Remembering the Great Philly Snowfall 0f 1983: A Little Piece Of Me Died Over The Weekend

"Maybe they got cold or drank too much."

Owner, Chi Mabel Chan

Those who care at all,, and even those who belittle and malign me for my weekly indulgence in the world's greatest food, should pay attention.

My weekly obsession/celebration of the Chinese dish Kung Pao Chicken (also beef, shrimp and scallops) goes back to the great snowfall in Philadelphia in 1983.   XC skiing in the streets (checking my logs revealed I did manage a 3-mile run that day too!) led to a big hunger and there weren't many places open that day.  We wandered into Joy Tsin Lau and ordered a spicy dish to warm up.  I then managed to eat at that restaurant quite a lot over the next 2 years, not always ordering the same dish.  But I ordered it enough that they still remember me when I return to Philly to celebrate Chinese New Year and stop in for a meal.

But 100 lawyers from Temple University (I am also a Temple grad!) may not share my love of the place now.  A recent episode of food poisoning (and Here) there made world-wide headlines mostly because the owner stated that the restaurant wasn't responsible and that the lawyers simply drank too much.

Gung Bao (Kung Pao) Chicken Recipe

Ingredients

| metric conversion

• 1/3 cup unsalted peanuts
• 1 pound (or a little more) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or unroasted peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
• 2 dried red chilies, roughly chopped or crushed
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1-inch knob ginger root, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the peanuts and gently toast the peanuts, shaking the pan occasionally, until they’re a beautiful golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the peanuts to a plate to cool.
2. Meanwhile, place the chicken, cornstarch, and half the soy sauce in a large bowl and gently toss until all of the chicken is well coated. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a wok over medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, remove the wok from the heat and throw in the Szechuan peppercorns and dried red chilies. Stir continuously 20 to 30 seconds, until the chilies start to turn light brown in color.
4. Place the wok over medium-high heat then add the chicken. Fry 2 to 3 minutes, until it just starts to turn golden. Then add the garlic, ginger, scallions, and peanuts. Stir-fry constantly until the chicken is cooked through and tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the remaining soy sauce over the chicken, toss well, and serve immediately.

In Praise Of Pappy

I'm just happy that someone else refers to their grandfather as Pappy.  Tyler McCandless's Pappy and my Pappy actually didn't live too far apart.  I spent weekends and a good portion of every Summer near where Tyler grew up.

Tyler McCandless won yesterday's Ukrop Monument Run in Richmond.  He dedicated it to his Pappy, who helped steer him toward his running career.  Donations in honor of Ralph McCandless can be made to Athletes For A Cure.  I just gave in honor of Tyler, who does more to epitomize what a true Nittany Lion should be than just about anyone I know.

Tyler McCandless

Ralph McCandless

Foster Bray at my graduation 1985.

More Olden Photos With Even More On The Last One From Yesterday!

The "dozens of readers"  (I'm working on "scores" now!) of this blog are the best of the best almost without exception.  I am sent a random photo by someone I've never actually met just to make sure both of our technological set-ups are sufficient, and I post it as a preview of more to come, and it becomes one of the most-read posts in a long time.

Turns out I was right.  That is Pete Bortolotti on the left-side of the pic.  And that's Terry Losch of Rapid Transit Sports, the descendant of Greg Frederick's original Athletic Attic store next to him!

Doing it one better was Director of Fun Teddy Quinn's submission of the CDT write-up of that meet highlighting Ricky Garcia's victory in that steeplechase event!

