My best Charlie story occurred at an indoor meet at Cornell in 1980. It was a secondary meet that a bunch of us were sent to. I ended up in the slow heat of the 2-mile, while Charlie and Frit Cooper were in the fast heat. I didn't even know that Charlie was seriously training at the time, but I guess he was as his performance opened my eyes. Although he was a bit heavier than while an undergrad, he still started out hard, with Frit hanging on for dear life. The laps accumulated, and both were on sub-nine minute pace throughout. In his usual style, Charlie simply willed his way to a low 8:50-something performance, and dragged Frit to a substantial PR (PB for the younger among my tens of readers!) and a sub-nine minute two-mile. I remember congratulating Charlie on a great run, which he characteristically shrugged off. I was forever a fan after that. He was also the head of the MBA program at PSU while my brother got his first of many Master's degrees.
Larry Mangan also remembers the toughness of PSU's 1973 6-Mile NCAA Champion. As Freshmen in 1977, both Larry and I laced up our green suede Adidas Spiders with Charlie in the Penn State Open on the White Course. It was all a blur to me as this was my 3rd race for PSU even before my 18th birthday. Larry remembers:
I vividly remember the first Penn State Open I competed in as a frosh for two reasons 1) I went out with the leaders for the first half mile (dumb freshman move) and got my mug on the front page of the Harrier and 2) because I unsuccessfully battled Charlie tooth and nail for the last 2 miles.All I remember about the finish of the White Course was trying to avoid killing myself on the tree roots the entire length of the Rec Hall/322 side. Mike Wyatt can attest to my ankle's aversion to that menace!
Charlie must have been 25 or so and I remember thinking “who is this old guy” because no matter what I tried, I couldn’t shake him. It was the old white course and I remember climbing the Park Ave hill to the crest then turning right down 322 parallel to the Nittany Lion Inn and Rec Hall. Now I’m pretty sure that I had faster 400, 800 and 1500 speed than Charlie, but I just could not shake him, nor could I pass him back after he went by me. Between hating 5 mile races (compared to 3 miles in HS) and losing to an “old guy”, that day caused me great concern about how well I would be able to do at PSU!!! I never had the chance to talk with him about that race, but I’m pretty sure he was thinking there was no way he would lose to a skinny freshman from Pittsburgh that day!!!
Through the interest about Charlie, our group has made a new friend all the way from paradise, otherwise known as Honolulu. Jonathan Cross was a member of the early 70's Michigan distance runners and witnessed Charlie's exploits numerous times. Jonathan is now the race director of the Honolulu Marathon. He especially remembers that NCAA 6-Mile Championship race in Baton Rouge. The conditions were hot and humid and Charlie flogged his competitors with an early aggressive pace. Ex-Group Laureate (redacted) scrounged up this video of the finish of that race:
Charlie's time of 28:19.3 led the pack amid those brutal hot and humid conditions. And here's a photo of that early 70's squad from Michigan.
Hi my name is Tommy Maguire and Charlie was my uncle. My father Tom Maguire his brother ran for UMASS. I myself ran through out high school and college. I have been coaching high cross-country and track in Virginia for the last 12 years.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for writing these articles. I had heard many of these stories before, but had not been able to find any online information on Charlie. The video of the 6 mile NCAA championships is amazing.
Your Uncle Charlie was a great runner and a great man. I was honored to have been able to run with him even just a little. His example of hard work conquering all was an example many of us learned from. He is missed by many of us.
ReplyDeleteCharlie was also an inspiration to younger high school runners in the State College area and beyond, including me.
DeleteLarry Mangan's story about Charlie brought back fond memories of one particular moment in Charlie's life. This was well later, probably a decade or more. By that time, Charlie had developed a bit of a pot belly (ok - maybe more than a bit). A bunch of us were at the Tavern Adam's Apple bar when we struck up a conversation with a guy who was from out of town. It turns out that he was a basketball coach, from Virginia, if I remember correctly, and he was in for a game against Penn State the next day. He mentioned to us that he liked to go for a run in the morning and wanted to know if there were any good routes near the Nittany Lion Inn where he was staying. Charlie said "Absolutely, you can run on the golf course across the street. In fact, I'm heading up for a run in the morning and would be glad to take you along." The guy looked at Charlie and his belly and said "No disrespect but I like to go at a pretty good pace". My buddies and I just gave each other knowing glances thinking "this ought to be good". Charlie simply said "I doubt that will be a problem". We caught up with the guy after the game the next day and he told us that Charlie brutalized him on the White Course hills, beer belly and all.
ReplyDeleteWonder if the coach was Jeff Jones? he was a former UVA basketball player who later became a coach.
Delete