A Nittany Lion In The Very First Olympic Trials Marathon! 50th Anniversary

Amby Burfoot has written a remembrance of the event which has received a fair amount of acclaim, despite misreporting that Gatorade was invented at Florida State University!

Alamosa 1968: The Historic First U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials

The great blog Once upon a Time In the Vest has some of the participants commenting about the article and other things.

But our very own Joe Head actually ran in that marathon after having startied running at Penn State with Coach John Lucas as an inspiration.  His story is riveting, and probably unbelievable to anyone younger than we are!

My Road To Alamosa

 

Joe Head, left,  before the start.

1--George Young, 2:30:48, Casa Grande AZ

2--Kenny Moore, 2:31:47, Eugene OR

3--Ron Daws, 2:33:09, Minneapolis

4--Bob Deines, 2:34:13 (note: originally 2:33:14, almost surely wrong per athlete) Pasadena CA

5--Steve Matthews, 2:34:17 (note: originally 2:33:17), Denver

6. Ed Winrow, 2:34:51, NYAC

7. Nick Kitt, 2:35:09, Los Angeles

8. Doug Wiebe, 2:35:31, Pacific Coast Club

9. Bill Clark, 2:36:14, Quantico Marines

10. Jeffrey Reneau, 2:38:46, Laconia NH

11. Tom Hoffman, 2:41:54, Fort Atkinson WS

12. Ed Cadena, 2:42:25, Bakersfield CA

13. Bob Scharf, 2:42:49, Washington DC Sports Club

14. Tom Heinonen, 2:43:30, Minneapolis

15. Steve Gachupin, 2:43:54, Jemez Pueblo, NM

16. Gary Muhrcke, 2:44:56, Freeport NY

17. Wayne Van Dellen, 2:45:26, Woodlake CA

18. Art Coolidge, 2:45:44, Scotia NY

19. Don Lakin, 2:46:03, Pacific Coast Club

20. Jim McDonagh, 2:46:30, Bronx NY

21. Floyd Godwin, 2:49:21, Denver

22. Gar Williams, 2:49:56, Washington DC Sports Club

23. Darryl Beardall, 2:50:05, Santa Rosa CA

24. Jim Van Manen, 2:50:21, Ventura CA

25. Jose E. Dones, 2:52:43, Santa Barbara CA

26. William Blewitt, 2:53:46, Lawton OK

27. Gabe Petroni, 2:53:55, Santa Barbara CA

28. Jose Barela, 2:54:47, Barstow CA

29. Byron Lawry, 2:54:54, Lancaster CA

30. Charles Comefort, 2:55:24, Dunes TC IN

31: Kenneth Katzer, 2:56:31, Lincoln NE

32. Bill Gookin, 2:57:11, San Diego CA

33. Gerald Smith, 2:57:20, Minneapolis

34. Norbert Sander, 2:57:39, Millrose AA NY

35. Gary Pierson, 2:59:37, Denver

36. Richard Vafeades, 3:01:40, Denver

37. Ed Dodd, 3:02:30, Drexel Hill PA

38. Jim Mathews, 3:02:57, Denver

39. Ed Walkwitz, 3:04:23, Hadley MA

40. Tom Snyder, 3:04:37, Lincoln NE

41. Evan Smith, 3:06:02, Marysville WA

42. John Pagliano, 3:06:30, Pasadena CA

43. J. Peterson, 3:07:43, Lockport IL

44. Bruce Guthrie, 3:07:48, Alamosa CO

45. Peter Hanson, 3:09:22, Colfax CA

46. Robert Lowe, 3:11:25, Denver

47. George Husuark, 3:11:52, Montebello CA

48. Bill Anderson, 3:15:00, Santa Barbara CA

49. John Suarez, 3:16:26, Bisbee AZ

50. Russell Holt, 3:20:13, Springfield MA

51. Tom Findley, 3:21:11, Columbus OH

52. William Peck, 3:22:38, Wasco CA

53. Darwyn Batway, 3:32:34, Spokane WA

54. Bruce LaBudde, 3:37:49, Atlanta

55. Larry Boies, 3:38:22, Minneapolis

56. Jerry Laird, 3:41:54, Houston

57. Albert Sewell, 3:46:36, Fisk Univ, Nashville TN

58. Rick Vasquez, 3:49:18, Pico Rivera CA

59. Pete Mundle, 3:50:56, Santa Monica CA

60. Etwin Gookin, 3:52:05, San Diego CA

61. William Lamb, 3:55:29, Sepulveda CA

62. Alan Bass, 3:57:55, San Marino CA

63. E. Kirkpatrick, 3:58:54, UColo, Boulder CO

Joe Head, 4:40 , University Park PA 