Trackmen dominate Relays

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Rich Bradley | Posted Apr 18, 1983

Trackmen dominate Relays Penn State's Rick Garcia set a new meet record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase race as the men's track team won 13 of the 24 events in the Nittany Lion Relays this weekend at the Nittany Lion Track. Garcia set the record with a time of 8:56.69, breaking the old mark of 8:57.75, which was set by Greg Beardsly last year. In setting the record, Garcia had to beat George Malley, a former American record holder in the event. Garcia finished second in the steeplechase in the IC4As last year and won the race at the Junior Pan-Am and Junior Nationals in 1980, so running against another world class athlete like Malley was no problem. "It was a good, competitive race," Garcia said. "I'd like to run all of them like that." Men's Track Coach Harry Groves was impressed with Garcia and the rest of the team's performance at Saturday's meet. "It's a credit to Rick (Garcia)," Groves said, "to be able to get a pace with this wind and everything. It's really something for the athletes to be able to wait a whole day and then go out and compete in this stuff. Overall, it was a good meet under not the best conditions." Rick Kleban of Penn State repeated as the decathalon champion on the strength of a 15-foot pole vault. Kleban, who said the pole vault is his specialty, scored 950 points for his vault, which led to his final score of 6,574 points. Kleban's 15-foot pole vault set a new relay record for the pole vault event of the decathlon. His total barely topped teammate Jud Cowen, who finished with 6,569 points. Kleban, who holds the Penn State record in the decathalon with 6,830 points, started Saturday in third place, 261 points behind Cowen. Kleban then won his only other event, the 110-meter hurdles, which closed the gap to 117 points. Kleban proceeded to finishthird in the discus — the event before his record-breaking pole vault. His effort netted 320 points more than Cowen's, and put him ahead in the event for good. "This was basically a warm-up meet," Kleban said. "It was an early season meet and it wasn't the best weather, especially Friday. My main goal for the meet was just to qualify for the IC4As." Kleban, who finished fourth in last year's IC4A Championships, said that both he and Cowen qualified for this year's IC4A Championships with their scores this weekend. The IC4As will be held at Villanova University May 21 and 22. The other events, such as the distance relays, were dominated by Penn State. Groves said that he expected the relays to be the most competitive events of the whole meet, but Penn State won three of the five relays and finished second in a fourth. In the field events, Penn State also looked strong, winning four of the seven contests. Lion Mike Valenti won the shot put competition. Penn State's Todd Shenk captured the hammer throw event, Paul Souza won the high jump competition and Ron Campbell took the pole vault. The next challange the squad will face will be next weekend when it travels to New Brunswick, N.J., to take part in the Rutgers Relays. 

 And here's 2 more pics from Greg Reyner's vault! 

That's Gary Black and Mark Overheim.

I want everyone's names submitted in the comments on this one! Florida Relays (1982)? actually 1985!

I Was A Miserable Steeplechaser

Our newest member, Greg Reyner, has sent along another pic from the past.  There soon will be many more.  Here's a pic of a former away-meet roommate, Rick Garcia.  It's a small world.  I ran quite a few miles with Rick, but Greg and I missed by just one year and have not yet met.

Greg notes that he remembers that Rick and Coach Groves "often had words" with each other.  hee hee hee  I suppose he's quite correct in his analysis.

Some spontaneous thoughts about the photo:

• The uniform singlet is hideous!  The shorts are worse.  
• I also only ever got one foot wet during the steeplechase.  I was really and truly shown how to do the water jump by Arthur Lydiard himself.  It was at a summer meet in Millersville, PA. My hurdling technique was atrocious and my times pitiful, but I was really good at the water jump.
• Rick was a very good steepler and made the US Junior Team, if I remember correctly.
• Note the "wind break trees" in the background.  Coach Groves always talked about the wind break that will one day be provided by them.  More than 30 years later, they are almost helping.
• Is that Pete Bortolotti on the left-hand side of the pic?

Put Another Shrimp On The Barby!

Coach John Gondak is en route to Brisbane, Australia for another recruiting trip!  Knowing Hobart's sub-4 miler Ryan Foster (who has never had a Foster's beer!) makes me excited for the results of the trip.

Here's some useful advice for Coach during his travels...

Stay away from these 30 most dangerous animals in the land of the most dangerous animals on the Planet!

