Archive For April 26, 2026
“Please, God,” Barker Ajax prayed aloud on yet another grey, rainy winter day in Roselandia’s top cafe, “let this be your sign, the sign, dear Lord, of your forgiveness. I ordain this under your grace, Heavenly Father. Just let me have the money this once. Thank you, God. Just do this one thing for me, your Immenseness. I will be worthy of your support. Honest. You can trust me. After all, I’m a writer, which is no different than a member of the clergy, if you think about it.”
Many of the early employees were accomplished local runners. We took training seriously, and the store work schedule was structured to allow for training. That was an important aspect of working at the Oregon Runner.
He first appeared on the Boston Running scene in the late 1970’s, a tall, lean redheaded kid with a quiet intensity. When you asked him where he was from he would say Northern Maine. There was a difference between Maine and Northern Maine.
He once told Bill Rodgers he wanted to be one of the “heavies” in the Boston running Scene. Boston had a lot of “heavies” back then.
The Distance Gods have names like Joanie and Frank and Billy, runners whose reach touched the heavens, whose wings did not fall off as they rushed the sun.
As true in the races, another group stuck closer to the ground, trailed close behind but could never catch up. Despite all that time and all those miles and the pain, a grim determination to be great or crumble in the struggle, they couldn’t quite get there.