Archive For The “Running Free” Category
“The thing I had to keep telling myself was that I could be bleeding from the eyes and I would not drop out.” Keith Brantly just looks youthful. He ran his first road race in 1978. He was sixteen. And his career ended more recently than most of the early stalwarts of the sport. Heck,…
“I will watch those that I used to be. The stallions that dominate the race and pummel it into submission. I will cheer them for their abilities in a sport that has given me sustenance. Helped me make sense of myself. And there is always the future. The next year. The next decade. I hope…
“I thought I would run well tonight, because it was a flat course. But I thought the competition would be easier than it was.” – Bill Rodgers If you remember anything at all about the endurance athlete best known as Boston Billy Rodgers, you can well imagine he had a lot of energy and could…
My marriage was blowing up. I lit the fuse. I was losing control of RUNNING magazine. Had no idea. Only one thing made sense, the Big Apple. From Track & Field News. November 1980. With recollection from Patti Catalano. November 2019. ALL AROUND THE TOWN. East Side, West Side… through all five boroughs. Alberto Salazar,…
I’m an entertainer. I wear costumes for the people, so they can loosen up and not be stuffed shirts. It’s an uptight world, and this is one way to relax. Races are like a parade of humanity. I know it’s OK to wear a costume. I don’t need people’s approval. – GF Sr. You can…
“This was unequivocally the greatest marathon performance of all time. And that makes me queasy. In fact, I’m outraged.” – Amby Burfoot 2:09:56! First got the news from Bill Rodgers. Yeah, that guy, the one with the 2:09:27 personal record. Set at Boston, which is not eligible for World Record consideration. Billy was likely the…
I used to think that it didn’t make any difference how far you ran if you had a good, strong musculoskeletal system and no underlying cardiovascular problems. – Kenneth H. Cooper That right there in that photograph is an important group of distance running pioneers. Respect must be paid. And there is always an accompanying…
Back in the day, when running was young, some of these “little” races could get competitive. The headline read LYONS TAKES BENOIT’S RACE. Brunswick, Maine. July 12, 1980. – The Maine Track Club had a five-mile race to honor Joan Benoit, but Patti Lyons-Catalano had something else on her mind – winning. Her 26:25 was…
It’s the most audacious thing I’ve seen in the sport since Frank Shorter made a break at 15K in the ’72 Olympics. Original Title: Couch Potato Coverage of 1986 Chicago Marathon October 26. I missed the start of America’s Marathon, the one every runner calls Chicago. In fact, I missed the first nine miles. You…
On the other side of uncomfortable situations is growth. – Dawn Staley, AFLAC ad SHE RUNS NYC 09:26:24. Thursday night. Live stream: ESPN+, Fubo, YouTube, X. I don’t watch whatever those are. Did see some marketing info. Could this be the event that sparks the future? The world’s fastest women blaze a trail through the world’s greatest…