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Hotdogging at Subi

Started by MICHAELSPAPPY, April 19, 2018, 06:53:29 am

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MICHAELSPAPPY

   I am continuing with a few more of these oldtimer track stories at the request of Coach Bryan, since he is one of the best Arkansas track historians around. (In my case, they would be very-oldtimer stories.)

   Back in the 1970s, Frank Shorter and Jack Bacheler were two of the really big names in American distance running. Both ran for the Florida Track Club after they left college. Shorter won the gold in the marathon in 1972 and the silver in 1976. Bacheler was not quite as successful, but was still very good on a national scale, and was 9th in the Olympic marathon in 1972. He also had at least a couple of national titles to his credit in 10,000 meters and cross country.

   What made them interesting Odd Couple was that Bacheler was 6'7" tall, and Shorter was 5'10". In several races in which they were the class of the field, they would link hands as they crossed the finish line, showing, I suppose, their solidarity as teammates and friends. There was a good bit of discussion about the propriety of this habit in the track world at the time, since some contended that by not competing to the very end, they were cheating the fans.

   Anyway, my brother and I were among the better middle-distance runners in what was then Class A in the general area my senior year. Certainly not the best, but at least consistently competitive. I had the idea that it would be fun to do the hand-holding bit with my brother at least one time before I left high school competition, but we could not find a meet where we were sure enough of winning to pull it off.

   Finally, in a meet at Subiaco during the second half of the season, the mile field was pretty weak. As we were running on the second lap, I told him that we were going to try to stretch the field in the third lap, when most runners tend to take a little bit of a rest preparing for the gun lap. If we were successful, then we would go across the finish line together. It worked out, and we got to have the satisfaction of finishing right together that one time in our careers. Yes, it was hotdogging, and we took some ribbing from Coach, but it was a nice memory.

RATTLER43

Wow!   What a great memory getting to do that with a sibling!   Love the mental image of 6'7" vs 5'10".    Saw Alistair Cragg and Daniel Lincoln of the Hogs do that at NCAA or SEC championships. Just awesome. 

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