Joe Head with Coach Joe Vigil at the 50th Celebration.

I Don't Really Hate My Sister!

Just the fact that she has retired before me!

Well, she retired from teaching high school skulls full of mush, so who can really blame her?  She may still dabble in a few things, INCLUDING MAKING T-SHIRT QUILTS.

She just finished Daughter the Younger's Running T-Shirt Quilt in time for her to take it to her dorm room at Hartwick College.  The daily reminder of past races run may provide her some incentive for her Cross Country exploits in Upstate New York!

The quilt turned out far better than my original one purchesed from an ad in Runners World 30-some years ago.  It costs less too!  You may want to drop me a line to inquire about getting her to make one for you.  She may say yes!  (You know Spouse the Better has been getting all over you for the clutter in all your dresser drawers anyway).

New Pro Team Signs Lioness

Our Tennessee connection and native York Countian Dick Geiger alerted me to the news of another Nittany Lion going pro.  Thanks Dick!

The big news was that Syracuse coach Chris Fox was lured away from recent powerhouse Syracuse to head up the new professional team sponsored by Reebok.  They also snagged Syracuse's NCAA champion and Canadian Justyn Knight as the star of the new team to be based in Charlottesville, VA.

But joining them in rural Virginia will be Tori Gerlach, who will continue her running career and steeplachasing talents.

Consistency And Fastidiousness Are Nittany Lion Atrributes

Fastidiousness: a very careful attention to detail.

Despite Greg Frederick's aversion to Social Media, he became aware of the recent Facebook poll on whether he should grow his mustache back like he had in the 1970's.  Needless to say, quite a few of my hundreds of readers responded positively that he should, with some advocating for even more with a goatee!

In previous discussions with him, I knew that it wasn't ever going to happen. It was all in good fun.  Even his wonderful wife saw the humor in the situation.

One of the respondents advocating for a return of "the Magnum P.I. look" was 1969 teammate Howard Epstein.  Greg has responded by supplying us with a picture he took of Howard as he was leaving for the Penn Relays that year.  Coach Groves was a proponent of looking dapper when representing the team, and thus the fastidious look of Howard and teammate Joe Neibel.

 Consistency: reliability or uniformity.

When I first saw Darrell Hill in 2013 at an indoor meet at PSU, I was impressed with his consistency in technique.  Since then, I have been impressed with other consistencies he has demonstrated.

His consistency in yearly improvement:

2012	17.53	Houston, TX (USA)	24.03.2012
2013	19.13	University Park, PA (USA)	03.05.2013
2014	20.57	West Lafayette, IN (USA)	18.05.2014
2015	20.86	University Park, PA (USA)	08.05.2015
2016	21.63	Eugene, OR (USA)	01.07.2016
2017	22.44	Bruxelles (BEL)	31.08.2017
2018	21.72	Monaco (MON)	19.07.2018

His consistency this season (2018) has been remarkable also:

Shot Put	26.05	Eugene Prefontaine Classic	5.	21.19
Shot Put	07.06	Oslo Bislett Games	3.	21.20
Shot Put	23.06	Des Moines USA Ch.	1.	21.57
Shot Put	05.07	Lausanne Athletissima	4.	21.04
Shot Put	19.07	Monaco Herculis	2.	21.72

And finally, his consistency of 6 throws (none of them a foul!) in the latest Diamond League meet was remarkabe.

