Herb Elliott, Legendary Runner #7

I have to say, it's been very enjoyable researching the accomplishments of these runners. While I do remember reading about them in my younger days, I have found lots of new facts, which only reaffirmed my respect for all the all time greats.

Runner #7 was part of the international scene a very brief time. He finished his career undefeated in over 40 races as a senior runner. He retired at the age of 22 after running one of the most dominating 1500 meter races in Olympic history (pictured to the left courtesy of www.britannica.com). He ran 17 sub 4 minute miles, which at the time (late 50s/early 60s), was quite an accomplishment. His name was Herb Elliott. He will go down in history as one of the greatest milers (middle distance runners) of all time.

In his youth, Elliott participated in Hockey, Australian Rules Football, Rowing, Rifle Shooting, Cross Country and Athletics (Track and Field). He continued to participate in many sports, even during his college years. During that time, he met his soon to be legendary coach, Percy Cerutty, who promised Elliott that "within two years, you will run a mile in four minutes." While supremely talented in running, Elliott didn't turn his total focus to the sport until he watched the 1956 Olympics in his homeland. Elliott claims that watching Vladimir Kuts dominating efforts over Gordon Pirie in the 5000 and 10000 meter races inspired him to become Cerutty's protege.

Cerutty followed a philosophy that he termed "stotanism" which was due to his admiration for the Spartans. Elliott trained with him during the weekends in Portsea were he followed this philosophy. There, Elliott entrenched himself completely with the beautiful natural surroundings by the sea. He ran with Cerutty up and down sand dunes (seen to the right courtesy of www.menziesera) as well as learn about the values of eating healthy and weight lifting.

Elliott lowered Derek Ibbotson's mile record of 3:57.2 to 3:54.5 in 1958. Elliott also set two 1500 records, 3:36.0 in 1958 and 3:35.6 in his 1960 Olympic victory. His margin of victory in the race was 20 meters, which was then, the largest in Olympic history. Elliott's time in the '60 Olympics would have also won the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic 1500 meter finals. Considering the surface of the race and his age at the time of the effort only adds to the impressive effort by the great Aussie.

Just as quickly that he emerged as a world-class runner, Elliott retired from Track. It would be unheard of now for a runner of his caliber to call it a career at 22. One has to wonder what he could have accomplished with just a few more years of competition.

To learn more about the great runner and his coach, try one of the following books.

Runner #6 will be posted next..

Paavo Nurmi, Legendary Runner #8

The #8 runner on my list was the next of the "Flying Finn", Paavo Nurmi. He would go on to surpass Hannes Kolehmainen in terms of stature and accomplishments, earning legendary status. To this day, Nurmi still holds the record for most medals won by a Track and Field athlete as he amassed a total of 12 medals, 9 of them gold. This might be a record that will never be surpassed.

Nurmi (Nurmi, Paavo. [Photograph]. Retrieved August 16, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/ebc/art-88010) made his debut in the 1920 Olympics, winning the 10000 meters and the cross country individual and team gold medals. He also finished 2nd. in the 5000 meters to Frenchman Joseph Guillemot, which marked his only defeat in the Olympics to a foreign runner. This defeat is reported to have started his routine of carrying a stopwatch in this hand to improve his race pace tactics.

The 1924 Olympics turned out to be his most successful and memorable of his career. He won three gold medals in the cross country events (two team and one individual). This was the last Olympics for the cross country events as only 15 of 38 competitors finished the longer xc event in the brutal Parisian heat. In the same Olympiad, Nurmi also won the 1500m. and 5000m. races with less than an hour break between the two events. In total, Nurmi ran 7 races in 6 days, winning each event. It's conceivable that Nurmi could have run and won the 10000 meters as well but was held out of the race by Finnish team officials. They divided up the races between their two star runners, Nurmi and Ville Ritola.

In 1925, Nurmi toured the United States running a staggering 55 races, winning 53 of them. With most of the races run indoors, Nurmi established many new world records in standard and rare distances. The 29 records that were broken are considered unofficial since the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) did not approve indoor records until 1987. He was also a great ambassador of the sport running in several exhibitions at schools and military barracks. The grueling schedule did take it's toll on Nurmi (picture courtesy of www.davidstuff.com) as he was never quite the same runner after the trip.

