I’m digging the AT&T 4G LT Network commercials. Its true, faster is better.
Favorite story from the Maine Running Camp in 1995: Camp Directors and my old buddies John L. Parker Jr. (author Once a Runner) and Andy Palmer (Phd. Sports Psychology, founder of ZAP Fitness, dearly deceased) hosted a motivational meeting every evening. Popped “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” into the vcr. Played the scene where the fastest man in the west was gunned down. Victor starts proclaiming he is the fastest there ever was. Weak voice in the crowd says “No your not”. Victor points gun and screams “who says that?”. Blind man steps forward and says “Mister, there’s always somebody faster.”
Moral is: Keep grounded and working hard while being mindful that there will always be someone out there gunning for you. And that they’ll eventually get you.
There will be another great film showing tonight on ESPN (7:00 pm CST) as part of their Nine for IX series. (If you are not familiar with Title IX, it was the groundbreaking legislation that provides an even field for women in athletics). See the summary below and tune in tonight for a very important history lesson.
*bonus historical footnote- I was a 20 year old lad watching the 1978 Houston Marathon, Ron Tabb won the race in 2:17:11 a new Texas state record. He would win again in 1980 in 2:13:35 also a new state record. Ron was Mary Decker’s first husband.
Directed by Shola Lynch
Film summary
The expectations were sky-high for American distance runner Mary Decker as she lined up to make her Olympic debut in the 3,000 meters at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Decker had displayed unwavering dominance in every distance (from 800 to 10,000 meters) heading into the event, and her wholesome image graced magazine covers and adorned walls all over the world.
At age 25, it was her first Olympics; stress fractures in her leg kept her out of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and the U.S. boycott prevented her from competing in the 1980 Moscow Games. The 3,000 in L.A. was to be her coronation, the gold medal that would validate her greatness.
But there was another compelling figure in the race, a 19-year-old barefooted South African running for Great Britain, Zola Budd. Just past the midway point of the race, Budd crowded Decker on the inside lane and, in the panic and urgency of the moment, they collided. Decker fell to the track. Budd would regain her stride, but she finished a distant seventh behind the winner, Romania’s Maricica Puica.
Decker initially blamed Budd, but in later years they reconciled and tried to get past the collision. Still, Decker’s one moment of heartbreak came to define what should have been a glorious career.
“Runner” revisits one of the most infamous moments in sports history, and what life has brought the athletes since.
A favorite piece from my vast and vaunted running memorabalia collection shows Mary and Zola dueling in L.A. Look at that heel kick, no shuffling allowed in the Olympic games!
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