Sunday, September 4, 2011

Remembering Charlie Maguire II

We got a big response to our initial post remembering Charlie Maguire, so I figured I would go back to the well for one more time.  Of all the PSU duo's to have run for PSU, Charlie and Greg Fredericks probably logged the most miles together.  They ran together for 3 years as undergrads and kept it up through intense training for many years afterward. 

Greg emailed another remembrance of the "tough guy" from the days of yore:

We ran the CDT mile in combination with the local summer meets here in the late 70's.  Charlies idea with collaboration with his wife Andi, Peter and myself.  The effort was to give Centre County it's first sub 4 minute mile, still a feat in those days.  We brought in guys and financed it with t-shirt sales.  I believe we did it for 3 years.  Got about 5,000 people out to an August track and field meet.  Not a misprint.... 5,000.  Even had Al Oerter the discuss champ one year.

It was a great promotion and fun time for our beloved sport. 
I remember Larry Mangan, Mike Wyatt and Bob Snyder running those races with Greg and Sydney Maree, although I never even got a stinking t-shirt.  I'm going to ask Greg to make a design for a new t-shirt for the Group Store, "I saw a 4-Minute Mile and I and didn't even get a stinking t-shirt".  What other runners were in those races?

The photo is from the Second Annual Arts Festival 10-Miler.

4 comments:

  1. Gusundheit...bullshit!
    Dick Buerkle was the stud, along with Greg and Charlie. And Dick was one helluva party animal after and BEFORE the meet. Syndney ran under controversy...at a different meet.

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  2. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong! And I'm never mad at my fact checkers or afraid to admit an error. I don't remember Buerkle being there, but then again I remembered a dual meet with Villanova that never happened.

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  3. I remember Dick Buerkle being there too.

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  4. How anyone could not remember Dick Buerkle, I'll never know.

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