 1960.

I beg to differ.

Peter Ravald wrote:

I broke the record in 1966 in my first and last attempt at the age of 21yrs.I found out about this record by accident only 3 yrs ago via Google! . I was also privaliged to break one of the great Ron Hills course records in the sale 15ml also on my first and last attempt. These records were set averaging 55mls per week.

Is this the real Ravald?

awesome.

But my real point is just to copy and paste wineturtle's post from page one. It is a a cornucopia of goodness:

On 18 Jan 1960 I had three PB&J sandwiches a pear and a box of stick pretzels for lunch. I also had 2 (glass)bottles of Welch's Grape Juice to wash it all down.

Of course I packed that lunch every schoolday in 1960 just like in '59 and would continue to do into the spring of '62.

I remember a lot about the summer of '60 including a rooftop a girl named Doreen and my first taste of Emko Foam. I remember Jean Love, yup her real name, who wanted me to wear two raincoats and get out before the rain came. I remember Butch Grunwald fighting with me because I made out with his gf on the beach in Coney Island and took her to Totono's for pizza. I remember running 10.7 for the 100yds at the 168st Armory- St Francis games maybe. I remember Frank Budd winning the Millrose 60yds in the 50Street MSG but I don't remember who won Wanamaker that year (maybe Delany). I know I had at least 2 Nedicks franks that night and some of that neon orangedrink. I also remember my date that night was named Lori and that she ate her hamburgers well done. Honestly that's a no brainer because she ordered her hamburger welldone for the next 40something years .. I remember working that summer at Jessies Elm Shade in Greenville NY with fake working papers saying I was 16.

Not all of us oldfarts are memory impaired.

guys who were running in 1960 had little to no interest in a 1/2. It just wasn't run much, if at all. I don't recall one in SoCal. Not to say they didn't put one on, it was just a footnote at best.

Peter Ravald wrote:

I broke the record in 1966 in my first and last attempt at the age of 21yrs.I found out about this record by accident only 3 yrs ago via Google! . I was also privaliged to break one of the great Ron Hills course records in the sale 15ml also on my first and last attempt. These records were set averaging 55mls per week.

Wow. A former WR holder visits us. Running a half marathon once and setting a WR in the process is pretty awesome.

What was your favorite workout, Peter?

"I really like the half, it's my favorite distance to race"Said by people who are slow at marathons or are too lazy to commit to the training to do it well.

bangalangadanga wrote:

ycthdf wrote:

Really? I think people care about half-marathons too much. There's always talk about how a runner did x in the half so he must be capable of y marathon time. The predictions rarely pan out because the half is so different from the full that it shouldn't even have the name marathon attached to it. They should just start calling the half a 21k.

I really like the half, it's my favorite distance to race, but I'm so perturbed that Daniels lumps the half marathon into his marathon training program. And yes, it is very hard to predict a marathon from anything shorter than 30k in my opinion.

Wussification wrote:

"I really like the half, it's my favorite distance to race"

Said by people who are slow at marathons or are too lazy to commit to the training to do it well.

+1

Were there 1/2 marathon races back then?

Track Fan 1979 wrote:

Were there 1/2 marathon races back then?

This sort of came up in the older portion of this thread. If there was a record for the distance in 1966 then someone must have run it but I started running in 1967 and can only recall knowing of one half marathon. It was in Mechanicsburg, Pa. I ran it in 1970. It was not the first year for that particular event but it was definitely a novelty and it didn't last much past 1970.

I was running road races in the DC/Baltimore area and around Philadelphia then and there were no half marathons that I can recall. There was a 14 mile race around DC in December that had been around for a while and there was another 14 mile one in New Hampshire for a while but I can't recall any half marathons. Recently I've been reading old issues of "Long Distance Log," I've completed all issues from 1956 to the end of 1961 and have not come across results from any half marathons. It's certainly possible that someone somewhere had organized a 13 mile race but probably didn't call it anything other than "The So and So 13." Maybe Peter Ravald could come back and tell us a bit more.

agip wrote:

[But my real point is just to copy and paste wineturtle's post from page one. It is a a cornucopia of goodness:

Agreed as it's great to read the tales of those of us who ran back then. I remember 4 to 10 mile road races starting at some park or country road. The entry fee was 50 cents. You also got these little medals as prizes. (yes, I still have mine somewhere) No food, no tee shirts, no numbers, no police escort, no split times every mile. Just show up, pay the fee, line up and race to the turn around and back. Miles were painted on the roads. Since you knew most of the runners, as they ran most races, there was lots of camaraderie as we were doing what we loved. Good memories.

Who could have envisioned the mega races of today?

Track Fan 1979 wrote:

Were there 1/2 marathon races back then?

I checked on this a bit. There was a half marathon in Freckleton in the UK. Both Ron Hill and Peter Ravald set WRs there in the mid 60s. There was also the San Blas half marathon in Puerto Rico. The race began as a three mile in the late 50s and was extended to 21.1 km in 1966. So there were a few half marathons long ago but the ones I found don't seem to have been happening in 1960 as to the OP's question.

wineturtle wrote:

some random facts-

Going into 1960 the marathonWR was held by the russian Sergi Popov at 2:15:17.0. On sept 10th 1960 at the Rome OGs barefoot Abebe Bikila lowered it to 2:15:16.2 and then in 1963 Turu Terasawa of japan whittled another 0.4 seconds off it bringing it to 2:15.8.

But 'even numbers" quests are common in the history of T&F , 4 minure mile 7 foot HJ 60 foot snot put and same on the metrical side 8:00 3000 steeple or 6.00m pole.

Even the ladies got press the italian Paola Pigni was first under 4:15 for the 1500 and first under 4:30 for the mile was a story.

some WRs at the end of the Olympic year of 1960

400m 44.9

1500 3:35.6

steeple 8:31,4

5000 13:35.0

10,000 28:18.8

HJ 2.22-7'31/2"-RIP John Thomas

I've seen some funny typos on here but "snot put" has got to make the top ten all time.

Consider this... wrote:

wineturtle wrote:

some random facts-

Going into 1960 the marathonWR was held by the russian Sergi Popov at 2:15:17.0. On sept 10th 1960 at the Rome OGs barefoot Abebe Bikila lowered it to 2:15:16.2 and then in 1963 Turu Terasawa of japan whittled another 0.4 seconds off it bringing it to 2:15.8.

But 'even numbers" quests are common in the history of T&F , 4 minure mile 7 foot HJ 60 foot snot put and same on the metrical side 8:00 3000 steeple or 6.00m pole.

Even the ladies got press the italian Paola Pigni was first under 4:15 for the 1500 and first under 4:30 for the mile was a story.

some WRs at the end of the Olympic year of 1960

400m 44.9

1500 3:35.6

steeple 8:31,4

5000 13:35.0

10,000 28:18.8

HJ 2.22-7'31/2"-RIP John Thomas

I've seen some funny typos on here but "snot put" has got to make the top ten all time.

Great catch.