| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Admin |
Posted - May 02 2012 : 14:27:53
Good News! We are very fortunate to have received printed results from the 1975 YMCA Turkey Trot!
We owe thanks to long time local runner JOHN BELL. John has offered to try to forward more from his big collection of good "running stuff". He's run a lot races!
These results are in great shape too, complete with original typos. They've been scanned and corrected as best we can and posted here:
http://buffalorunners.com/results/197x/tt75.htm
We now have thousands of old races posted. The historic results can be found here:
http://buffalorunners.com/Prior_years_grid.asp
Can anyone remember if the Turkey Trot was a 5-Mile in 1975 and not yet an 8K? And is 1975 TT finisher "MARY RYERSON" really "MARK RYERSON"? Or does John have a sister?
Only 6% of the finishers were female in the 1975 TT. For contrast, last weekend at the Buffalo Undy 5000 5K over 74% of the finishers were female.
Things have changed!
JJ
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| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Bob K. |
Posted - May 10 2012 : 09:52:06
Rooster, I'm just shaking my head... |
| Roosterm |
Posted - May 10 2012 : 08:21:29
You know I was enjoying this forum up until I had to read that. I will just stick to the hugs thank you.
For those vintage writers....thank you
Mark |
| techshlepy |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 23:23:21
...are you kidding me...!!!...???...!!!...the best thing about running an out of town race...???...getting to snuggle with...BK...the night before...ahhhhhh memories...please don't be jealous...Ricky D...aka...Happy...I will never forget our time spent together at the Bengal Run...
EVOLVE...EVOVE...LVOVE...LOVE...PEACE |
| Bob K. |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 21:54:54
Oh, don't worry. I was just messing with you. Ask Techie about sharing a hotel room with me... |
| plpjap |
Posted - May 09 2012 : 07:54:10
Wow...sorry....thought it was a humorous story from almost 40 years ago on a forum about vintage racing. Trust me...after being married to the same woman for almost 30 years and raising 3 children, a sense of humor is not a bad thing. Don't take every little thing so serious. Try it....you might have more enjoyment in your running and your life. Best of luck. |
| Stosh |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 23:18:24
Even better, splurge and get your own hotel room. |
| Bob K. |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 22:08:55
What's the moral of the story? Get two hotel rooms... |
| plpjap |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 19:39:37
Bob - Ha Ha...at least you didn't have to find a "johnny-on-the-spot".
I recall my 10K race with Shorter and Rogers like it happened last month. I wrote a story about it in my running journal back then. It was a Sunday morning race so we arrived early Saturday evening, drew #'s to see who go the beds, and then I and 10 others set up our sleeping bags on the floor. Picture that in an average size hotel room and there isn't much floor space left. There was a lounge downstairs with a band playing so naturally we found our way to the bar for a couple cold ones. Now in this group of 15 runners, there were some pretty intelligent runners...teachers and the like. Do you think any of us thought to bring a night light?
Naturally Murphy's Law# 2 clearly states "The runner drinking the most beers and having to pee the most times during the night shall set up his sleeping bag at the furthest point away from the bathroom...thus waking up the most people possible by stumbling, stepping upon, and kicking your way in the dark to find the bathroom. Repeat as necessary". Of course Murphy's Law 3 states that "sleeping bag set up will be in order of the # of times needing to pee and the distance to the bathroom." Naturally one's eyes then become adjusted briefly to bright light once in the bathroom so the trip back allows even more stumbling over sleeping bodies as now it is even blacker.
Can't forget Murphy's Law # 4 which clearly spells out that "the earliest runner to rise in the morning shall be the loudest on the toilet, bring the loudest electric razor, and drop the bar of soap in the shower the most times. This too shall go in order of loudest to the one guy who is very quiet and doesn't need to poop." |
| JF |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 17:47:36
McGoo---that's interesting about the Broadway Market run, a race when it came back in the late 80s/early 90s was a 5K and also held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I ran the newer versions several times, probably the last time in 1996, 97 or 98. I did run it in 1989 and cooled down with the great and late Jim Ferris, and got to know him pretty well before his very untimely death four years later (Mike Platt certainly knows him well also). I had known of Jim before that, but we really clicked that morning and lived in neighboring towns (Brockport and Holley) so we bumped into each other many times. I do believe that Platt, an Albion native by trade, lived for some time in Holley as well.
The great amount of depth is what is really striking about the old races. Of course, back then, the running/jogging boom really hadn't gained traction and races were often reserved for the top only. We know that that has changed and we know that overall, that's been a good thing for running. Look at the trots---383 in 1975 and 14,000 today. Wow!
XXIV |
| JR |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 16:41:57
McGoo, I know that I ran the Broadway TT race at least a couple times back then. Not sure if I ran it the blizzard year.
Mike Wyatt ran at Penn State. IIRC, he may be the only WNYer to run a sub 4 minute mile. Someone else may have more accurate facts.
