We Needed A Golf Post

Our Michigan friend and original "Michigan Workout"  (and HERE) participant Jonathan Cross has brought us this gem from Hawaii.  No word on if Clark Haley will try to make this an event in next year's Alumni Triathlon during our Reunion.

https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.cross.90/videos/10156663504088152/

And don't forget to chime in if you know of any changes to be made for the all-time Penn State Alumni Indoor Record Book!!!

"The Michigan" Results

I had the pleasure to make it in time to see the Division III Hartwick Cross Country workout on Friday during True Blue Weekend.  I suppose its like a combo Parents Weekend and Homecoming all rolled into one.

With 2 weeks off of meets, it was a good time for a big workout for all of the athletes in preparation for Championship Season.  And I would have to say that Coach Tom Hartnett had them well prepared for the whole thing.  Each of them had a thorough understanding of the goals and methods of the workout.  Each athlete had their own pace schedule for the 1600/1200/800/400 workout even including the intervening tempo miles!  That ensured the maximum benefit for all the runners from first to last.  In my day, trying to keep up with the top runners ensured a horrible 10K race in mid-week and a collapse for the real weekend race to come.

The workout started and groups of 2 or 3 took off on their own schedules.  And it was remarkable how close everyone was to their prearranged goals.  The resultant scene was choreographed pandamonium.  Here is video I smuggled out from under the watchful eyes of security:




Daughter the Younger held on for the hardest workout in her young career.  All the other runners also survived.  Smiles were everywhere at the finish as the next day was a rare rest day!

The warm down brought out the smiles.

Coach Hartnett keeping track of the pandemonium.

Daughter the Younger hangs on in her 800.

Our Michigan Friend, Jonathon Cross remembers being in the original "Michigan" workouts in Coach Ron Warhurst's first years at U of M.

"Yes. We did that workout in my last couple of years at Michigan.  Those were the first two years Warhurst coached too.  We did a hard mile on the track then ran on the roads (sometimes over to U of M golf course) followed by another hard mile on the track.We went out a gate at the end of Ferry Field from the track."

He added:

"Getting tired thinking about that!"

There Should Be More College Dual Meets

Our great friend from Hawaii and the University of Michigan, Jonathan Cross, recently posted these pics of a 1975 dual meet between the Nittany Lions and the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. College Track and Field needs more dual meets today.

Included in these pics are shots of Jonathan and Mike McGuire, who I met at last year's Big Ten Championships.  The Wolverine Track Nation is reeling from the news of U of M great Bill Donalkowski's serious illness.  I assured Jonathan that I would have all of our Universe say a prayer for Bill and all his friends and family.

I'm hoping Jonathan will get back to me on his acceptance of a friendly wager on the upcoming Michigan/PSU football game!  Maybe a photo in the opposing team's logo or possibly a food item indigenous to our locales! (not sure how chicken-corn soup or Hog Maw would play in Hawaii!)

I think this is Jonathan and Mike chasing George Malley, who they did not catch that day!

Coach Mike McGuire with a 10K runner before the Big Ten Finals, 2017.

Remembering Charlie Maguire

In a recent discussion of the "good ole days"on Let'sRun.com and Facebook , the name of Charlie Maguire came up.  This stirred up some comments from several people on how tough a runner Charlie was.  In the Black/Baskwill family, we have always said that the three toughest runners we have ever seen were, Seb Coe, Alberto Juantarena, and Charlie Maguire.  We weren't kidding either.

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.

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!!!

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!

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. 

That's Jonathan just to the left of the two-man "pyramid".  Headbands, short shorts and long hair are surely missed by us old-timers!