Jim Ryun...getting it off my chest

Spider-

Yes, I would say 1968 is something dad had to work through (bitterness about team tactics). Does it still bother him? Nah. He really does think of that race (now) as one of his greatest. And he really does respect Keino-the man was talented, a perfect athletic foil. I am not sure who posted it, but I do think dad finds it a bit hard when a lot of reporters still ask, "Do you think your career was a failure because you did not win the gold?" I don't know if any of you listened to, or saw anything posted on it, but Paul McMullen and dad had a great interview recently and dad talked about his 1500m in the US V Germany meet where he ran a 49 high last 400.

As a runner (and son) my biggest regret, though, is that dad was not in the 1972 final. I am not saying he would have won (that's too , hypothetical)but as many of you know, he'd run (depending on the watch) a 50 high or 51 low last 400 at the Oly Trials then followed that up with a solo 3:52 in Toronto. As indicated by his 1500m WR in 1967 (another race where Keino made a huge move early), I think dad was best from 600-800 meters out because he could move hard, like El G, and still kick hard. The 1972 final was a perfect set-up for him.

I'am Irish and Jim Ryun was my hero as a kid in the sixties

I saw him run the Emesley Carr mile in London ,he murdered the field and from then on i wanted to be like him.

The fact his name was Ryun ,i looked on him as having a little Irish in him,and i felt so sorry for him in 68 in Mexico because if it was at sea level no one would stay with him.My own kid who is going to be a useful runner i have told about Ryun ,so the legend will live on

For what it is worth, I was reading through this post thinking to myself how much I admire Ryun for his belief that he was the best and should've won every race that he ever ran. I was going to go on a long soliloquy about how the greatest athletes are simply wired differently...it's what makes them great, but Wayne and Flagpole already did a great job making such a statement...Hoovis

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Wayne B wrote:

Willy,

I think you've really nailed a part of it. The thing that drives these athletes to greatness is their belief that they are the best. Thus, when something impacts their ability to be their best, they have difficulty accepting it. To me, it's not a negative, it's the way they're wired. If they weren't that way, they wouldn't have achieved greatness. It eats at them because they can't get past the "If only..."

Exactly Wayne my brother! You've added on nicely to the very fine point I made earlier, so props to you. :)

- Flagpole Willy

When I was 16, I traded blows with a 40 year old Jim Ryan at a 5k where he was the guest presenter. He outkicked me. It was like getting a guitar lesson from Eric Clapton. You just can't top that. It was the greatest running moment of my life.

Jim Ryun was AMAZING!!! How many failures did he have in his whole running career?( if you can call them failures). He inspired thousands of runners; set a mark in the mile that became the running goal of runners around the world; he had a hand in changing the world (remember nobody ran on the streets back then) and he has lived a meaningful life.

No matter how fast you run, you always know you could have run faster. I remember stepping off the track after a 12:53 three-mile and cursing my slowness. Inside we always know we could have done better. Jim too knows he could have done better. For a sports writter to take that feeling and enlarge it to make it the whole Jim Ryun is unforgivable. Anything to sell magazines.

The only think Jim Ryun has on his chest to get off is hair. Why does HE have hair on his chest and I don't? Is that fair?

Hi Drew,

I met you and your family along with Anne Anderson a long time ago, maybe you were around 9.

I had the honor of hosting your dad in my home one time before the Shamrock 5 Mile Classic in Boston.

I just really wanted to say hello and please give my best to your mom and dad. How's Heather?

At the time when your dad was in my home, I wasn't so much interested in his running. I was more interested in him as as a man of faith in the Father. He was one of the first Believers I had ever met. Meeting your dad and then visiting with your family a few years later made such an impression on me. I am a Believer now and I am thankful for God's grace.

"Lord you will grant us peace for all we have accomplished is really from you." NLT

Isaiah 26:12

In Joy,

Patti (Catalano) Dillon

Drew: I have to agree with you that 72 was a race set up perfectly for Jim to kill the field in the last 400. I had done a lot of tests on Jim that year and his values were equal to anything he had ever shown in the past. Then you add on that very good Toronto mile and it was clear things were in place. I can still feel my own frustration about him not being in that final, but I still feel the journey is of great importance and any wins along the way are not remembered nearly as vividly.

drew- get back to work and stop gloating to ned about having the front page quote.

