Running Shorts

In trying to capture the running spirit of days past, I've been especially interested in reading about some of the historic greats. Ah who am I kidding? I'm always interested in learning about running history, but allow me to indulge myself a bit. My interest in doing this particular one was piqued after reading a thread on the r/running  subreddit (yes, I'm a redditor) that was about New Balance shoes. New Balance recently launched a new line of shoes named " Vazee ," and the poster mentioned he had no idea where that name came from. Turns out the name is in reference to a French slang term, " vas-y ," which essentially means "Go!" or "Go for it!" Having worked at a running store, I'd heard this spiel before, but I had to learn more. Not only is the name a fancy French word, but it is also a reference to a popular cheer for former mile world record-holder Michel Jazy (the rhyme really is catchy, it's easy to see why it be...

...is an Ohio guy named Bob Schul. Sure, you know all the American greats: Ryun, Shorter, Pre, Rodgers, Salazar, Joanie, Webb. Maybe you even know of some of the more obscure stars: Mills, Kastor, Lindgren, etc. But how much do you really know about Bob Schul, the only American to ever win Olympic gold at 5,000m  -- which he did while also coming into the race as the favorite and world #1 at the time? The race that made Schul immortal was the 5,000m at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Racing the deepest field ever assembled to that point (including Ron Clarke, Bill Baillie, Harald Norpoth, Michel Jazy, Kip Keino, and Bill Dellinger -- all running royalty), Schul waited patiently through a tactical, surging and slowing 4800 meters until unleashing an incredible kick over the final lap. To beat out nine (9!) other runners in contention at the bell, Schul closed in 54.8 for 400m and an astonishing 38.7 for the final 300 meters -- as fast, if not faster, than Mo Farah's kick in London 20...

Nerd Alert: in this (hopefully regular) series of posts - 'HISTORY OF RUNNING' - I hope to merge two of my interests: history and running. I am a history teacher, after all. Athletics is one of the oldest sports in the world, and it's modern structure was standardized for the 1896 Olympic revival. In the 100+ years since then, training methods have evolved a lot, and yet...we can still learn lessons from past greats. This is my attempt to analyze history and apply lessons to today. Why Start with Bill Rodgers? Rodgers' training logs from 1973-1977 are posted online. While so many elite runners like to keep their training secret, a huge chunk of Rodgers' formative training is posted online for anyone to read. Check it out here . Bill Rodgers is the epitome of the citizen-runner who led the running boom in the 1970s. He trained his butt off for years on end without lucrative sponsorships or prize money (often while working a school job), just for the opportunity...