R.I.P Geoff Hollister

source?

I knew something was up after watching the NB meet and the Oregon Project guys were wearing new uniforms with a picture of Hollister on their singlets. During interviews one or two of them started to make reference by pointing at their jerseys.

Cancer?

An irreplaceable legend.

Hollister wisdom learned through Bowerman:

“I visited Bowerman’s office during my senior year in high school. He sat me down, and asked me why I wanted to go to the U of O. I told him; “so I can be the best miler I can be.” He told me; “No, so you can get an education.”

“You have a much better chance of being successful if you have passion.”

“Competition is about losing and picking yourself up.”

Hollister loved to reflect on a message Phil Knight gave regarding the loss of Bill Bowerman. “In a time of situational ethics, he was the last moral man. Bill thought running was about struggle and responsibility, not freedom and desire.

not so much wrote:

I knew something was up after watching the NB meet and the Oregon Project guys were wearing new uniforms with a picture of Hollister on their singlets. During interviews one or two of them started to make reference by pointing at their jerseys.

Cancer?

Yeah, Cancer.

Sad day here at World Headquarters.

all the good he may have done for running is far outweighed by his horrible store, Hollister, and the horrible clothes he sells to horrible people.

come on now.

ha-ha!

You're a very clever boy!

Junior High School?

Some of us knew Geoff for 20, 30, more than 40 years

and he was a great guy to know in Eugene and Beaverton.

http://www.runblogrun.com/2012/02/thinking-of-geoff-hollister-by-larry-eder.html

BoyFromIten wrote:

Sad day for the running community

Very sad day indeed.

I had the opportunity to coach Geoff's son in HS; and on the fringe, got to know Geoff a little as well. Unassuming to put it mildy.

I was a young coach at the time (23), but he was supportive, but not over protective - never offered unsolicited advice. Frankly, a great parent to coach for.

Saw him a few years ago at one of the Nike events - talked to him about old times and memories - had fun.

The running community lost a great one...

My condolences to his family.

TG

Very saddened by this, and I barely knew him. Met him at the 1976 Olympic Marathon Trials in Eugene, and I was impressed by the man's sincerity and warmth. Although he was definitely a Nike guy, through and through, you could tell that he loved the sport and anyone who loved it. RIP Geoff

Sad day for sure. Geoff was a real nice guy. Truely missed.

We just lost a really great guy. Used to run with us at LO when Tracy was on the team. Remember running the upper loop in Tryon Creek together - what a stride... My thoughts go out to the Hollister family. I was heading out for a run, checked the boards and saw this. Last time i ran into Geoff was at PDX airport when i was on leave back in 1992 - his eyes lit up when he saw one of Tracy's old hs teammates. He was always interested in how we were doing and offering encouragement.

I had the good fortune to meet Geoff and hear him speak when I was a high schooler and again last year. He was an inspiring presence and a kind and thoughtful man. He approached his work and his life with passion and enthusiasm, and the running community and world are better off for it. His passing is a loss for all of us, but we should be thankful for the time we had with him and the contributions he made to our sport and community. My thoughts are with the close friends and family of Geoff.

Sad news, indeed. Another former Laker here who's early memories in the sport include marveling at how a guy in his mid-40's could routinely thrash some of the best runners in the state in workouts. I've bumped into Geoff sporadically since then and he's always been as friendly and unassuming as I remembered him.

I've known Geoff for more than 20 years and learned only two days ago that we shared a birthday...

Dan

I appreciate people who have passion in their lives and their work, whether in cardiology or in running. Certainly, Geoff had that profoundly for all he'd done in his life.

He must have had quite a struggle with cancer, as he was affected by a warm (not hot) morning 4 years ago at the Trials, when he came out for a Nike-sponsored funrun one morning. I remember that Joan Benoit never left his side that morning until she was more than certain he was ok. He was deeply cared for, or this would not have happened. I'll be wearing the Swoosh today, thinking of him.

The American Running Association has a nice tribute to Geoff. It ends with this quote from his biography:

”It’s not about how long you live but how you contribute. It’s about doing your best and doing the right thing. It’s about recovering from your mistakes and not giving up. It’s about the baton pass to a new generation. It’s about the realization that you can not go it alone. It takes a team”

http://www.americanrunning.org/w/article/geoff-hollister-creative-visionary-and-champion-of-running-a-tribute

We already changed the homepage today to have the quote of the day from Alberto Salazar on Geoff. The quote above may get quote of the day tomorrow.

Thank you for fixing the picture on the front page. He deserves at least that much respect.

My apologies for having the wrong picture on the homepage for the last hour. The Nike S. Africa tweet here

https://twitter.com/#

!/NikeRunningZA/status/166843599613468672/photo/1

is of John J Kelly up top and Geoff on the bottom.

Last paragraph of Geoff's book reads, "The future will never remember what was in your bank account or what kind of a car you drove. The future will remember that wild ride of life where you believed in others and left a gift behind for someone else to dream the impossible. That gift was your own life. It does not matter whether it was long or short. What did you leave behind?"

Really sums up his feelings on his mentor, Bowerman and what he strived for and accomplished in his own life.

My first job at Nike was assembling promotional shoes in New Hampshire and shipping them by the case to Geoff in Oregon. Yes, I liked him very much.

Tom