RIP
LRC note: Here is our article on Dellinger:
This post was edited by rojo 3 days after it was posted.
We merged two threads on Bill and combined the titles. Jonathan Gault's tribute to Bill is now published. https://www.letsrun.com/news/2...
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DyeStat has confirmed the news.
Dellinger was titan of the sport, beloved by so many of his former athletes. He did it all -- set American records in the 1500m and 5000m, NCAA mile champ, made three Olympic teams, earned 1964 Olympic bronze, coached Oregon to four NCAA XC titles (and one on the track), coached Steve Prefontaine. What a life.
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Jonathan Gault wrote:
DyeStat has confirmed the news.
Dellinger was titan of the sport, beloved by so many of his former athletes. He did it all -- set American records in the 1500m and 5000m, NCAA mile champ, made three Olympic teams, earned 1964 Olympic bronze, coached Oregon to four NCAA XC titles (and one on the track), coached Steve Prefontaine. What a life.
Check with Weldon and Robert. I contacted them earlier this week.
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And he coached Alberto Salazar too. He wrote some books also. RIP Coach Bill Dellinger.
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Dellinger was just a good man. A really good man. God bless him.
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RIP indeed. Absolute legend.
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A great indeed. People think more about his coaching than the fact that he made 3 Olympic teams in the true amateur days, and got a bronze medal in one of them. A great runner, great coach, great leader in the sport. RIP.
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RIP
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Coached many American greats in the 70s and 80s. Salazar, Centro Sr., Chappa, Cruz, Slanney, and many more. Was also a great man from what I hear. Hope they do something at Pre Classic to commemorate him
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He never coached Cruz.
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Jonathan Gault wrote:
DyeStat has confirmed the news.
Dellinger was titan of the sport, beloved by so many of his former athletes. He did it all -- set American records in the 1500m and 5000m, NCAA mile champ, made three Olympic teams, earned 1964 Olympic bronze, coached Oregon to four NCAA XC titles (and one on the track), coached Steve Prefontaine. What a life.
Because of his coaching prowess... Bill Dellinger never got credit for how great a runner he himself was. One of the best short long torso-short legged runners in history. You hardly ever see that in elite runners.
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Run in Peace. The last remaining of the three Bills- Heyward, Bowerman, Dellinger
Dellinger, Bill, and George Beres. Winning Running: The Oregon System: A Mental and Physical Approach to Competitive Running. Contemporary Books, 1978.
Dellinger, Bill, Blaine Newnham, and Warren Morgan. The Running Experience. NTC/Contemporary Publishing, 1978.
Dellinger, Bill, and Bill Freeman. The Competitive Runner’s Training Book. Collier Books, 1984.
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So sad to lose both Bill Dillinger and Bob Schul roughly a year apart.
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His medal race. Unfortunately the vid cuts off just before Dellinger edges Jazy at the line.
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Remember in the early 1980's he had a great running book that had weekly program. His book was the first one I ever bought on running. A real legend in the running world.
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A great read for those interested. Glad to see it still in print.
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Today, I’m remembering Bill Dellinger—not just as a legendary coach, but as a man who shaped the trajectory of my life through quiet belief, relentless wisdom, and unwavering loyalty.
“They’re all good days, Ben. All of them. Life will always choose the race. You get to choose how you run it.”
Coach said that to me once, and it’s never left me.When I was dealing with social anxiety—avoiding parties and sitting alone in my dorm—he didn’t try to fix me. He took me to the bar and taught me how to play darts. When I was unknowingly burning out from walking miles around campus just to avoid the silence of my dorm room, he invited me to ride along in his golf cart a couple days each week. I thought it was recovery time. He knew it was quality time.
That’s the kind of coach he was. That’s the kind of man he was.After the race of my life:
🦆 “You might have woken up this morning a basketball player, but you’re going to bed tonight as a runner. Great race. I look forward to being in touch with you.”
Before I even got to Eugene, during one of the hardest seasons of my life—when running was an afterthought and I was facing a potential 5-to-15-year prison sentence—he stood by me when it would’ve been easier not to. He held my scholarship. He chose to believe in me. That belief didn’t just keep a door open—it reminded me who I was. And who I was meant to become.And when I finally arrived in Eugene, emotionally broken and unsure of everything ahead:
🦆 “Ben, you’re in Eugene because of your heart. I’ll teach you to run.”Some of the lessons he gave me still guide me today:
🦆 “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”🦆 “You need to decide if you like the wind hitting your face, or if you like creating the motion that has your face hitting the air… I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about life.”
