Happy 80th birthday (+1 day) to Billy Mills!!

rojo wrote:

Anyone on her actually remember seeing the race on tv? I guess you'd have to probably be at least 68 to remember it.

https://twitter.com/JustRunFuller/status/1013236527911096321

You have no memories from when you were very young?

Billy is the greatest "clean" runner the US has ever had

I watched it, but don't remember doing so as I was only five years old. My mother has informed me I watched it, not surprising in that my father was a young, but very successful track coach and the whole family would have watched it.

I do recall watching the 68 games at 9 years of age and being crushed at Ron Clarke's challenges. I had an insufficient understanding of the affects of altitude. I also recall Keino's 1500 - not realizing then it might have been the greatest Olympic middle distance performance ever.

Mr. Mills is a gentleman and a great contributor to our sport.

What a great story and an even better man.

Best wishes from Australia Billy!

coahc wrote:

What a great story and an even better man.

Best wishes from Australia Billy!

I met Billy in Kodiak, Ak, in the early 80s. where he was giving some kind of inspirational talks to rural native kids on a statewide tour. He might as well have been from Mars to them.

But he was a real gentleman, we talked some track, told him I remembered him from my Wheaties box as a kid.

rojo wrote:

Anyone on her

First of all he's a male, not a female.

Next of all, it was Bekele's birthday a few weeks ago. I'm disappointed that since you literally set up this site, you wouldn't acknowledge the birthday of the worlds greatest runner. My birthday thread never made it on the homepage. 36 might seem like an insignificant number compared to 80, but at 36 the worlds best runner had completed 1 full year as a masters runner. This should get more publicity. I guess when Bekele is 80 I hope there will be birthday threads for him. I shouldn't have to be the only person to remember his birthday every time.

The IOC has a new award called the Olympic Laurel, given to those who have "made significant achievements in education, culture, development and peace through sport."

How does one make a nomination? Because Billy Mills would be the ideal recipient. He is a model of the Olympic ideal.

LOOK AT MILLS!!!! LOOK AT MILLS!!

I met Billy Mills when he gave a speech before a road race I ran in college. Solid guy.

I think some of the Native American tribes in this country are brimming with long distance talent that could rival the East Africans. But there are reasons we don't see more in competition past high school.

Littlekidrunnerlover wrote:

Billy is the greatest "clean" runner the US has ever had

Wrong, Mark Nenow is the GOAT of U.S. distance runners.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Littlekidrunnerlover wrote:

Billy is the greatest "clean" runner the US has ever had

Wrong, Mark Nenow is the clean GOAT of U.S. distance runners.

Fixed it

I met Billy Mills as a Sophomore in college. He was speaking at a conference at BYU and my father was in charge of some of the events. My dad arranged a private meeting for the three of us in a vacant classroom and Billy gave us an hour of his time, telling stories and just being human. At the end of our time, I asked him for his autograph. He said he would only give me his, if I gave him mine because he said, "I know you're going to do great things." I'm sure he has used that line on 100's of other people, but it made a powerful impact on my running career and aspirations. It was the most humble answer I could imagine.

I actually used a clip just last week at work from an interview he did that talks about the power of envisioning success, and breaking it down in increments to achieve goals. If you haven't seen the clip before - it's a worth 5 min of your time!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfLLNksZmoY

Billy Mills - a great runner, but an even better man. Couldn't agree more!

Bryan