Rick Wohlhuter: Underappreciated Middle Distance American

I definitely agree. I don't know much about me, but I DO know my hs coach trained with him I think...at the Chicago track club. He gave me some of his (modified) workouts and I dropped quite a few seconds from my 800 time. so i must credit rick for being a part of my success :)

From an article of dyestat

http://www.talk.dyestat.com/showthread.php?t=33890

I think the session of 4x400 in 49-50 sec with only 20sec rest is a bit of a stretch. I've seen world class 800 guys (142/1:43) struggle to hit 51's with 3min rec. (If Malmo reads this, I'm sure he'll have a go at me. I once questioned a workout Tony Waldrop did and he didn't take too kindly to it). There is also an article in an old T&FNews from 1974 sometime which covers his training. I think it had Pre on the cover "Pre's summer of discontent". Rick's training is towards the end (from memory).

RWD: What sort of mileage were you running?

Wohlhuter: I would average about 50 miles per week all year round. During the fall, I would run road work until mid-December, when I would begin indoor track workouts. I based my on-the-track training schedule on short-rest intervals and hard speed work. Always short rest. I also ran most mornings.

RWD: Can you describe one or more of your toughest workouts?

Wohlhuter: I had several hard days each week. Early in the week, I would run 20 times 200 meters under 30 seconds with a fast 200-meter jog between each interval. Midweek, I often ran longer intervals from 400 meters to one mile, always jogging between each one. On occasion, I would run a single one and one-half mile trial in a time between 6:20 and 6:30 minutes. Thursday was long speed work, usually several 600 meters at race pace or faster. Sometimes I would run four 400s averaging 49-50 seconds with about 20 seconds between each one. Sunday was a long run. My training schedule consisted of one hard day followed by an easy day. My easy day was often speedwork.

RWD: What were the challenges of training for both events, the 800 and1500?

Wohlhuter: Foremost, I considered myself an 800-meter runner. I trained specifically for the 800 and raced over one mile/1500 occasionally. I believed that to be the world's best at 800 meters, I must focus all my efforts on 800 meter training and tactics.

Malmo or anyone connected to the Chicago Track Club have any input?

True dat wrote:

I don't know much about me

The less you know, the better.

Of the hundreds of performances on T&FN's top ten comprehensive lists for Americans in individual track events, Wohlhuter's 1:43.5 800m (#5) and 2:13.9 1000m (#1), both from 1974, are the only two marks that remain from the glory decade of the '70's.

Similar build to Coe. And I would say that Rick W's times stand up for the same reason that Coe still ranks number two all time at 800m.

What was Ted Haydon like as a coach? What were his training programs like with the UCTC?

yogi wrote:

Similar build to Coe. And I would say that Rick W's times stand up for the same reason that Coe still ranks number two all time at 800m.

Because they are fast???

If anything, Wolhuter made Coe look hefty.

It should be pointed out that his AR at 1000m has withstood assaults by Steve Scott, Jim Spivey, Johnny Gray, David Krummenacker (who came the closest), and Webb.

When did Webb make a serious attempt at a 1000? Not doubting, just don't remember it.

Check out the company Rick has on this list:

1 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny KEN 02.11.78 1 Rieti 05.09.1999