21.09

21.21

20.81

21.65

21.72

21.49

PSU Is 800U: The Quickening

Sure, we lost a 6-time B1G 800 meter Champion and an NCAA 800M Champion in Isaiah Harris, but look at the Freshman Class of incoming 800M replacements in alphabetical order!

• Ben Bulkeley
  Hometown: Fairport, N.Y. | High School: Fairport
  Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:50.96
•  Elijah Claiborne
  Hometown: Northport, N.Y. | High School: Northport
  Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:52.24
• Isaiah Claiborne
  Hometown: Northport, N.Y. | High School: Northport
  Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:51.62
• Hudson Delisle
  Hometown: Quakertown, Pa. | High School: Quakertown Community
  Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:52.01
•  Drew Maher
  Hometown: West Long Branch, N.J. | High School: Shore Regional
  Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:49.16
•  Malual Mu                                                                                                                   Hometown: Trenton, N.J. | High School: Trenton Central                                              Event(s)-Personal Best(s): 800-1:51.14

I didn't originate the moniker "PSU Is 800U", and I don't know who did.  But I did help spread it to a wider audience even before FloTrack picked it up.

It isn't a taunt or a brag at all.  It is a lot like the Dallas Cowboys calling themselves America's Team in the 1970s.  It gets a lot of people riled up, but it gets listened to and ends up being a positive thing when it gets backed up by sustained excellent performance.

A Lion In Hiroshima

Our intrepid Coach Groves' caretaker Greg Fredericks passes along the news of the death of Polish Gold Medalist Irena Szwinska. 

Greg got to meet Irena during a trip to Japan during those heady days when he had a mustache!  No news about how he did in the two races he ran in the Land of the Rising Sun!  But then I can't remember what I had for dinner yesterday...

Irena with son Andrzej.

Greg with other foreign stars in Hiroshima.

Greg only remembers that the Indian athletes were horizontal jumpers.  (Much like my experience with the Pole Vault...)

Silver In The World Cup For The Captain

Last week, Darrell Hill was named captain of the US Mens squad for the World Cup of Athletics in London.

He again topped the 21 meter mark with a 21.43 (70' 3.5") and placed 2nd adding 7 points for the US Team.

Tops In Their Field

Nittany Lions are rising to the top of their fields all over the world!  Links for each...

• Isaiah Harris won his first race as a Nike professional in Barcelona Spain with a time of 1:46.11.
• B1GHomie Darrell Hill was named the captain of the American squad at the World Cup of Athletics in London this weekend.  Will Darrell cross paths with President Trump?
• The Women team attained the highest GPA among Women's teams at Penn State for the second semester in a row!  3.58

Guess Who Is The Centerpiece Of The World Cup! (Of Athletics!)

Isaiah And Darrell Probably Made It To The Buffet In Time!

I bet that our two Nike professionals on tour in Europe right now don't miss their chances for a good meal like I did!  (Both Isaiah Harris and Darrell Hill placed fourth in their initial Diamond League events in europe.)

So I usually have a single tiny focus when deciding where to vacation.  When I went to China, I was there to adopt Daughter the Younger.  But really, we all know that Kung Pao Chicken IN China was a very close second.

This year's goal was the buffet at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island Michigan.  I had heard so much about it even 33 years ago while a Resident at Kern Hospital for Special Surgery in Warren, MI.  Everyone had been there and everyone agreed that it was a great place to be.

It was also a chance to visit Gary Black in his solitary existence in the Northern Peninsula of Michigan.  A 12 hour drive in Podd 2.0, my RV got us across the Bridge that couldn't be built and into the woods of the Upper Peninsula.  For a week, we were Yoopers.