Nurmi continued his record haul of medals at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam with his last gold medal in the 10000 meters. He finished 2nd. to his countrymen in the 5000m. and 3000m. steeplechase races. This would sadly turn out to be Nurmi's last Olympics as he was deemed a professional by the IAAF before the 1932 Olympics.

At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Nurmi was given the honor of running in front of 70,000 adoring fans as he carried the Olympic torch into the stadium.

Runner #7 will be posted tomorrow...

Gunder Hägg/Arne Andersson, Legendary Runner(s) #9

Before moving forward to my #9 runner, I want to clarify something. Some of you will wonder why some of the following runners are not mentioned. You will not see John Walker (first man to break 3:50 in the mile AND to achieve 100 sub 4 minute miles), Sebastian Coe (2 time Olympic 1500 meter gold medalist as well as longtime 800m. record holder), Said Aouita (first man to break 13 minutes in the 5K, gold medalist in the 1984 Olympic 5K and probably the runner with the greatest range of talent), Hicham El Gharrouj (current mile world record holder, 1500/5000 gold medalist in 2004 Olympics), Haile Gebreselassie (considered by many as the greatest of them all) or any of the current champion runners. While all those runners do hold their own place in history, I want to make sure that runners that laid the groundwork before them will not be forgotten.

The next runner or runners in this case, come in at #9. The reason I have two of them is that it's hard to mention one without the other. Pictured to the left (courtesy of http://www.lotten.se) is Arne Andersson (in 2nd.) and Gunder Hägg (leading) who both hailed from Sweden. They brought out the best in each other and together they were able to lower the mile world record 6 times (3 each). They are forgotten in history because they were never able to make their impact in the Olympics due to World War II.

On August 28th, 1937, Britain's Sydney Wooderson broke the mile world record running 4:06.4. That record stood until the Swedes started their assault in 1942. Hägg was the first to strike as he lowered the world record to 4:06.2 on July 1, 1942 only to have his record tied 9 days later by Andersson. Over the next two years, they each lowered the record twice with Hägg achieving the last mark of 4:01.4 on July 17, 1945. Hägg and his world record stood for 8 years and 293 days which is the record for the longest standing mile record. Hägg was also the mile record holder when Dr. Roger Bannister finally broke the 4 minute barrier on May 6, 1954.

Both Andersson and Hägg each won the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal. This award is given annually "for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year". Hägg won this award in 1942 with Anderson winning his the following year. In 1946, both runners were branded as professionals which barred them from competition and the chase to break the 4 minute mile. As a final tribute to Hägg, who passed away in 2004, Bannister did credit with using his training methods to help him with his achievement.

#8 will be up next...

Hannes Kolehmainen, Legendary Runner #10

After completing a promising number of laps in the 12-minute test, I was encouraged to join the Track and Field team, during my freshman year in high school. Since I was not fleet of foot (and a mighty 85 lbs. to boot), there was no question as to what would be my events. Being a sports history buff, I quickly started searching about information on past distance runners. I remember finding an Olympic history book at a garage sale that started it all. Since this was the mid 80s, no internet, no google or wikipedia, my search continued at the local library. It was pretty clear after reading many books, several runners stood out from the rest and really had an impact on what the sport is today.

So without further adieu, here are my most influential, legendary runners from the past starting with #10.

In the Olympics between 1912 to 1936, the middle and long distance events where dominated by the "Flying Finns" and Hannes Kolehmainen was the first Finnish runner to make an impact. During the 1912 Olympics, Hannes won gold medals in the 5000, 10000 and the now discontinued cross country event (individual). He also won a silver medal in the cross country team competition which was won by a trio of American runners. Of note is that the Russian flag was raised for each of his victories as Finland was still part of Russia at the time.

His narrow 5000 meter victory, pictured above (courtesy of http://www.as.com), was in world record time of 14:36.6 and the first time a runner had broken the 15 minute barrier. Hannes turned his attention to road racing as he took part in the 1917 Boston Marathon, finishing 4th. With no Olympics in 1916, due to World War I, Hannes had to wait several more years to win his last gold medal in the 1920 Olympic marathon. Hannes went on to also set world records in the 25km. and 30km. races. His success lead to the Finns raking in a tally of 16 gold medals between the '20 to '36 Olympics.

