Legendary miler and Olympian Marty Liquori runs the 1970 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in a sub-4-minute with a 3:59.9 running for Villanova. It...
Hi, this is Dave Wottle. This is the first time I have posted to this website but I wanted to clear up some misinformation in the posts as well as respond to a few of the questions. First of all, everyone is right, there's no way I could bench press 300 pounds (even with a concave chest as someone noted). My best bench press was 150 pounds. I lifted weights all through high school and college. As much as I hate to disagree with the best man at my wedding and college roommate Rick Schnittker, my training log says on Monday, May 7, 1973 I did three repeat 2 miles in 10:00, 9:40, and 9:17.5. My best 2 mile time was 8:40.0 at an indoor meet at Eastern Michigan in March of 1973.
Before I talk about my races before the Olympics, please keep in mind that I developed tendonitis in my left knee after not warming up properly and running a difficult workout (to try to impress Coach Bowerman) on my first day in training camp at Bowdoin College on June 21. My mileage was scheduled to be 70 to 85 miles per week at that time and my first week after the injury amounted to only 19 miles and the second 22 miles. All that to say, I was far off of the conditioning I had prior to the Olympic Trials and well beyond my peak once the Olympics were over. No excuses...I just want to keep things in perspective.
As far as my races between the Olympic Trials and the Games, I ran three 800 meter races in Bergen and Stockholm, placing second to Rick Wolhuter in the first two and winning the third. Times were 1:48ish. I also did a 5000 meter training run in a town south of Munich in 14:51.
My progression in the mile was 4:51.5 HS freshman, 4:38.5 HS sophomore, 4:22.4 HS junior, 4:20.2 HS senior, 4:06.8 College freshman, 3:59.0 College sophomore, 3:39.7 1500 College junior year, and 3.53.3/3:36.2 College senior year. Half mile: 2:11.2 HS freshman, 2:04.0 HS sophomore, 2:00.0 HS junior, 1:59.3 HS senior, 4:06.8 College freshman, 3:59.0 College sophomore, 3:39.7 1500 College junior year, and 3.53.3/3:36.2 College senior year.
Wow. Dave I attended your track camp (twice) at BG back around 1977 or 78? My parents fibbed about my age so I could attend camp with you and Mel leading the way. I'll never forget it. I remember faster HS kids at the camp sometimes pushing you during an easy run to unleash a little taste of your kick, and it never went well for the "challengers"! Always wore a hat when I was young when racing.
This might be more than you asked for but I found it interesting:
Running legend Dave Wottle was really a Miler
December 08, 2014
1972 Olympic 800m champion with numerous national Mile titles and world class times was one of the best at the storied distance
By Rick Schnittker
I first met Dave Wottle as a 15-year-old making a trip to the Ohio JC Summer State Meet in Canton, Ohio. I had qualified for the event with my fastest Mile of 4:28 at a regional meet. I don’t know how I knew but there was a lanky guy sitting cross legged in the shade next to the field house, worried he’d be my competition, I asked him, “You a Miler?†“Yes I am, but I’m not running today.†In the extended conversation I learned I was talking with the present Ohio State HS Mile champion and that he had run it in 4:20 flat and that his name was Dave Wottle. Dave had grown up just across the street and was there just soaking in a track meet for us youngsters. I do remember his modesty in relaying the information and it made a lasting impression on me. “Wow, the State Mile champion!†Our paths would cross again 2 years later in a very big way.
As a high school senior in 1970, I came in third in the Ohio HS State Meet with a 4:16.4. While I was undefeated before that meet in NW Ohio, I was now getting calls and letters from colleges and universities all around the Midwest. I always thought of going away to college and didn’t consider Bowling Green State University, only 13 miles down Rte. 25 to be ‘away’.
BGSU Coach Mel Brodt came to our home one hot summer day and sat down with me, my Mom & Dad. I remember him saying, “Rick, you have a chance here to be a part of something very special at BGSU.†I knew of Sid Sink and Dave Wottle. Dave had just broken 4 minutes for the first time (one of his top 3 career highlights) and Sid seemed to win every event from the steeple chase to the 6 Mile. With a friend and competitor from The Toledo Road Runners, Steve Danforth just completing his freshman year there, a decision was made. I’d report to BGSU for Cross Country three weeks before classes started.
I was mostly a lone runner in high school with the exception of Jim Haxton, a good friend and runner who would go on to run at Ohio University. When Coach Brodt said I’d be part of something special, I had no idea. At our first practice, I looked around and was unable to count the number of guys coming out for Cross Country. There was more than 80 guys lacing up their shoes. I had received a little press on being the fastest high school Miler ever recruited to BGSU but then I learned among all these new guys was a New Yorker who had been in Sports Illustrated’s ‘Faces in the Crowd’, Craig MacDonald, the New York State Cross Country champion. I remember thinking, “This is going to be a challenge keeping up†and indeed it was.
