Hi Dick,
Now that I am beginning my 12th year of retirement, I decided to clean
out a lot of old files. I have found a number of news clippings and
photos of the Maddogs group from many years ago. One is a photo taken
the night before the first Okie Relays in which the Maddogs
participated; another was taken the next day on the podium. A third
shows the motel where we stayed in Texhoma. It was 1979, and the
runners were Jim Brewer, Mike Ott, Bob Hughes, and myself. I will try
to scan these photos and attach them (I may have to send them
separately). It was a relay across the panhandle of Oklahoma from
Elkhart, KS, to Texhoma, OK, and I think each leg was 10.2 miles.
The start and finish lines were the state borders. We were in the
Masters division and came in first. Times were: Ott, 59:23 ;
Everett, 57:52 ; Hughes, 58:34 ; Brewer, 1:05:15. I participated two
more times in the Okies. but I don't have records of those races. We
stayed in a motel in Texhoma, because a spaghetti dinner was served by
the citizens of Texhoma in the high school for the runners on the
night before the race. It was probably the seediest motel ever, but
we had no other choice. It was named the "Ritz." There was a bar at
one end, so we wandered over there after the dinner. It was filled
with local cowboy types, and they all turned to look at us when we
entered. Someone said, "Them guys is wearing short pants!" We
decided it might be best to leave, so we quickly slipped out. In
subsequent years, we stayed in Elkhart where there were considerably
better facilities. A women's Maddog team went with us one year.
We had to provide our own support during the race, so three of us were
in a car at all times. We had to follow the runner to provide water,
then get ahead so the next runner would be ready to take over. So in
the middle of the race, we had one guy driving, one guy getting ready
to run, and one guy recovering from the run.
A few years ago, Carolyn and I happened to drive through Texhoma. I
couldn't find anyone who knew anything about the race, and apparently
it had not been held for years. Too bad, since in the 1970's and
early 1980's the whole town seemed to turn out to see the finish, and
the spaghetti dinner was a tradition. Attractive young women
presented each of us with a trophy in a ceremony reminiscent of the
Tour de France! ( I don't remember whether we were also kissed.)
...
The National Clearinghouse for Faculty Running Competition was
a big deal for the Maddogs in the 1970's. We ran events at least as
short as the half-mile and I believe even the quarter mile. I had the
national best for the half mile at 1:59.9 (at age around 35-36). I
had a 2-mile time of 9:54 at age 35 in 1976. My records show that I
ran a 5K in 16:06 in 1981 when I was 40...
My old files contained an interesting series of correspondence between
me and the editors of Runners' World. World's records for masters
events were published in the 1981 Runners' World Annual. The masters
world mile record was 4:18, and the US record was 4:24. I had been
running around 4:25 - 4:30 for the Clearinghouse competition, paced
by other Maddogs, so I thought that with some actual competition, I
could break one of these records. I was set to do it in the KS relays
in 1981 when I had just turned 40. Unfortunately, I trained too hard
and got an injury! Afterwards, these records changed quickly as more
people got into running.
I don't know if you can use this information, but I thought you might
be interested. Grover.
[2 July 2010]