2 2:12.18 Sebastian Coe GBR 29.09.56 1 Oslo 11.07.1981

3 2:12.66 Noah Ngeny KEN 02.11.78 1 Nice 17.07.1999

4 2:12.88 Steve Cram GBR 14.10.60 1 Gateshead 09.08.1985

5 2:13.40 Sebastian Coe GBR 29.09.56 1 Oslo 01.07.1980

6 2:13.56 Kenneth Kimwetich KEN 01.01.73 2 Nice 17.07.1999

7 2:13.73 Noureddine Morceli ALG 28.02.70 1 Villeneuve d'Ascq 02.07.1993

*8 2:13.9 Rick Wohlhuter USA 23.12.48 1 Oslo 30.07.1974*

9 2:13.93 Abubaker Kaki Khamis SUD 21.06.89 1 Stockholm 22.07.2008

10 2:13.96 Mehdi Baala FRA 17.08.78 1 Strasbourg 26.06.2003

11 2:14.09 Joaquim Carvalho Cruz BRA 12.03.63 1 Nice 20.08.1984

12 2:14.28 Japheth Kimutai KEN 20.12.78 1 Stockholm 01.08.2000

13 2:14.41 William Yiampoy KEN 17.05.74 2 Rieti 05.09.1999

14 2:14.43 Laban Rotich KEN 20.01.69 1 Nice 16.07.1997

15 2:14.50 Abdi Bile SOM 28.12.62 1 Jerez de la Frontera 13.09.1989

haha, YO wrote:

When did Webb make a serious attempt at a 1000? Not doubting, just don't remember it.

In June 2005, Webb ran an 8:11 two mile AR at the Pre meet, then entered the 1000m in the Reebok Grand Prix the following week. There was talk that he or Krummenacker might challenge for the record. Webb went out fast, died, ran 2:20. Krummenacker ran 2:17 that day. Webb ran 3:32 1500m/3:48 mile that season, so he was in good form, although not quite as good as 2007.

Webb ran 2:15 in practice the week before his mile AR. Seems to me that Wolhuter's 1000 WR in'74 was about equivalent to a 3:48, in other words, better than the existing 1500/mile records.

jissmer wrote:

What was Ted Haydon like as a coach? What were his training programs like with the UCTC?

I ran for the University of Chicago in the late 70s / early 80s under Ted. I'm not sure that he actually coached Wohlhuter, though. A lot of guys who ran for UCTC had their own coach.

I personally did not like Ted's training methods since they were quite different from what I was used to. He generally had the same workouts year round, and the idea seemed to be to stay in the same shape all year. I was more comfortable with periodization, so it wasn't a good fit. I eventually adapted his workouts to what I felt comfortable with.

If I recall, the week (just about every week) for a distance runner looked like:

Monday: Distance

Tuesday: Repeat 400s

Wednesday: Repeat miles

Thursday: Repeat 800s (??)

Friday: Easy

Saturday: Race

Sunday: Whatever

So who was Wohlhuter's coach? And why don't we hear more about that guys training ideas...

Rinaldi wrote:

I think the session of 4x400 in 49-50 sec with only 20sec rest is a bit of a stretch.

Agreed. I'm virtually certain that that's a misprint, and he meant 59-60.

RW's training was summarized in "How They Train"(? I think it was there that I saw it), and I remember being impressed by one workout he listed--one that, he said, he'd never completed, but would modify so as to finish it! "No staggering" was his quote, and one that others could profit from: Even in his high-intensity/short-rest sets, he made sure that he maintained control and didn't just struggle through.

For those interested in Ted Haydon's workouts, there's an excellent summary here:

I read with great interest several comments made abour my training program. The training schedule I subscribed to was based on short rest intervals combined with long interval speed work. All rest was jogged. To correct one misconception, I would attempt to run 4 X 400 intervals in abour 50-51 with about 45 seconds rest (jogging, as always, about 50 yards and going again.) I took more than 20 seconds rest between each 400. To say the least, the 4 X 400 workout is challenging because the rest is short. I devised this workout after watching Lee Evans attempting something similar in training before the Munich Games. I ran this workout infrequently since I prefered to run 600s at race pace or faster with near full recovery between each.

Portsea man wrote:

There is not much talk of Rick Wohlhuter, and, some of the great accomplishments he had. How did a 5'9", 130 pound man, train to reach world record heights and win a bronze medal?

Dunno. How did a 5'5", 123 pound man (Haile Gebrsellasie" train to reach world record heights and win gold medals?

Sorry, not trying to be a jerk, just thought it kind of funny you mentioned his small stature. That's kind of a plus in running.

Rick, thanks so much for clearing that up! I always thought that you were a good, no-excuses competitor, and after you handled your mishap in 1972 so gracefully it was a real pleasure to see you medal in 1976. (By the way, I've used that "tripped on a sunbeam" line--even if it wasn't initially yours--to describe one or two of my own athletes' mishaps.)