Men Ranked 15th in Outdoor Track Preseason Poll

The longest acronym in the world, the USTFCCCA, has the Nittany Lions ranked 15th in the preseason poll.  With a 12th place finish in the Indoor season and the addition of 2 high scoring athletes, Rob Cardina in the Decathlon and Michael Shuey in the Javelin, good things are ahead for us this season!  (The Women are ranked 35th.)  

Click on any of the teams below for a detailed look at all the athletes!  Like every race they ever ran!!

      Team                                                                      Coach

1	Texas A&M	390.50	SEC	Pat Henry (11th)
2	Florida	384.72	SEC	Mike Holloway (13th)
3	Oregon	325.99	Pac-12	Robert Johnson (3rd)
4	LSU	221.08	SEC	Dennis Shaver (11th)
5	Texas	205.35	Big 12	Mario Sategna (2nd)
6	Arkansas	194.57	SEC	Chris Bucknam (7th)
7	Southern California	170.63	Pac-12	Caryl Smith Gilbert (2nd)
8	Georgia	164.29	SEC	Wayne Norton (16th)
9	Florida State	154.23	ACC	Bob Braman (12th)
10	Texas Tech	146.56	Big 12	Wes Kittley (16th)
11	Alabama	145.14	SEC	Dan Waters (4th)
12	Oklahoma State	132.77	Big 12	Dave Smith (7th)
13	Baylor	122.80	Big 12	Todd Harbour (10th)
14	Stanford	119.01	Pac-12	Chris Miltenberg (3rd)
15	Penn State	116.90	Big Ten	John Gondak (1st)
16	Tennessee	115.25	SEC	Beth Alford-Sullivan (1st)

More on PSU's Last Male Distance Olympian

Greg Fredericks with someone familiar in the 70's.


Here's some recent thoughts from Larry Mangan who ran in the 1500M at the 1980 Olympic Trials and got to see first-hand, the last male PSU distance runner to make the Olympic team. I hope he doesn't mind me chiming in occasionally!  My thoughts in red.

I saw a post by someone on FB that bothered me a little bit when I read it, then really irritated the hell out of me as I thought about it a bit longer.  He claimed that he was the only runner to “try to win” the 1980 Olympic Trials 10K (and that he cried after the race), and that struck me as a bit hollow.

 I was track-side at the ‘80 Trials in large part because Greg Fredericks quietly showed up nearly every Monday and Wednesday that spring to do intervals with us.  When he wasn’t there, I assumed he was doing some other workout that crazy 10K guys preferred to do. On the days he did show up at the outdoor track – days that were dreary, cold, rainy, windy and cold (did I say cold?) – we inevitably ran 10x400 or 6x600 or 4x800 or some other workout (ok, those were the only three workouts) designed to separate us from our lunch.  (I had the pleasure to run exactly 1/2 of a workout with Greg that Summer, just before the Trials.  It was a 6 x Mile at 4:20 pace with a 400 jog between.  Several of us would run the first half with him of each mile.  I managed 3 2:10 halves that day...)

 In 1980, Greg was a married, 30-year old father who had a full time job running his own company.  (He had not made the team in the 2 previous Trials, which were supposedly his best chances!)  The rest of us were 20-21 year old bozos who couldn’t find their backsides with both hands. (I can attest to that also!) All through that spring I pushed myself to run with Greg as a training partner, sharing the load and trading lap after lap.  I tried to copy his flawless form and run as relaxed as possible, no matter how fast the pace.  In 1980 I ran a sub-4 mile, and qualified for the Olympic Trials, in large part because of Greg’s (and also because of Mike Wyatt, Bob Snyder, Alan Scharsu and John Ziegler) presence. When Greg passed Alberto Salazar with 2 laps to go in that ‘80s Trials 10K I was moved to tears as well.  That last 800 washed away the frustrations from ’72 and ’76 and was a perfect capstone to a great career. Craig Virgin may have won that race, but Greg EARNED his place in that race and in history.*

Thirty five years later, Greg continues to quietly show up every day to spend time with and care for our Coach.  He also keeps us connected to alumni and friends on a regular basis. He also helps with the Annual Reunion and Golf Outing, even though I can't get him to golf with us!  I don’t think I know of another person who has tried to “win” every day as steadfastly as Greg Fredericks.  I don’t think I know of another person who has been as successful.