JJ, some of these stories remind me of the time we faced off against Dick Buerkle and the Allegany College runners. Didn't we pace them for a bit  |
| Bob K. |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 14:22:29
Hey plpjap! That reminds me of a similar situation. I ran the Crim 10 miler one year and somehow ended up in the first corral. I found myself standing next to the great Kenyan masters runner Simon Karori. I was scared to death. He eyeballed me and then the gun went off. We took off like a shot and about a quarter mile into the race he turned to me and said in broken English "are you going to pace me?" Right then I looked at him and dropped back like I was attached to an anchor. Took me 2 miles to recover. |
| mcgoo |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 13:14:10
Does anyone recall the Broadway Market 2 Mile "Turkey Trot" that was run for several years on the Saturday following Thanksgiving and the TT? It was an out-and-back around an orange cone on Broadway. I can't recall what year it was exactly (it was between 1975-1977), but one year the race was held in a blizzard and Mike Wyatt, formerly of St. Joe's and at the time at UPenn I believe, won going away, with time in the low 9:00s. They gave watches for awards that year. That was a really fun race. |
| Jeff |
Posted - May 08 2012 : 10:23:41
Wow! Great vintage race report Paul! Thanks for sharing that.
JJ
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| plpjap |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 18:13:09
Boy...this topic is bringing back a lot of good memories. We probably had over 20 members at the peak of our Chautauqua Cty Running club. A mix of older a younger runners of all abilities. Bob Carrol and Willie Bauza could run a 10K back then in under 32 while most were average runners. In 1976, one of the members found out there was a 10K in Ohio (I believe it was in Canton) where Frank Shorter and Bill Rogers were running. Someone said "Let's go". There were probably 14 - 15 of us who went in 3 cars. We rented one hotel room so the floor was packed with sleeping bags. It also meant one bathroom...one toilet for 15 pre race dumps. Nobody could have slept more than 2 or 3 hours between the talking, laughing, snoring, gas passing that went on but we were all eager to race next morning. There were a few thousand runners and I was determined to wedge up to the front near Shorter and Rogers. I spotted them in front and packed myself in a couple rows behind them.
Both had recently qualified for the 1976 Montreal Olympics representing the US. I don't think I ever ran a race with so many spectators watching a race since Shorter was the 1972 Olympic gold medal winner and Rogers had won the Boston Marathon a year earlier setting an American record. They were using this race as an Olympic tuneup run (they both crossed the finish line in a dead heat in first place in just under or just over 30 minutes...can't recall...but probably talking the whole race).
I was hardly the fastest in our club but back then I could run a 35 minute 10K. I said "what the heck...when is this opportunity going to come again" and took off at the gun. I could barely feel my feet hit the ground and sprinted out with the leaders for the first 1/4 mile. I took a quick glance to my right, and 3 feet off my right shoulder was Frank Shorter and right next to him was Bill Rogers. I smiled..cursing to myself that no one from our club brought anyone to take photos. Would love to have blown that photo up and framed. I could tell my grandkids today..."yeah...back in the day when I used to compete against Frank Shorter and Bill Rogers...blah blah blah...ha. Of course I quickly dropped off the pace but that is still my running career highlight. Shorter ended up winning the Olympic silver medal that year and, although Rogers failed to win an Olympic medal, he did win the New York City Marathon later that same year. |
| JVBell |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 16:31:51
1975 was my first trot as well. Longest run to that point had been three miles. The day was miserable with a strong headwind. But it got me hooked and I ran my first marathon (Skylon) 11 months later.
The EBC handicap race was held the Sunday before Thanksgiving. One of the officers from the forerunner of USAT&F did the handicapping. You had to list three of your recent race result on the entry form. The running community was smaller back then and everyone knew everyone else so cheating to get an edge wasn't possible. It was a fun race. Runners with the greater handicaps were sent out in order. If you were a middle of the pack runner you'd hit the finish with some of the really fast ones. |
| plpjap |
Posted - May 07 2012 : 16:28:26
Back in the 1970's, a few of us runners from Chautauqua County formed a small running club to compete in races....Bob Carrol, Willie and Hector Bauza, and others. I do recall having to pay yearly dues to the AAU during that time. None of us ever questioned it. We just assumed it was one of the requirements. Maybe it was just the running clubs that were forced to join the AAU. It probably was a way for them to control some of the races while obtaining revenue. It was Steve Prefontaine who really battled with the AAU in those days. He was the United States top distance runner so he had some leverage. It's a shame he died so young and at his peak. Here is a small passage on his battles with the AAU that I just google searched-
Steve Prefontaine's fights against the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) were eventually taken up by his contemporaries, who, inspired by his words, ultimately revolutionized amateur athletics in America. During the 1970s, the AAU controlled track and field competition as well as other sports including wrestling and swimming; they determined which athletes could compete against one another and under what conditions. Runners who wanted to arrange their own opportunities to compete against the best felt powerless. Steve Prefontaine, with his relentless drive and will, fought doggedly against the disempowerment of runners and other AAU athletes.
Olympic medalist in swimming and television sports commentator Donna De Verona was a friend of Pre's. "Pre was a firebrand, someone who embodied what's right about sport," recalls De Verona. "He was instrumental in helping the cause of athletes' rights and, because of his outspokenness, he was a lightning rod for the tensions between the AAU and amateur athletes. Others of us who were trying to change AAU regulation were already past our competitive careers, but Pre was still vulnerable to AAU action against him. He took risks for what he believed in and was willing to deal with the retribution."
"The ramifications of the AAU went beyond the fact that they were just interfering with Pre's performance. It went to the heart of what's just and what's unjust, because no matter how fiercely competitive Pre was, he and his fellow runners loved to race because it was fair. |
