Steven’s Comments (group member since Jun 14, 2010)

Steven’s comments from the Running, Track and Field group.

Lol... thanks Douglas, as my wife will tell you, I have no practical skills whatsover. But I can tell folks about Alfred the Great or W.E.B. DuBois or what time Edwin Moses ran the 76 Olympic 400 hurdles in. All vitally useful information as I'm sure you'll agree. Just don't ask me what kind of mileage my car gets or how to repair a door hinge.
My mom always said I should go on Jeopardy...
Seriously though, I think we just happen to share some of the same interests, history, track, etc. I was a high school history teacher and track and wrestling coach for years.

I'm a former high school and college runner and high school track coach. I really can't run any more due to foot injuries, but I do walk still. I was lucky to run cross country in college at Georgia State University in the '70's. They needed bodies since they didn't give scholarships and I was a willing runner, albeit not on the same level as a lot of my teammates.
It was a great experience though. One of the things I like about track is that you compete against yourself and your personal records as much as you do against other runners, so it's possible to be beaten by other runners and still feel good about your effort and your time.
In the '70's my heroes were Steve Prefontaine, John Walker, Rick Wolhunter and Lee Evans. I started out running the 400 and the 800 and gradually moved up.

Ben wrote: "I'm voting for Jim Ryun or Herb Elliot, though I have a real soft spot for American Glenn Cunningham. Meanwhile, can we talk Sebastian Coe and not reference his contemporary Steve Ovett?"

I have a soft spot for Glenn Cunningham too. My father, who passed away last week was a fan of Cunningham's. He told me how he overcame severe burns to become a champion miler and basically thought his life was a lesson in overcoming adversity.

And of course, you are right about Seb Coe and Steve Ovett. Don't forget during their heyday in the 1980's you also had Said Aouita and Steve Cram battling for championships right up there with them...

Rick wrote: "Jim Fixx"

I think of James Fixx as the great popularizer of running in the 1970's, but I don't really think he's up there in the running with Ryun and Keino and company. Rick, are you serious? Or are you "joshing us" as my friends used to say?

All the milers you mentioned are good candidates for the honor of "greatest miler of all time", but there are a couple of others who probably should be thrown into the mix for discussion, notably Herb Elliot of Australia, who never lost a meet at the 1500/mile distance and was the Olympic Gold medal winner for the 1500 in 1960.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Ell...

Some other names to possibly throw in the mix are Paavo Nurmi (WR holder for both 1500 and mile, as well as 1924 Gold Medalist at 1500) and Noureddine Morceli, 3 time World Championships winner and 1996 Gold Medalist at the distance. Morcelli was also the World Record holder for a time.

Having said all that, if pressed I'd probably have to agree with Doug's post regarding Jim Ryun. At his best, especially before he got hit with mononucleosis, I'd take a good look at him as the best ever...