Please share any memories or stories you have of this great man and his teams
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/legendary-arkansas-track-field-coach-john-mcdonnell-passes-away/
Please share any memories or stories you have of this great man and his teams
https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/legendary-arkansas-track-field-coach-john-mcdonnell-passes-away/
Very sad news. A true icon of the sport. RIP Coach Mac
blistering track workouts, recovery days of 10 miles at 6 flat pace
What a legend! All the best to his family and the countless Arkansas alumni that ran for him.
Up on Mount Rushmore.
I remember his take on tapering for the NCAA XC champs in an article in T&F News. Why cut the mileage when we're moving from 8k to 10k.
Also he stated he rarely recruited 800 meter runners because they specialized in just one event and he preferred recruiting athletes who would race multiple events.
I remember one year it was like a day or two before NCAA xc. Back before widespread high speed internet, we didn't know everything about every runner but I thought to myself, "Is there anyway that Arkansas wins again in XC this year?" I concluded, "No there isn't."
They of course won.
Back in the early days of letsrun, when we'd be searching for articles to put up on the homepage, the Arkansas newspapers were a must-read as they were one of the few that covered track all the time.
Great coach
I was never in the same league of the Arkansas guys, but he was the coach I always dreamed of running for. LEGEND
rojo wrote:
I remember one year it was like a day or two before NCAA xc. Back before widespread high speed internet, we didn't know everything about every runner but I thought to myself, "Is there anyway that Arkansas wins again in XC this year?" I concluded, "No there isn't."
They of course won.
They were better than your understanding, of course. I hope you wised up and never made the mistake of doubting McDonnell's Razorbacks again.
Ran a bunch of meets at Arkansas through the years. He built that program, winning a combined 40 national championships in cross country, indoor and outdoor track over 23 years (roughly 58% of all the team titles awarded over that 23 years span). It's impressive to see the facilities, meet the former Olympians, see their hands full of national championship rings, etc. The man is a legend. RIP
Truly legendary
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
John and I go back a long time. We competed together in the sixties. I managed to get him an invite to the Edinburgh Highland Games in Scotland which he cherished .
I remember him calling me and asking what I thought about him recruiting an athlete from Kenya.
John, "don't worry as you have been recruiting Irishmen for years."
A great guy - I will miss our banter on the phone, you "Auld bugger!"
RIP.
Jim McLatchie
I met him 9 years ago as a freshman in college when he was already retired, didn't know who he was. He was a humble old man, very unassuming. Wouldn't think he was the leader of a program that dominated the NCAA scene.
A legend and a gentleman.
The Arkansas teams of the late 80s to mid 90s were the best in history, end of story. I am speaking of distance runners and middle distance teams, but the whole program was unstoppable back then.
Damn, what a career.
I went to one of the cross country camps in 1993. I used to live Arkansas then. It was amazing. So many legends just walking around. He had the best stories about Joe Falcon and running against Jim Ryun etc. I will never forget staying up late at night with a young Deena Drossin partying with everyone and getting a hair cut. This long was before her Olympic medal or anything. She is now of course Deena Kastor and a legend.
Goodbye to my coach, my mentor, my friend. I, like many other guys who competed for John, am truly blessed.
If you have to add a tag line to it they were no the best ever. They were very incomplete teams.the best ever would be a team dominating in every event area.