The Essence of a Competitor
Our track workouts would start with a 3 Mile run at what Coach Brodt described as “at easeâ€. The next thing we’d do is what he called, “pick-upsâ€. Usually a bit over a hundred yards, we start out at a good clip and continue to gather speed and ending in a sprint. As the new guy on the block, I’d show these guys my speed. I know Dave was used to being in the lead at the end of these but I would best him here. I know he did not like this, he’d keep coming at me and we’d continue this little race daily. Turned out it’s the only thing on the track I’d ever best him in.
Sid Sink was our leader. He would assume taking the pace at whatever Coach Brodt wanted. 5 minute Mile pace, no problem, 4:45 same, Sid would be right on it and we’d fall in behind. Knowing pace was something we’d all have to learn. Inevitably, Dave would go charging into the lead at the end. It’s what he did. He did not always go without a challenge but we’d knew it would happen every time.
BGSU lies in the Black Swamp. Early American settlers would have a hard time getting around it, let alone through it. When it was drained and cleared of trees, it became some of the best farm land in the country. Ditches in the countryside can be 10 to 15 feet deep but the land up top is so flat you are able to view the curvature of earth just as if you are miles out in the ocean. This geographic feature results in wind, almost constant wind. In winter* and spring, the wind was a daily battle on the track which had no protection unless you call the 3 foot arborvitae outside the fence “protectionâ€.
One of Coach Brodt’s favorite workouts was 3 x 2 Miles with exactly five minutes rest between. A 3 Mile warm up before and a 3 Mile warm down after. We got to look forward to this workout because of the challenge it presented. The first 2 Mile was to be 10 minutes, second 9:30 and the last to be 9 flat for all that could make it. Normally, this is exactly what we did with Sid keeping the pace right on the money. On one windy Monday in 1972, the competitive juices must have been flowing through us all. If I am recalling this correctly and not embellishing, the first 2 Mile was completed in around 9:35, Coach smiled and did not reprimand us for not staying on pace. During the 5 minute rest period, Sid pleaded for someone else to go to the front and assume some of the wind breaking duties. Craig MacDonald, Steve Danforth and Tracy Elliot helped Sid during the second 2 Mile which most of us completed in just over 9 minutes. I don’t recall if I helped, probably not, but Dave was there in the pack only to come home first in 8:50 something. Not much was said during the next 5 minutes as we were busy sucking in air. As we set out on our third and last 2 Mile, some of the guys started giving Dave grief on his drafting methods, we all joined in. Maybe a bit miffed, he takes to the lead and we all follow on or try anyway. “Dave! You’re supposed to be leading the way, not blowing us off the trackâ€. Well, he did, he completed that third 2 Mile in 8:29. 50-60 yards back, I would run the fastest 2 Mile of my life, in practice, dang. A couple weeks later, Dave would win the 880, Sid the 2 Mile and our Distance Medley relay took the title as our team would place second at the NCAA Indoor Championships giving BGSU a team tie with Michigan State.
Mixing Marriage and Olympics
Dave’s competitive nature spilled over into everything, leisure activities too. Whether we were playing ping pong, pin ball, bowling or whatever, he was doing his best to come out on top and usually did. One thing Dave was not real good at was girls. Shy did not come close to describing him at that time. Me, I considered myself one of the best wing guys around. And there was Jan, available, having split up with another teammate many months before, beautiful, lovely and lively. Timing seemed right, I had to get these two together but I couldn’t do it without Dave’s help. He only had to ask her out. It took a couple weeks of jabbing for him to get up the nerve but eventually he did and that was all it took. They fell in love and how does a marriage in between the Trials and the Olympics hurt? Hey, there was a few weeks of a window. A wedding was planned and I was honored to be their Best Man. The experts said it was a bad idea and it would ruin his chances but love always finds a way or this instance, to not get in the way.
Munich 1972
It’s really hard to say that Dave’s best event was the Mile seeing as he tied the world record in the 800 at the Trials and then won the Gold in Munich, Germany. I still maintain that it was. The Mile is contended in ways where the winner is not always the fastest and strongest competitor in the field. It comes down to the guy that wants it the most, whether it is a blistering pace from the gun or a stroll in the park until the bell is ringing. Knowing what you have in the tank on that day determines how you approach it. Don’t get me wrong, Dave was strong and obviously fast. He could bench press 300 pounds with those seemingly skinny arms and a 47 second flat open quarter is not too shabby. Not known as a Cross Country runner but check the books. As I recall a couple top 10 finishes at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, running 6 Mile times over hill-and-dale most anyone would be proud of on the track. [EDITOR's NOTE: memory is an elusive thing at times, Dave Wottle did finish 12th at the 1971 NCAA XC Championships and was on two teams that placed in the top 10.] But he was a Miler who also won three NCAA titles (1500 – 1972 and Mile, indoor & outdoor – 1973). I believe if the Olympic schedule called for the 1500 to be run before the 800 he would have won the 1500 and who knows how he’d then fare in the 800. As a 21-year-old with just a little international experience, the limelight of the 800 gold medal blinded him to the rest of the job. He just plain went to sleep in his 1500 semi heat.