Photo courtesy of www.olympic.org

His last shining moment was in 1952 when he was given the honor of lighting the Olympic flame in his homeland. The runner to hand him the torch? He will be heard from soon.

#9 will be up next...

To Victory (Amazing Video...MUST SEE)

University of California Berkeley might strike it rich...

when it comes to it's search for a new Cross Country and Track and Field Coach. Read what school Berkeley Athletic Director Sandy Barbour contacted to speak to their coach:

UW sports: Two coaches leaving for California?

Coach's Surveys from '87, '88 and '90 State XC Meets

Here is a trio of coaching surveys that were taken during the state cross country meets in the late 80s and 1990 courtesy of Hank Lawson's Lynbrook HS Website. The surveys include some of the top teams in CA with lots of interesting insights from each respective coach regarding their team's summer and season training.

Enjoy.

1987 Coach's Survey
1988 Coach's Survey
1990 Coach's Survey

More to come when I have a little more time...

1996 vs 2007 CA Cross Country State Meets

Once I was in the midst of the previous post and comparing the 1987 (first) state meet to last year's meet, it was quickly evident that it's not a very good comparison. The divisions did not line up at all. I think a better comparison would be the 1996 meet (first year with five divisions) to last year's meet. I only go down to 6 places but it's very clear that the depth of the current meet is incredible. Times that won plaques in the past now might not place a team in the top 10. What some feared to be the watering down of the meet with the addition of two divisions has not been the case at all. It's a credit to the hard work being put forth by the current runners during the summer and season as well as the constant search of a better season plan by many coaches.

BOYS
Division I (1996)...................Division I (2006)
1) Peninsula............81:44...........1) Trabuco Hills........77:55
2) Poway.................82:26...........2) Royal....................78:12
3) Nevada Union.....82:32...........3) Davis Sr.................79:09
4) Poly-Long Beach.82:34...........4) El Toro..................79:42
5) Mt. Carmel..........82:37...........5) Upland..................79:50
6) Del Campo...........82:39..........6) Madera.................80:10
Division II (1996)..................Division II (2006)
1) De La Salle...........81:03..........1) Jesuit......................79:11
2) Santa Margarita...82:05..........2) Ventura..................80:29
3) Santa Ana.............82:01..........3) St. John Bosco........81:09
4) Jesuit....................82:15..........4) Clovis.....................80:38
5) Hemet...................82:15..........5) Petaluma................82:17
6) Huntington Beach.82:39..........6) Oak Ridge..............82:24
Division III (1996)..................Division III (2006)
1) St. Ignatius..........82:47............1) Barstow.................80:32
2) Tustin..................82:50...........2) Del Campo............82:13
3) Katella.................83:09...........3) Margarita.............82:10
4) St. Francis MV.....84:09...........4) Palos Verdes.........82:12
5) Bosco Tech..........84:32............5) Campolindo..........82:54
6) Barstow...............84:15............6) St. Ignatius...........82:51
Division IV (1996)...................Division IV (2006)
1) Corona del Mar..84:07..............1) Big Bear.................80:40
2) Granada.............84:08.............2) Laguna Beach........83:00
3) Nordhoff............83:39.............3) Avenal....................84:11
4) Half Moon Bay....84:29............4) McFarland..............84:36
5) Costa Mesa.........84:43.............5) St. Mary's Col..........84:30
6) West Valley.........85:03............6) Piedmont.................84:53
Division V(1996)....................Division V (2006)
1) McFarland...........81:46............1) Woodcrest Christian.82:36
2) Holtville...............85:55...........2) College Prep.............84:35
3) St. Bonaventure....86:04..........3) Flintridge Prep..........85:54
4) Oak Park..............86:10..........4) SF University.............85:58
5) Maranatha............86:29..........5) Mt. Shasta................86:48
6) St. Mary's Berk......87:27..........6) Chadwick.................87:07