*  There may be big news soon on this.  We may have video of that race and the rest of the 1980 Trials!  I'll do my best to bring it to you.

Another Invite For All

It's like a season of Debutante Balls! 

Only you don't need to study your manners or wear stultifying apparel to show up. Coach Gondak and the Program know the value of including the Alumni as much as possible.  Good things are happening...

Artists conception of the next Alumni Reunion Friday night meet and greet!

There will be another Social during the Florida Relays in Gainesville for those lucky enough to be located south of the Snow Belt!*

And don't forget the Penn Relays Social, either!

*The word Ale will guarantee a good PSU Track Alumni turn-out!

Can We Entice Horace Back Onto The Track?

The USATF Masters Indoor Championships were blessed with a world record in the 4x800 relay for those over the age of 90!  I have nothing but praise for these guys.  

But Al Porto and Horace Ashenfelter are both way better golfers than I and Horace still runs every other day.  And Al looked pretty darn spry to me at the Golf Tourney 2 years ago.  All we need to bring the title to 800U is 2 more willing 90 year-olds.  Anyone know any more?

4 X 800M World Record (Over 90yo)

Do Treadmill Miles Count?

In the "golden age" of my running career (hee hee hee), they didn't count at all.  So my lifetime totals are a little short because of that.  Add that to the numerous 15 milers that were really 18 miles, the 10 milers that were really 12, and I have nearly 74,000 total lifetime miles.

Even when I finally got a treadmill of my own in the early 90's, I was really ashamed that I was counting them.  But when I finally got that first kid, all that shame finally eroded.  Today, almost all of my miles are done on my treadmill.  I do realize that the purists out there (I used to be one of them) are shaking their heads with condemnation.  Oh, well...

I just had my 14 year-old treadmill serviced.  I have more than 14,000 miles on the beast in that time frame. It needed a new belt and the lubricant nozzle was somehow missing.  I figured there would be much more wrong with it, but everything else checked out fine.  I have a LifeFitness 9500 HR.  Anyone who ever has run on a treadmill at a club or hotel probably is familiar with this machine.  Really a durable and excellent model.  The only strike would be that it only goes to 12 mph and 15% incline.  (As if I ever have half a chance to run that fast ever again for even 100 yards! And forget uphill entirely.)

The technician servicing my beloved treadmill was great.  Apparently, he is known as a treadmill whisperer or something and has been doing it for quite awhile.  I recently visited his store and am amazed at the newer models of treadmills out there.  And the elliptical machine I will be obligated to one day switch to are quite fine also. They are smaller, less expensive and yet can take even the monumental pounding of a hobby-jogger (albiet a religious, every-day hobby-jogger) like me.

So anyone out there in Central PA with a home exercise machine, I give my full endorsement and confidence in Penn Fitness Warehouse and the head technician, Vitu Chiwaka.

And back to my original question, Do you count treadmill miles?

An Invitation, A Mystery Alum and a New Friend

First up, here's an invitation for everyone to attend a reception at the Penn Relays!

Second, our Oregon Duck and Left Coast Friend Dan Martinez came across this pic of a golden era Nittany Lion.  Does anyone know who this is?

And last, but NOT least, is a preview of additional pics from my new friend Greg Reyner ('82 to '86).  Let's not let Greg know my Shot Put PR. Hope to see him on the Links soon!

The Coach/Athlete Relationship Is Complex

 It's a small world.  And one with way more than just 50 shades of gray.