After the Olympics, in 1973, Dave did become the second fastest American and #3 individual all-time in the Mile with Steve Prefontaine doing his pace work. He clocked a swift 3:53.3, and Jim Ryun’s world record 3:51.1 was the only American time faster, while Pre ran a 3:54.6, his PR, so all I’m saying had Pre run 3:52, well, I guess you know where I’m going here. Dave was a Miler and rarely lost one in his time.
Final Thoughts
Dave Wottle was really a Miler who happened to be also really good over two laps, but he is so much more that. Dave is great and humble guy, loving husband to Jan, and father of three successful kids, Scott, Mike and Jenny. He is also a very talented motivational speaker to high school coaches and athletes. Now that he’s retired from his Director of Admissions position at Rhodes College, he has lots of time for talking.
The article above was interesting but I question a lot of the claims such as the 300 pound bench press. Anyone can bench 300 if they do it wrong, and also 100 pushups is possible so long as you do them "short-armed." Pull-ups, etc.
But it does show how Jim Ryun's best event could also have been the 880 or 800. All those aerobic miles produce monsters!
Hi George, I raced in Europe: West Germany and Denmark, in the late 70s. I found the pushing to be significantly greater than in California. It was just different and did not affect my results. I ran regional type events, not at the top level.
Runners World used to publish a booklet of the month , I have one from 1973 on Dave Wottle . It lists his best times and key races for each year of his career . I also have one about Frank Shorter .
Small world. Regarding Wottle's coach, Mel Brodt, about 2-3 years ago when I was living in Venice, FL, I struck up a conversation with an elderly neighbor. Turns out she was the widow, Mrs. Mel Brodt. Very pleasant lady, very surprised I knew all about Dave Wottle and more surprised I knew who Sid Sink was. She was there in Munich in '72 with Mel and Dave. Not surprisingly, she didn't have any kind words about Bill Bowerman.
Saw him run at this meet for Bowling Green twice. Once before the Olympics and once after he won it. He ran faster after he got married. He ran on their 4X400m relay,anchor I believe.
i'm old enough i competed on some cinder tracks -- and even slid across one after tagging the last hurdle in a race -- and trained on a dirt oval. i remember digging around the cleat bin at school for hard as rocks spikes to wear. equipment and tracks have massively improved.
also, wottle struck me as, like many of our recent runners from the 2010s era, kind of a heat machine come from behind type. guy i know once posted a wottle race as a "never give up" inspirational item. i DMd my friend that, dude, that's how he raced. net effect, he's not setting the 800 record or doing an incredible 1600. he's the guy who wins controlled pace races. if you put him in monaco DL with a rabbit and the fastest no-fear 800 runners he'd finish last. he was suited to heat match racing. no one goes fast and we kick to the line at the end.
In 1973 the mile world record was 3:51.1, Dave Wottle won a race in 3:53.3 which was the third fastest mile of all time. I think anyone who's the third best miler of their era would be competitive. After all Yared just ran the fourth fastest all time ;).
In those days many of the tracks were clay, grass, or cinder. In fact the tracks of the 1980s were not as bouncy as the trampoline tracks of today.
We also ran in 5 pound shoes and had uniforms so inflexible that you had to throw them away every 3 years or so!
What about the medical and scientific advances of today.
There was a "universal" weight machine that a lot of skinny guys could lift some incredibly heavy weights, but I bet Dave Wottle couldn't do more than 250 on those either. Then again for some people if you go 1/2 down that's a full rep!
Yeah, I heard the tracks were uphill back in those days.
When I ran HS track in the late 60s, the 'free weights' in our weight room were all being replaced with 'universal' weight machines. Later as a coach in the late 70s, it was our mission to get rid of those machines and get back to free weights. (By the way, I was 138 pounds in college doing my 'universal' bench press reps -3 sets of ten all the way down and up - at 220 lbs.) Those machines were so far off the mark!
What do the last couple posts have to do with Dave Wottle?
Did he design the Universal weight machine? Did he design the Adidas shoes?
Getting back to the subject...
I ran for one of the many small colleges in Ohio in the early to mid 70s. We saw DW numerous times at XC and track meets. I remember him winning an All Ohio XC race at BGSU on their course with that one crazy man-made hill on the course that was otherwise pancake flat. He wasn't just an 800/mile mid-d guy. The guy was a beast.
What do the last couple posts have to do with Dave Wottle?
Did he design the Universal weight machine? Did he design the Adidas shoes?
Getting back to the subject...
I ran for one of the many small colleges in Ohio in the early to mid 70s. We saw DW numerous times at XC and track meets. I remember him winning an All Ohio XC race at BGSU on their course with that one crazy man-made hill on the course that was otherwise pancake flat. He wasn't just an 800/mile mid-d guy. The guy was a beast.
Yes you are correct about Dave having impressive range. Like when he finished 12th at NCAA Cross Country in 1971 in 30:06, when Pre won in 29:14. This was great endurance for a man who would win Olympic Gold at 800m the next year.