Reading about Jerry Lawson a bit on another thread, I thought I'd start one up to talk about just him. Here's his bio:
http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/oldBios/2000/lawsonj.html
Amazing runner, he trained like an animal. As someone put it, "he was blue collar before blue collar was cool." His racing was sort of erratic, but when he was on boy was he on!
There must be some old timers on this board who also remember Jerry from training and racing back in the '80s and '90s with stories to share.
I saw Jerry on MARTA after Peachtree one year. That dude had some weird hair.
The bio says at one point that Lawson "has no intention of running in World Champs marathon: "It's not lucrative. It affects your whole summer and there's nothing you can do to make up for lost revenue.""
But then a few sentences later, it quotes him as saying, "I'm not in the sport to make money."
Unless the quotes are from two very different points in his career, something doesn't add up.
I think maybe he meant that he wasn't in it to grow a nest egg but that can't even make ends meet if he runs WC.
I had the pleasure of meeting and running a little with Jerry when he spent some time with John Campbell and Callum Harland back in 98. Very cool guy who never took his success for granted but looked like he enjoyed being able to do it for a living. Right after NZ where he was trying to run a sub 4 mile (in hindsight not realistic) he ran his 1.01 half in Austin. Definitley a guy I looked up too, ans learnt alot from. If anybody has any info on what he's up to now I would love to know - i hope he's doing well.
Talked to Jerry a couple of weeks ago at 1st Place Sports in Jacksonville. He looks tanned, fit, and rested (and had a cool haircut).
Trained with Jerry while in jville. Pretty cool guy, knows his stuff.
I was hoping to see him do some running on the master's circuit. Any scoop on that being a possibility or has he had some recent performances I've missed?
Here's a pretty good photo of Jerry from Shamrock marathon few years ago(scroll down). Only Lawson could jog a 2:19 in this outfit...
I ran against Jerry in college cross country when he was at MVCC, Mohawk Valley CC. In honor of the school name he had a huge Mohawk. He was too fast for me, but I distinctly remember seeing his mohawk float by on several occasions. I also can remember his running style & stride clearly. He was a strong runner then & I'm glad he went on to accomplish some great times.
In those years, the late 1980's, about the only guy in NY that could hang w/Jerry was my coach at the time, Tom Carter.
Man, I miss following Let's Run for a few days and someone starts a thread about you. :-)
I am currently trying to get back into full-time training to prepare for some serious masters marathoning next spring.
My newborn twins (Sebastian and Haillee) and 9 1/2 year old daughter are keeping me busy here in JAX along with working full-time at 1st Place Sports.
I've slowly been able to start dialing up the workouts and workload that helped me get to where I was.
I agree, my racing WAS erratic, but more from doing too much coming into races and at times it hurt me, but I knew that I never left anything.
Looking forward to seeing you all on the roads soon! :-)
Jerry
you are the man. good luck with the twins.
Awesome, thanks for chiming in! I think I remember seeing you or hearing about you doing workouts at Potts back when I first moved to town. It was reported that you worked at Safeway as a stocker. I have long admired your drive, style, and ability. I can see parallels between you and Mark Nenow in terms of training and racing, as well as approach: did your own thing, uncompromisingly. If I ever find myself in JAX I will stop by your store to say hello. I, for one, would appreciate it if you happen to be able to find time after everything else you do (train, work, parent) to drop in here more with training and racing insights. This board is starved for guidance from the best of the best. Thanks again!
You look like a tough SOB.
I respect that.
Good luck
DUI
lumpy fart purveyor
Was just talking about Mr. Lawson wondering of his whereabouts over the weekend with a bunch of washed up old farts who were never within a mile of Mr. Lawson's marathon PR. As one of the two "masterminds" behind The Jerry Lawson Dropout Pool from the 2000 Olympic Marathon Trials...I'm glad to hear he's doing well. Everybody calls it "his store" does he work there or own it? Sometimes there is a difference. Referenced quote perhaps does not support the idea that Mohawk Valley Community College belongs in the Ivy League...
Grote
I had the pleasure of running the Empire State Games Steeple back in '93 as he was about to become the marathoner we know now. I was just a kid and Jerry was unassuming enough to cool down with me after the race. It wasn't until a few years later that I truly appreciated what he was doing at that time with all the mileage and trying to make a go of it on the roads. If I had it to do all over again and could be like one guy of that era, it would be Jerry. Hard-working, tough and with a love of racing. Hell, the eventual American Record holder in the marathon was out tripling at the Empire State Games.
Grotes,
I wonder if Jerry would take any satisfaction in knowing that the other mastermind and his main antagonist during the 2000 trials race got smacked upside the head by the karma stick? -- antagonist now has a "record" of sorts.
hey who is this, i also cooled down with jerry at the same esg after running the 1500 meters, i also was just a kid running for central!!
had the pleasure of running the Empire State Games Steeple back in '93 as he was about to become the marathoner we know now. I was just a kid and Jerry was unassuming enough to cool down with me after the race. It wasn't until a few years later that I truly appreciated what he was doing at that time with all the mileage and trying to make a go of it on the roads. If I had it to do all over again and could be like one guy of that era, it would be Jerry. Hard-working, tough and with a love of racing. Hell, the eventual American Record holder in the marathon was out tripling at the Empire State Games.
Perhaps he would take pleasure in that, not sure. Don't know him well. Why did I become plural? Not saying the Dropout Pool was really nice or cool...but it happened. There were not any unsold squares. Pretty sure that after the fact Mr. Lawson was complimented for finishing the race in less than ideal circumstances. Pretty sure he also told the "antagonist(s)" that one of the reasons he finished was that he would not give the satisfaction of dropping out.
Athletes in other sports deal with heckling, jeering, boos, and so on.
Grote
I simply know it as the store where I could find him to talk to him, as he works there full-time. Makes zero difference to me whether he owns it.
RyanGrote wrote:
Everybody calls it "his store" does he work there or own it? Sometimes there is a difference.