Turns out Tim Johnson's dad  Jim Johnson ran for coach Jackson Horner and Assistant Coach Steve Gentry with a PSU teammate of mine, Bill Kvashay.  And he kept a detailed journal of his thoughts at the time. Tim shared some of them with me, pointing out the complexities of the coach/athlete dynamic.  Old-school philosophies may be few and far between nowadays, but I'm not sure that's a good thing...

"This journal obviously was written by an eleventh-grader, notably expressing the self-absorption of any teenager then or now. But it definitely expresses the emotions, both good and bad, of a teenager striving for personal and team success."   -Jim Johnson.

Anyone who takes half an hour to state who will go to the following day’s meet should not be heralded as a speaker, but there we all were, huddled around him, even those who knew they had no chance of making the meet. Jackson Horner is a good coach, an extremely good coach, as his record at State College High will attest. The whole track team can respect him as a coach. Why is it then that everybody fears him? During the season he probably affects our lives more than our family. We even feel nervous eating a doughnut if there is a chance he is around, even though there are no rules about eating on our team. Many conversations between teammates are about his bad points, but constant glances over the shoulder show that he is not forgotten. One thing every team member tries to avoid is getting into a talking match with him. As far as we know, the record is held by Jon Forster, with a discussion concerning student activities besides track; the talk lasted about forty-five minutes while the rest of us were jogging around an ice-covered track. Acting as a kind of buffer between the team and Horner is [assistant coach] Steve Gentry. He will joke with us about Horner when he is not there. However, when Bill Halpenny, a slightly built but good runner wanted to quit and told Mr. Gentry to tell Horner, Gentry wouldn’t do it. (After trying to get other team members tell Horner, Halpenny called Horner about a week later. Horner gave him a half-hour lecture and hung up.) Thus one can get a glimpse of the terror Horner installs in his runners and even his sub-coaches. 

Horner once was a state champion in the mile and a Golden Gloves boxing champ, but has since deteriorated physically. He still is pretty loose and spry, but has gained a large number of inches on his waistline, which Gentry refers to as the “Horner pot.” Horner still has enough left in him to chase his runners around the track a short distance, hitting or pushing them if they are not running to his liking. When Horner is mad, everyone watches out. On one indoor track day my sophomore year, as he came walking up to the track, the whole track team was kicking around a soccer ball. (The addition of Tom Szlega and other members of the “half track” men made things a little looser.) Horner ran up to the soccer ball and grabbed it. At first we though he was kidding, but all of us caught the evil glint in his eye. He got ready to kick the a thousand miles away, gave a mighty swish of his foot, missed the ball, and and landed flat on his back in the snow. All at once, each member of the team turned away and laughed, some out loud. Horner turned on Bill Dixon, a devoted runner who gave everything he had every race. It was the only time I ever saw Horner yell at Bill Dixon. Very luckily the track was snow covered and the only words Horner said to us after that were “Get jogging” and “Go on down.”

 Today was Altoona. Altoona didn’t have enough guys to run two races, so everyone ran in the varsity race. During the race, two guys stole some of our warmup fleece. While the team went to the school to get dressed, Horner was following a chain of witnesses beginning with a little boy on a bicycle. When we again met up with Horner and asked about the boys that took the fleece, Horner replied, “I scared the sh*t out of them.” With the aid of the Altoona coach, he got our fleece back. (Yea, Horner.)

"The stories about horner that my dad shared with me are what framed my own understanding of my own high school coach, and then Coach Groves." - Tim Johnson. 

More Coach Jackson Horner Goodness With Strong PSU Track Alumni Ties

I especially like Coach Horner's pants...  Takes me back to smiling memories.  I once fell off a pair of platform shoes when I tripped on my bell-bottoms.

This is a photo of the 1978 PIAA Cross Country Champions.  Note the PSU Track Alumni (Golfers) connections here.