GIRLS
Division I (1996)...................Division I (2006)
1) Clovis...................95:48.........1) Saugus....................93:06
2) Ayala....................96:10.........2) Torrey Pines............94:42
3) Clovis West...........96:49.........3) Buchanan................94:59
4) Fallbrook..............96:54.........4) Cresenta Valley.......95:14
5) Esperenza.............97:11...........5) Fountain Valley......95:07
6) Irvine....................97:48.........6) Davis Sr..................95:57
Division II (1996)..................Division II (2006)
1) Yucaipa.................94:13.........1) Carondelet...............94:18
2) Clayton Valley.......96:08........2) Newport Harbor.......95:01
3) Dana Hills.............96:46.......3) Ayala........................95:10
4) Ventura................97:29........4) Clovis......................95:44
5) Valhalla................97:44........5) University City.........95:52
6) Amador Valley......98:30........6) Los Gatos................96:26
Division III (1996)................Division III (2006)
1) Carondelet...........95:52..........1) CDM........................93:24
2) El Modena.............98:08.......2) Oak Park.................96:04
3) Placer....................98:27.......3) Maria Carrillo..........97:41
4) Santana................98:33........4) Del Oro...................98:08
5) St. Lucy's..............98:56........5) Placer......................98:46
6) San Gorgonio........99:15........6) Rim of the World.....99:02
Division IV (1996)...............Division IV (2006)
1) Norhoff................95:59.......1) Marlborough............96:53
2) La Canada............96:06......2) Carmel.....................99:32
3) Campolindo.........98:40......3) Bret Harte................100:47
4) Central Valley.....102:29......4) Maranatha...............101:01
5) Cathedral City.....103:16......5) Piedmont.................102:21
6) Corona del Mar....103:52.....6) Colfax......................101:33
Division V (1996)................Division V (2006)
1) SF University.......97:28........1) Mt. Shasta.................97:43
2) Orange Lutheran..102:27......2) Chadwick.................100:01
3) McFarland............102:56.....3) Woodcrest Christian..100:30
4) St. Joseph............104:41......4) CSU..........................100:58
5) La Salle...............106:30.......5) SF University.............102:33
6) Piedmont............106:34.......6) Flintridge Prep..........103:23

1987 vs 2007 CA Cross Country State Meets

Below is a comparison of the CA XC state meet in 1987 to last year's meet. I am not trying to prove anything by the numbers below. I just thought it would be interesting to compare the two meets and what changes have taken place in the past 20 years.

There are some differences that need to be pointed before you peek at the data. One is that in 1987 there were only three divisions compared to the current five. Each race had less competitors as well (Comparisons below). The divisions don't truly align so I listed divisions IV and V for last year's meet to get a better perspective.

To give you an idea of the schools that competed in 1987, here are the divisional breakdowns for that year. In parenthesis, I added the approximate divisions that would equate to this year's meet.
Division I-1601 and above (Div I and II combined)
Division II-1600-801 (Division III and partial IV)
Division III-800 and below (Partial IV and V)

Below are the amounts of complete teams at each meet followed by number of individuals in each race.
1987.........................2006
Div I-B(18)-G(18)...........Div I-B(23)-G(23)
Div II-B(17)-G(17)..........Div II-B(22)-G(23)
Div III-B(17)-G(17).........Div III-B(24)-G(23)

1987.........................2006
Div I-B(156)-G(157)........Div I-B(201)-G(201)
Div II-B(149)-G(144)......Div II-B(185)-G(190)
Div III-B(150)-G(140).....Div III-B(200)-G(191)

BOYS
Division I (1987).................Division I (2006)
1) Arroyo (el Monte).78:23........1) Trabuco Hills......77:55
2) Dana Hills.........80:19...........2) Royal..................78:12
3) Bellarmine.........80:35..........3) Davis Sr...............79:09
4) Camarrillo.........80:49..........4) El Toro................79:42
5) Palos Verdes.......80:22..........5) Upland................79:50
6) Upland...............81:03..........6) Madera...............80:10
Division II (1987)................Division II (2006)
1) Walnut...............79:16.........1) Jesuit....................79:11
2) Corona del Mar.....80:26......2) Ventura................80:29
3) Gunn.................83:02..........3) St. John Bosco.....81:09
4) El Camino..........83:41..........4) Clovis...................80:38
5) Woodbridge.......84:06.........5) Petaluma..............82:17
6) Newport............83:04..........6) Oak Ridge............82:24
Division III (1987)................Division III (2006)
1) McFarland........84:31............1) Barstow...............80:32
2) RLS...................86:41...........2) Del Campo..........82:13
3) Yreka...............86:19.............3) Margarita...........82:10
4) Salesian...........86:50.............4) Palos Verdes.......82:12
5) Bear River........86:13..............5) Campolindo........82:54
6) Maranatha........86:39............6) St. Ignatius.........82:51