🦆 “Maybe in time, you’ll learn to be an activist for yourself. An activist for your thoughts.”
🦆 “I’m disappointed that you, Ben the Person, hasn’t pushed Ben the Runner to get everything out of the gift that’s in you.”
🦆 “Let’s get you fit to get fit. It’s never too late.”
🦆 “As soon as you start experiencing success, there’ll be someone who doesn’t have the success you have—or doesn’t want you to be successful—and they may talk negatively about you. The faster you learn to pay zero attention to those people, the farther you’ll be on your own path.”
Coach didn’t demand loyalty—he earned it. His athletes didn’t run hard out of fear. They ran hard out of respect.
You saw something in me before I knew it was there. That kind of belief doesn’t fade. It lives on.
Rest easy. You didn’t just build runners. You built men.
🦆 Go Ducks 🦆@BenAndrewsOR
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.300 -
BenAndrewsOR wrote:
Today, I’m remembering Bill Dellinger—not just as a legendary coach, but as a man who shaped the trajectory of my life through quiet belief, relentless wisdom, and unwavering loyalty.
“They’re all good days, Ben. All of them. Life will always choose the race. You get to choose how you run it.”
Coach said that to me once, and it’s never left me.When I was dealing with social anxiety—avoiding parties and sitting alone in my dorm—he didn’t try to fix me. He took me to the bar and taught me how to play darts. When I was unknowingly burning out from walking miles around campus just to avoid the silence of my dorm room, he invited me to ride along in his golf cart a couple days each week. I thought it was recovery time. He knew it was quality time.
That’s the kind of coach he was. That’s the kind of man he was.After the race of my life:
🦆 “You might have woken up this morning a basketball player, but you’re going to bed tonight as a runner. Great race. I look forward to being in touch with you.”
Before I even got to Eugene, during one of the hardest seasons of my life—when running was an afterthought and I was facing a potential 5-to-15-year prison sentence—he stood by me when it would’ve been easier not to. He held my scholarship. He chose to believe in me. That belief didn’t just keep a door open—it reminded me who I was. And who I was meant to become.And when I finally arrived in Eugene, emotionally broken and unsure of everything ahead:
🦆 “Ben, you’re in Eugene because of your heart. I’ll teach you to run.”Some of the lessons he gave me still guide me today:
🦆 “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”🦆 “You need to decide if you like the wind hitting your face, or if you like creating the motion that has your face hitting the air… I’m not talking about running. I’m talking about life.”
🦆 “Maybe in time, you’ll learn to be an activist for yourself. An activist for your thoughts.”
🦆 “I’m disappointed that you, Ben the Person, hasn’t pushed Ben the Runner to get everything out of the gift that’s in you.”
🦆 “Let’s get you fit to get fit. It’s never too late.”
🦆 “As soon as you start experiencing success, there’ll be someone who doesn’t have the success you have—or doesn’t want you to be successful—and they may talk negatively about you. The faster you learn to pay zero attention to those people, the farther you’ll be on your own path.”
Coach didn’t demand loyalty—he earned it. His athletes didn’t run hard out of fear. They ran hard out of respect.
You saw something in me before I knew it was there. That kind of belief doesn’t fade. It lives on.
Rest easy. You didn’t just build runners. You built men.
🦆 Go Ducks 🦆@BenAndrewsOR
With a number of threads about Bill Dellinger being posted today, yours is worthy of its own thread.
"when running was an afterthought and I was facing a potential 5-to-15-year prison sentence—he stood by me when it would’ve been easier not to."
I did not know that about you, Ben. I don't need to know the specifics and I'm not going to ask around to find out. In one short sentence you've enriched my life. I'm proud of you.
Bill never demanded anything from people. Well ... he sort of did. Be real, and be yourself.251 -
Meet Ben Andrews
Kudos.
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lease wrote:
His medal race. Unfortunately the vid cuts off just before Dellinger edges Jazy at the line.
I given the back story before, straight from Bill's mouth.
The way that Bill Dellinger trained for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
The Summer before, he worked in a lumber mill pulling green chain. (He worked with a former employer of mine, mill owner Gary Davisson.) For those of you who don't know (most of you), green chain was how freshly cut lumber got sorted into stacks by dimension and length. It was hard, physical labor. Bill looked at every movement as strength training. Every lift, every bend, every squat all had a purpose. He was stimulated all day in the mill, physically and mentally. That, of course, was in addition to his running preparation.
If you look at the video of the race the toughness and grit showed over the last two laps. He literally willed his way to the Bronze Medal. One badass dude!404
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