Without help, I identify Coach Horner (1950's PSU captain), Nick K. (who still is running fast miles!), Dan Draper (where is he now?), Randy Moore (of 7:11.17 4 x 800 fame!), Brian Mount (our W & M connection and honorary Track Alumni Golfer), Bob Hudson (still with ginger locks!) and last but not least, Hugh Hamill (my foursome partner at last year's tourney!)

Others include John Dixon, John Coyle and Steve Phillips.

Great Coaches Are A Gift From God: The Coaching Staff In Heaven Just Got Better

In order to honor Coach Jackson Horner's passing, I knew my meager writing abilities would be insufficient.  I asked one of his very own stars to pen some thoughts for our blog.  My gratitude is only surpassed by my humility.  Thanks Bob Hudson!

From the "pen" of Bob Hudson...

Many of us on this blog have had the pleasure (well sometimes it was a pleasure) of being coached by a legend – Harry Groves. Whether we threw the Javelin, Put the Shot, jumped or ran we benefited from our time with Harry.

Some of us on this Blog also had the pleasure of having been coached by a 2^nd coaching legend – Jackson Horner of State College High School. Jackson passed away this week and. As spent a little thinking about it, I was wondering why he had such a great impact on me.  When I was in high school we certainly butted heads on more than one occasion.  It occurred to me that he was not a coach, but really a teacher whose subject from 3-6 PM – and seemingly every weekend was track and field… and life

What is a coach – or at least a great coach?

A coach is like a parent. At the time you both hate them and love them. With the passage of time you realize that they, like a parent, only want the best for you. Instead of making you eat your vegetables, they make you do that extra lift or that additional interval.

A coach teaches you that the team matters – more than you matter. If you don’t show up for practice you are letting your teammates down. Coach Horner NEVER missed one day of school in 38 years.  If you don’t do the interval in the assigned time then the WHOLE team does it again! It was not the star who mattered, but the 4^th and 5^th men who made the difference in cross country.

A coach makes you do the impossible.  A kid who could not finish a 3 mile warm up becomes a state-runner up.  A team that goes almost 20 years without losing a dual meet, because he creates a culture in which the upper classmen demand excellence from newcomers.

A coach is like a CEO – he knows when to encourage and when to kick butt... sometimes simultaneously.

My coach had a storied career:

 He ran, and I believe he was captain of, the Penn State Cross country team.  If I recall Horace Ashenfelter was a teammate.

He coached a team that 50 years ago broke the national record in the 2 mile relay – only to have that last only a few hours thanks to Jim Ryan out in Kansas

He had a streak of dual meets wins in cross country that lasted 20 years – until broken by a Chambersburg team led by future Penn State Doug Walters.

He was listed in Faces in the Crowd by Sports Illustrated

He was in the National High School coaching hall of fame.

His accomplishments were many, but more than that, I think back on the life lessons he and Coach Groves taught us: Show up for practice, don’t give up, work hard and good things will happen!

It was ironic, because moments before hearing the news from a high school and Penn State friend of mine I was in a coffee shop. The manager was going crazy because an employee – a young kid – had not shown up for work and not even bothered to call in.

So what’s the moral of this too long story? The next time you are enjoying your cup of coffee thank the coach who taught your barista that showing up is over half the battle.  Thanks Jackson we will miss you!

Updates On Recent Events

 

First up, co-blogger Nick Scarpello helped organize and ran in the Encinitas Mile.  He placed 7th overall in 4:27.  No word on the use of the Alumni Singlet.

Nick Scarpello 2nd from right.

Next, Beth Shisler and son Alex Shisler helped celebrate his All-American status with Beth's coach during her All-American past.  Coach Gary Schwartz retired to the Arkansas area following his great career.

Beth (Stever) Shisler in the lead.

Coach Schwartz with his wife and the Shislers.

And Kara (Millhouse) Foster placed 9th at the USATF 15 K Championships Gate River Run.

Kara Foster at the finish.

The top ten women.