R.I.P. Dick Buerkle, Former indoor mile wr holder

you can click through the images above for the entire article, in case it wasn't obvious

I've always used "He didn't find excuses, he found a dry stretch of road" as a motivational line. From the article linked below

Be creative: One of my favorite winter running stories is from the early 1980’s when Dick Buerkle got on his CB radio to find a dry stretch of road between Buffalo and Rochester, NY. Dick drove out to a barren stretch of highway and did a set of 400 meter reps. Oh yeah, and the next week he broke the world indoor mile record. Dick didn’t find excuses, he found a dry stretch of road.

Gregory Brock wrote:

He was also an All American in cross country in 1968. He placed 21 or 22. I finished 20 and in the chute Marty Liquori ran up to him and said they won. We (Stanford) were second. Their third straight without Liquori running. He was just back from Mexico City. We were very proud of our performance without a single scholarship athlete. Looking back with gratitude to have competed with a great athlete and better person.

I was a high school freshman in Menlo Park that year, Greg, and a big fan of your team -- Brook Thomas, Don Kardong, et al. Villanova was led by Donal Walsh, as I recall, and no one had yet heard of Dick Buerkle. Your comment about him is spot on.

I sometimes think that Dick may have been the greatest American runner -- among men, anyway -- of the last 50 years that (almost) no one has ever heard of. Those who have attested to his personal qualities know that this was a unique individual: quirky, brilliant, driven, funny and relentlessly positive. I came to know Dick in Atlanta many years ago and was on a Hood-to-Coast masters team with him in 2002, privileges for which I am grateful. American running is lucky to have had a Dick Buerkle, for birds in the sky like him are rare indeed.

It's great to see all these stories about Dick. Besides his running achievements, he was an all-time great guy.

He used to occasionally train with us at the University of Rochester, when his wife was affiliated with Strong Memorial Hospital. He told the funniest jokes, the most amazing stories and trained on the roads and streets of suburban and urban Rochester.

During one of those seasons that he was at his peak, he was running on Lake Avenue, a major commercial thoroughfare. As he ran by a gas station, a German Shepherd spied him and charged to the limit of its chain. Then the chain broke! As the beast neared, Dick thought "there goes the Olympics!" The dog lept and clamped down on Dick's right thigh. Then Dick realized the dog had no teeth! Dick shook him off and completed the run with nothing more than a bruise and another great running story.

One of the earlier posts mentioned that Dick would run at any time, even on a full stomach. I can confirm that. We had a birthday party one evening in his apartment, and sure enough after cake, ice cream and everything else, at about 9:30, Dick says: "Let's go for a run!"

He was genuinely excited about our running successes and an inspiration to us all.

RIP, but somehow I feel he's still putting in the miles with St. Peter holding the watch.