We waited several days until Gary could get there, biding our time in Saint Ignace and Mackinac City, which are sorta kinda like Jersey Shore towns with clean, non-smelly water.  There's plenty of fudge, caramel corn and ice cream.  But instead of French Fries, they have pasties, a real plus for someone who grew up with them.

A Yooper pasty.

This living statue in Mackinac City scared the Heck out of Sister the Equal.

Mackinac City dwellers are called trolls.

We managed to take the ferry to Mackinac Island on Independence Day.  It was really crowded, of course, and with more bikes than even in china!  Automobiles are prohibited on the Island.  At least we thought so.  More on that in a bit.

The main street consists of tourist shops, bike rental places and many, many fudge shops. I counted 13 of them.  The island has an 8.2 mile paved road circling the island, and everyone who is anyone rents a bike and bikes the entire route.  Then they go to the shops and buy a "I biked the island" t-shirt and a "8.1" bumper sticker.  Spouse the Better, Sister the Equal and Daughter the Younger all traveled across the ferry with their bikes and rode the island.  Brother the Smarter and I hung back.  I made the purchases of the afore-mentioned t-shirt and sticker, while my brother toured Fort Mackinac.

Ready to bike before the crowds.

Main Street Mackinac Island

Our goal was to meet and walk up to the Grand Hotel for the Lunch Buffet, a $47 feast that is supposedly well worth it.  All was going according to plan.  The crowds were at their peak, bikes, horse carriages and pedestrians clogging the Main Street completely.

And then...     A crash, a scream, and people running away in panic.  I was ahead of everyone else and had turned the corner when I heard the commotion.  There was then a horrible, horrible scream, which gave me immediate goose bumps.  I thought terrorism and was ready to run away when I saw Spouse the Better and Daughter the Younger running full steam to the heart of the pandemonium.

No one else was rendering help, but they both went right to the lone figure laying on the road with a disfigured bike.  She had crashed into another bike and fell over her handle bars.  Her horribly equally disfigured arm was easy to evaluate.  A humeral fracture is one of the most painful injuries you can have, as the muscles contract and cause more and more deformity.  She was bleeding from her scalp and leg also.  I entered a bar and asked the bartender for ice, which he gave me while saying "Happens every day at about this time..."  I believe him.  I tossed him a Jackson for his efforts, which he didn't even try to decline.

Meanwhile, my family members gave what little support they could give to her arm, applied ice everywhere and shaded her from the burning sun.  We waited for the ambulance to come, which seemed to take forever to travel the one block from the Medical Center.  By the time she was loaded for the one block trip, we had lost some of our belongings and had lost our chance to make it to the Grand Hotel Buffet!  (And it was an ambulance with an internal combustion engine.  The ban has its limits.)

Karma does even things up though.  We found a Pub and Grill with a table for 7, which had wonderful food and service.  And when our flustered group was done, we left our credit card behind.  I always tip more than 20% ( I love people who work!) and the server actually took the time to look me up on Facebook and connect with me to return the card.  Turns out she was born and raised in Warren, MI!  I gave them a glowing review and told the boss that she deserves a raise.  (Update: She really did send my card back to me!)

I managed to take a pic of the Grand Hotel as I was leaving the Island on the Ferry...

It Took Me 33 Years

When I traveled to Detroit MI in 1985 to learn the ins-and-outs of foot surgery from the very people who invented it, I had no idea about Mackinac Island.

Well, I finally made it to the Island after an arduous trek north in my RV Podd 2.0.

I'm not running the island, but Spouse the Better is biking the island.

I only care about the buffet at the Grand Hotel. More later if my dream comes true... 

A Beautiful Day

I am entrenched in the RV deep in the woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 3 dogs and just me hanging out and not doing anything!

The temperature as noon is approaching is 66 degrees. I suppose not many of you are in Temps below that. I will try to get a real post up sometime soon.