I recounted last year how Matt Pohren worked hard for several years before he finally broke 15:00 for the 5000. Muscle memory? Matt kicked off his indoor season by winning this weekend’s Iowa State Track and Field Open in 14:57. That is some nice early scooting there Matty P!
Megan (Zarorka) Thomas kicked off her indoor campaign taking the Wildcat Invitational 1 Mile in 5:21.
A nice turnout for Saturday morning’s run. 14 of the mates gathered to get our hills on at the Scenic Sarpy/Douglas route. Thanks to Linda for hosting us. Bob Miyake performed perhaps the most diffcult and unique feat of strength and balance I’ve ever witnessed, and that is saying something. I’ll try and get a video uploaded of this amazing performance.
rungurusays.com still a work in progress, thanks for your patience for my opinions. As for now, I’ll stick to just the facts and relevant reporting here at Team Nebraska.
Monday bonus read from my old buddy Gerry Lindgren:
” A while back I commented on the indoor 2-mile race 49 years ago. Then I commented on an indoor 2-mile race in Los Angeles that happened two-weeks later. Now it is time to comment on the third of the trilogy that took place 49 years ago tomorrow.
To set the background, I had been invited to race a high school 2-mile race against the state champions of Kansas (Jim Ryan) and California (Ralph Gamez). I was the Washington State XC winner but the time I had posted (8:59) was run on a ‘short’ course. Jim’s time (9:07) and Ralph’s time (9:08) were far better than my adjusted 9:30-something). But I didn’t KNOW the course was short. nor that my time was not a valid 2-mile time. Anyway, in that race I ran 9-minutes flat and won ‘Outstanding Athlete of the Meet’ honors. THEN, I was invited to run in the LATimes Indoor Track Meet two weeks later. There I raced collegiate and open athletes, including Gaston Rolants, the Steeplechase world record holder. In that race I finished second to Rolants and (with Gaston) was named outstanding athlete of the meet. I set a new high school world mark of 8:46 in that one. Now the scene is set for the third race. This was back in The Cow Palace in San Francisco.
Ron Clarke was the world record holder in the men’s 2-mile run indoors. He also held EVERY distance running world mark from 2-miles through 10-miles outdoors. An awesome runner. He was to be the big competition for me.
Coach Walters talked with me about pace again just as he had for the last two races. At the high school race he told me I should try and hit the first mile in 4:30 and I hit exactly 4:30. At the LA meet he said I should hit 4:25 and I hit exactly 4:25. I tried to tell him I was SCARED to death and hitting any time at all was completely out of my control but he thought I had ‘iron pace.’ This time he told me I would have to hit around 4:20 for the first mile. Surprisingly, I hit my first mile in exactly 4:20. bewildered!!!!
Ron Clarke was running directly behind me. Everyone else in the race had dropped off pace so it was just the two of us. He too was a front runner and attempted to pass me several times. But when I saw he was going up high on the curve to pass, I sprinted so he couldn’t get bye easily. Once he bumped me coming back down and the crowd screamed in protest. They liked me.
With about half a mile left to race, I was starting to feel the strain of the fast pace. Ron suddenly sprinted past me and into the lead. I sprinted after him, but he was two steps ahead of me and I could NOT make up an inch. All the way to the finish I sprinted, frustrated at my inability to eat away even a tiny inch. In the end I lost. He got away from me and ran 8:37 to my 8:40 flat. In the last race I was angry at myself because I could have run a better race, but this time I could have done nothing better. He just outran me.
And, of course 8:40 was/is the world high school record and it has lasted for 49-years now. Some of the best distance runners in America have chased that mark when they were in high school. I am happy that I could leave such a difficult mark. It has made other runners better.
Thus the trilogy is complete. In those 5-weeks I changed from a 9:30ish high school 2-miler to an 8:40 2-miler. My time was the second best time of the entire indoor season and I was the number one rated American distance runner. It has been the shock of my running life. In the end, Coach Walters was talking Olympic Games to the sports writers and I could only blush and try to hide. I was just a wimp!”
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