Wow - Lindgren and Patti D. with back-to-back posts. This thread has some real giants on it. Drew, any chance of getting your dad to log on and comment on this thread?

Hello Mr. Lindgren,

How wonderful to be in the same 'room' (chat)with you!. I'm going to be in Honolulu this December and I'm love to go for a "easy run" if you have the time. Please excuse MY slowness, hehe!

In Joy, Patti

I enjoyed your article in SI.

Gerry,

Kip Keino was a better runner than both you and Ryun put together.

How many medals do you guys have combined????

Ryun/Lindgren = one 1500m silver

Keino = one 1500 m silver, one 1500m gold, one 5000m silver, one steeple gold

CASE CLOSED.

And Kip Keino would be a "b" East African today. Bekele could have lapped you or Ryun in a 5k.

(and I know people will say "why are you talking trash?" Look, these guys, Ryun and Gerry, have had a trillion people worship them and tell them they are their heroes .....DESERVEDLY. They deserved that for sure. people tell them they were "the best ever" etc, etc. Hey, again, they were that good, they DESERVE that. But, on the other hand, there are other opinions, and can hear them too without their hearts breaking, right? They are some all-time greats, but I have my opinion, and it has been stated above)

Spoken like a true patriot

[quote]please sir, can I have some wrote:

Gerry,

Kip Keino was a better runner than both you and Ryun put together.

How many medals do you guys have combined????

The medal makes the man? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

One must assume you put that statement out there to invoke an arguement and nothing else.

Do you know what heroes are? If some want to believe that Ryun and Lindgren are the greatest ever, they should and to them, they are.

This writer can't break 5:00 for the mile but to his six year old son, he's the greatest runner ever.

Classless and off topic! If you want to debate who was better, then I suggest opening a new thread. I was thoroughly enjoying this respectful dialogue until your chest thumping post popped in. I can't be TOO disapointed since we were warned earlier in this thread.

Hey WeJo, Patti, Jack, Gerry and Nate (aka Super Swede)-

What a great thread.

WeJo-thanks for the front page quote.

Gerry-I hope you are well. Dad tells some great stories of when you guys trained briefly together in Santa Barbara.

Patti- Heather is well. Married and has three great children. They're here in DC this week, actually.

Jack-glad you backed me up on 72. In my mind, it was identical to the 67 1500m WR. What was dad's last 1200 in that 67 race? I know it was mid-high 2:40s (2:47?) I remember Track and Field News wrote about it once.

Super Swede-you know me too well.

To those who rank Jim Ryun and Gerry Lindgren on the amount (or types) of medals they won-you're missing a great portion of the picture.

And for the pedants out there, I apologize for missing the second "b" on "rabbited."

[quote]drewr wrote:

To those who rank Jim Ryun and Gerry Lindgren on the amount (or types) of medals they won-you're missing a great portion of the picture.

Absolutely. There is no way that someone who wasn't following or involved with the sport in those years to understand the excitement these guys generated for US diatance running or the numbers of kids who took up the sport and were really motivated put everything into it as these guys did.

I gather that Keino had a similar effect on young Kenyans and that also is tremendous. It was such a great era for the sport and there is no need hype one at the expenxe of the other or others. Each of their achievements speak for themselves.

Ryun ran the 1500 and Lindgren the 10000, so they probably wouldn't race Bekele in the 5000. I appreciate the legacy of Jim Ryun more than maybe anybody I know, and if you are going to say that he is classless or whatever your wrong. Any COMPETITIVE runner who has ever run not what they want in a race, you feel like crap afterwards and it stays with you. I remember a race in 8th grade that still eats at me everyday. Why didn't I just suck it up, why did i let the kid come back? Things like that. And I am NO Jim Ryun, he could still probably beat me in a mile today.

However people tend to forget Keino in this too. Didn't he win Gold after his splein or something like that ruptured? Keino was tough and so was Ryun. It was a good race. Ryun lost, who wouldn't be disappointed in a lose.

As for the above comments about Gerry and Ryun, dude you suck. To bash these two men is wrong on your part. Yes it is your opinion, but please if you are going to basicly insult people in a public forum don't and keep your opinions to yourself.

drew, completely off subject, but nice quote in the journal on sunday in the jay sekulow article.

CH-