Arkansas Runners- McDonnell Era

What's the general consensus of the alumnus regarding the current state of the Arkansas program? There's all kinds of rumors about him taking down the NCAA trophies, etc. Why in the world was he picked anyway, instead of someone who had been under Mac's tutelage? For the record, we used to see Miner win races by close to 45 seconds back in his high school days.

Jbox,

The magic left with coach Mac. It's really sad that they didn't get one of us former Razorbacks to take over the program after coach McDonnell left. There are plenty of us out here who are currently coaching in both the High School and College ranks. Thanks for the props and a few times I won races by over a minute, but the competition was not that stiff. I actually just found my old running log. It has pretty much all of my running and racing recorded in it from my Junior year of H.S. to my Junior year of college!! Talk about nostalgia as I have sat here flipping through it. It's a real treasure full of insane workouts!

Miner

Bucknam is doing just fine. I highly doubt any of you former tools could do any better or even close to as well. The program was DEFINITELY on the downturn at the end and the magic was most definitely lost. The magic also had a lot to do with his ability to mess with financial aid. That is a fact. The new AD was not going to allow that same shit JM was doing.

mess with financial aid,..... that's hysterical. Arkansas was so expensive. My dad messed with my financial aid, via check each semester, which was less than my rent for the year.

As far as Bucknam doing just fine? How so? Cushy job with no expectations? Check!

An AD who doesn't care if they ever are successful on a national level?

Check!

Yes, financially Bucknam is doing just fine, and so is "coach" Green. Don't forget your loyalty boys, and yes, the story is true about Bucknam walking in and saying

"Get these trophies out of here, we're going to win our own"

Go get 'em!

Edrick Floreal, Dick Booth, Stanley Redwine, Doug Clark, Danny Green, Brian Baker. Just to name a few. The magic had nothing to do with Coach Mac "messing with the financial aid." It had everything to do with his ability to recruit a bunch of tough ass blue collar kids who got Pell grants like myself. He made the most of the resources he had. You're obviously not a a former Razorback, and I realize you're just trying to stir the pot. HAHA!!

the last few years of the JohnnieMac era; his distance teams were not the contenders that they had been. No denying that. However, that shouldn't detract from the outstanding job he did and a program that he built from nothing in football crazy Arkansas.

dminer you dog!!! Share those logs and put those bad boys to good use =). Give us a microscopic view of training with a couple weeks of indoor or outdoor! I love this shit =) Inspiring and pretty cool to see actually.

Master's 4x800 record:M40-49 7:54.17 Hinton, Pope, Paulk, Young USA 27.06.04 Eugene

dminer wrote:

Maybe some of us former Hogs could put together a 4X800 and set the Master's record which is somewhere around 8:10 I think.

Miner (Potsie)

I'm planning on putting up some of the training weeks. I just need to flip through a little more and figure out which weeks would be best to post. Just as a glance I can tell you we were doing mileage in the 80s per week. 5x1mile, 16x400, plenty of tempo runs, and a 14.5 miler on Sunday that always turned into a progression run. That was XC season.

Is anyone willing to say why the hogs seemingly had lost their magic the last 2 years or so that Mac was still at the helm? It was like after Lincoln and cragg finished their eligibility, it dropped off drastically. Obviously, after losing guys like that, a team might go through some funk; but this seemed more than that.

JBox wrote:

Is anyone willing to say why the hogs seemingly had lost their magic the last 2 years or so that Mac was still at the helm? It was like after Lincoln and cragg finished their eligibility, it dropped off drastically. Obviously, after losing guys like that, a team might go through some funk; but this seemed more than that.

the last few years of the JohnnieMac era; his distance teams were not the contenders that they had been. No denying that. However, that shouldn't detract from the outstanding job he did and a program that he built from nothing in football crazy Arkansas.

dminer wrote:

I'm planning on putting up some of the training weeks. I just need to flip through a little more and figure out which weeks would be best to post. Just as a glance I can tell you we were doing mileage in the 80s per week. 5x1mile, 16x400, plenty of tempo runs, and a 14.5 miler on Sunday that always turned into a progression run. That was XC season.

So I take it YOU DO believe that posting John's workouts is your God given right, even though it is not your intellectual property. Interesting that you do not consider this a betrayal of his legacy. I don't have an opinion on the matter. Just a view.

How is that a betrayal of his legacy? I honestly dont think the man cares whom sees the "warplan". Every good team for the most part, is doing something that resembles each other, it's the few tweaks that a coach makes that defines the program, which is what were trying to find out. Having been out of coaching now, I don't he'll mind, but rather encourage it. Don't forget we're all running for the same country, were all running to become better. That's the bigger picture.

I am currently a Middle and High School Track and XC coach and I use many of coach Mac's workouts with my athletes. Of course they are modified and scaled down for teenagers, but still the same principles. I've also read Lydiard and other's training plans, so what I have is a conglomeration of things that has turned into my own system and program for coaching middle and long distance runners. I doubt coach Mac minds me using the workouts since I was wise enough to keep a log of all of them. Honestly I see it as a testimony to his legacy, not a betrayal. If it helps somebody become a better runner and thereby improves the quality of American mid and long distance runners then more power to them, more power to us all, and praise be to coach Mac's legacy.

Coach McDonnell's workouts were no secret. I have some posted on my facebook account. The secret sauce was not the workouts, it was the entire atmosphere.

It was coach Mac, and it was all coach Mac. He was a motivator.

So, in summary, yes John has said that he doesn't care who knows the workouts, because you wouldn't do them anyway.

dont forget mike moran .He and falcon fell in new orleans in 92.Also some one told me frank hanley quit running in 94 or 95 and smokes now.

keith iovine lets not forget him.He was one of the best.He past in 2002 and was a super runner and a nice guy.

doug clark is a good runner.At the 97 us road 10k champs teddy had to tie his shoes and doug was right there with him and told teddy to easy back in to it.I saw doug in 2002 at the downhill race in little rock.

Wasn't Coach Mac coaching some of the post collegians for a bit in the beginning of the Buckham era?

I remember hearing that in Bucky's first year the old man still coached those tattooed twins and Shawn Forrester.