Archive For The “Running Free” Category
“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” – Aristotle Convinced the wonderful communications staff at the Boston Marathon I really am a running journalist of sorts, so basking in a variety of frequent press releases. It’s a good thing. This month the B.A.A. will hold a special event to…
If you can fill the unforgiving minute, with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, and – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son! – Rudyard Kipling The Masters Runner By Steve Trew The athlete was old now, very old. He had run and competed…
The music of a marathon is a powerful strain, one of those tunes of glory. It asks us to forsake pleasures, to discipline the body, to find courage, to renew faith, and to become one’s own person, utterly and completely. – George Sheehan Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, erstwhile 800m specialist, obliterated the women’s marathon world record…
My feelings for Kenny as a friend were only exceeded by my amazement that one person could be so gifted in two different venues. There was that magic he made with words and then the physical/mental package that allowed him to run faster and longer than all but two or three other people on planet…
All I want to do is drink beer and train like an animal. – Rod Dixon Think it was 1980, in Purchase, New York, at the headquarters of a carbonated beverage company, when Rod Dixon and I first crossed paths. He was an invited athlete and I was happy just to get in the door….
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat. – Steven Wright When I began road racing in 1972, a feared name in New England was Rick Bayko. He was that good. Rick started one of the earliest running magazines. He opened a running specialty shop. He was that important. An Original Gangster of Running. When…
DISPATCH FROM THE ROLLING STONED SPORTS DESK Wallow with the eagles, soar with the pigs. – Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Started this life of running by accident. Few weeks later I saw that Nina Kuscsik became the first official women’s winner of the Boston Marathon. Figured if this “shapely” mother, older than me, could do…
I don’t have any reminiscences, except that no matter how hard you run, it still takes an hour. No other foot race is like that. – Don Kardong The event really got my attention when Jos Hermens broke the 13-Mile barrier on May 1, 1976. The Dutchman covered 20.944 kilometers in just sixty minutes. I…
Did you ever run behind a slow pack? You get a trailing wind and a lot of body odor. – Steve Prefontaine I got the axe at Nike shortly after Mary Decker tripped over Zola Budd in the ’84 Olympic Games. The world’s leading sports apparel company has never (to-date) issued any formal comment whatsoever…
Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence. – Steve Prefontaine No running? What the hell kind of cross-country training is that? I’m going for a run. Brooks headed out the door, the feeling of freedom and rebellion…