JIM RYUN COLLECTION JOURNAL
A little background before I share highlights of the race:
In January of 1971, I was coming off a two year break from racing and training. My first race that year began with a bang as I tied the world indoor mile record of 3:56.4 in a race in the San Diego Sports Arena.
I was pleasantly surprised because we had just moved from Topeka, KS to Eugene, OR and training was just ok,not great. I’d always wanted to live and train in Eugene. After some prayer and careful planning, Anne, baby Heather and I U-Hauled our way to Eugene.
As we settled in Eugene, I found I didn’t mind the constant rain and cloud cover which was normal weather for Oregon. Anne and Heather adjusted to it as well referring to the light rain as "liquid sunshine!" Not long after our arrival in Eugene, I found a new training partner, Steve Prefomtaine.
Pre and I had reached an agreement to mutually benefit each other’s training and racing schedule. We would not make our daily workouts races. Training was going very well until the University of Oregon head track coach, Bill Bowerman, refused to allow Pre to train with me. Pre and I were both disappointed, but respected Bowerman’s dictate.
As the rains began to diminish, the area grasses began to grow. I’ve always had allergy issues that affected my breathing but was totally unprepared for the impact the Oregon grass pollen would have on my training. Later, I learned that Oregon grew approximately 90% of the rye grass grown in our country. My breathing and recovery were gradually impacted resulting in slower training times and longer recovery between workouts. Breathing became more difficult as the rye grass pollen increased. My thoughts as I worked through this problem were honestly, if it didn’t kill me, it would at least make me stronger. This was important as I knew I’d be racing against Villanova’s great miler Marty Liquori in the Spring.
Because I realized my training times were a bit slower and my recovery time was much longer, I hesitated to race Marty in Philadelphia. In the end, I decided to get out of my sick bed and to keep my commitment to the Martin Luther King Games to be held at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA. Track and field sports writer, Bob Hersh, wrote, "The build up was probably the greatest for any single foot race since the historic 'Miracle Mile' at Vancouver British Columbia in 1954 (the race between Roger Bannister and John Landy won by Bannister due to the tactical error of Landy looking back over his shoulder as the two men sprinted to the finish line.).
Actual race:
Race day was cool and overcast. The "Dream Mile" had excited the public drawing approximately 60,000 in attendance while catching the attention of CBS Sports.
My strategy, now that it was May and I had not raced since January and had become physically depleted, was to follow Marty’s race plan and follow his lead . As the race unfolded, the real race didn’t begin until the half-way mark. The first 880 was around 2:03. Marty passed the 3/4 mark in 3:00.3 having just completed a 56 second third quarter, I was right behind him. Because the pace was a bit slow, I started to take the lead. Marty had the same idea and jumped in front of me. I was content to follow him thinking I’d take the lead with 220 yards to go. When it was my decision to take the lead, my legs wouldn’t respond. They had turned to rubber. I struggled to sprint and found I was unable to match Marty’s finishing kick.
The photo cover of SI captured the finish with Marty winning by a stride. We were both timed in 3:54.6. It was a brilliant race run by Marty. The record crowd rewarded him with thunderous applause. While I was disappointed in my performance, I was encouraged that I had run well. Our last 880 yards was 1:51. The amazingly fast last 880 yards was why my legs would not respond when I intended to sprint.
Footnotes to the race:
1. The USA race jersey was my 1968 Olympic team singlet.
2. When Anne, Heather and I returned to Eugene, the rye seed grass had grown exponentially worse. I made one more race attempt in Eugene at the Twilight Meet in late May, 1971. In fact, when the AAU Championships were held in Eugene in June, I was in bed sick - the allergies had taken their toll on my body.
The Twilight Meet race was such a disaster that Anne, Heather and I packed up and moved to Santa Barbara, CA in August, 1971. Decathlete and Gold medalist in the ‘68 Mexico City Olympics, Bill Toomey, had contacted me and offered to arrange housing for us. I began training for the 1972 Munich Olympics with Club West via telephone (Coach lived in Kansas) with Coach Timmons (or Timmie as we fondly called him).
"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path."
Psalms 119:105
*the runner man on the sleeve is in memory of the son of dear friends and supporters of the ministry
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