Division IV (2006)

1) Big Bear......................80:40

2) Laguna Beach.............83:00

3) Avenal........................84:11

4) McFarland..................84:36

5) St. Mary's Col..............84:30

6) Piedmont....................84:53

Division V (2006)

1) Woodcrest Christian.....82:36

2) College Prep................84:35

3) Flintridge Prep.............85:54

4) SF University................85:58

5) Mt. Shasta...................86:48

6) Chadwick....................87:07

GIRLS
Division I (1987).................Division I (2006)
1) Palos Verdes.........94:37.........1) Saugus...............93:06
2) Aguara.................95:23........2) Torrey Pines.......94:42
3) Hesperia..............94:44........3) Buchanan...........94:59
4) Montebello..........96:55........4) Cresenta Valley....95:14
5) Arroyo Grande.....99:48........5) Fountain Valley....95:07
6) Poway..................100:19.......6) Davis Sr...............95:57
Division II (1987)................Division II (2006)
1) Newport Harbor....98:48.......1) Carondelet..........94:18
2) Woodbridge..........99:58.......2) Newport Harbor.95:01
3) Mitty.....................100:45.....3) Ayala..................95:10
4) South Hills............100:50.....4) Clovis..................95:44
5) Nordhoff...............102:15......5) University City.....95:52
6) Miramonte.............103:39.....6) Los Gatos............96:26
Division III (1987)................Division III (2006)
1) Maranatha..............101:13.....1) CDM...................93:24
2) SF University...........101:34...2) Oak Park..............96:04
3) Coronado...............101:54.....3) Maria Carrillo......97:41
4) St. Joseph's.............103:15....4) Del Oro................98:08
5) Bret Harte...............105:29....5) Placer..................98:46
6) Yreka......................105:53....6) Rim of the World.99:02
Division IV (2006)
1) Marlborough............96:53
2) Carmel.....................99:32
3) Bret Harte................100:47
4) Maranatha................101:01
5) Piedmont..................102:21
6) Colfax.......................101:33
Division V (2006)
1) Mt. Shasta..................97:43
2) Chadwick....................100:01
3) Woodcrest Christian....100:30
4) CSU.............................100:58
5) SF University................102:33
6) Flintridge Prep..............103:23

Any thoughts after viewing the preceding statistics?

Other comparisons on the way.

CA XC teams shining in the 2000s

The competition to garner a top 3 finish and a plaque at the CA XC State meet is at an all time high. With the internet, coaching clinics, running camps and new training ideas, individuals and teams are running better than ever. Yesterday I listed the teams that have been the most successful in the history of the CA XC state meet. Today I will list the teams that have been the most successful during this decade.

Top Boys' XC teams from 2000-2006

Flintridge Prep-7 total plaques/2 state championships
Jesuit-5 total plaques/4 state championships
Royal-5 total plaques/2 state championships
Barstow-4 total plaques/4 state championships
Woodcrest Christian-4 total plaques/3 state championships
Oak Park-4 total plaques/1 state championship
Santa Clara, Oxnard-4 total plaques/1 state championship
McFarland-3 total plaques/2 state championships
Rubidoux-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Carmel-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Laguna Beach-3 total plaques/1 state championship
St. John Bosco-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Dana Hills-3 total plaques/0 state championships

Top Girls' XC teams from 2000-2006

Oak Park-6 total plaques/3 state championships
San Lorenzo Valley-5 total plaques/3 state championships
Chadwick-5 total plaques/1 state championship
SF University-4 total plaques/3 state championships
Ventura-4 total plaques/2 state championships
Campolindo-4 total plaques/1 state championship
Thousand Oaks-4 total plaques/1 state championship
Sultana-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Montgomery-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Maranatha-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Placer-3 total plaques/1 state championship
Buchanan-3 total plaques/0 state championships
Woodcrest Christian-3 total plaques/0 state championships
Dana Hills-3 total plaques/0 state championships

Next up: Are teams in 2007 really better than 1987?