V 6 N 28 Photo Request, Earl Young, and Support Your Local Shoe Store

You probably noted that last week we made an appeal for photos of  Dr. Otto Peltzer's indoor race tour in 1928.   We are also sending out a request for photo information on another event,  the Coliseum Compton Invitational  5000 meters of 1968.   The request comes from Rich Elliott, editor of the book Runners on Running, one of the best running books on the market.  Rich actually ran in that 5000.  Here is his request.

George,

I see where you sometimes make announcements about those of us who are searching for photos.

I was wondering if you can help me with this one:

I am writing an article about distance running in 1968.

I am wondering if anyone might have photos of the Coliseum-Compton Invitational of June 7, 1968.

In particular, photos of the 5000 meters race.

If photos exist, people can contact me at:  richkelliott1@comcast.net.

Here is a list of the runners in that race:

1. Ron Clarke

2. Bob Day

3. Tracy Smith

4. Van Nelson

5. Juan Martinez

6. Mario Perez

7. Alvaro Mejia

8. John Kennedy

9. Tim Danielson

10. Rich Elliott (yours truly)

11. Ed Norris 

 Joe Lynch and Lou Scott may have also competed in the race.

Thanks for your help!

Rich Elliott

This week we will most likely get our   250,000th hit on our little blog.  Never thought it would get to this level, even though cute puppy or animal rescue sites get those numbers in a matter of hours.   Of course Roy and Steve and I have probably accounted for 100,000 of those hits ourselves.  We enjoy all the connections this work has created not just for ourselves but for others who have been able to reconnect without going through the machinations of Facebook.  

A  few other things to note:

Earl Young has become the face on a book cover.  Check those quads.  He says it is probably a 4x100 at Penn Relays.   He held off Frank Budd on the last leg and the team clocked 40.1 (cinders).  

The book is a novel by a member of the British band,  The Smiths.  Reviews not that great.  However Earl's kids are impressed.  Earl doesn't even  know the band.  He was told by the publisher that the photo is part of the public domain and he wouldn't have the legal right to contest the use of the photo.  They did however offer to make a contribution to Earl's foundation for Bone Marrow Transplant Research and Registration.  We found reference to the book on the blog  Go Feet, you can find a rather less than positive review of the novel on that site.

Support Your Local Shoe Store

           Ryan and Amanda King

End of March first of April I made a trip back to my roots in Dayton, Ohio.  Had a chance to reconnect with old friends, Steve Price, Bill Schnier, Phil Scott, Tim Buckman and many others.  Met Ryan and Amanda King the owners of a great little running store   Can't Stop Running in Piqua , Ohio.  

Can't Stop Running Website

  Phil Scott had a few items from his running shoe collection on display in the store  including Joe Deloach's Mizunos,  that   along with Joe's legs and heart,  kept  Carl Lewis off the top of the 200 meters podium in 1988 in Seoul.   To see some of Phil's collection including that DeLoach heartbreaker, click on the link  below:

Phil Scott Shoe Collection

Phil said he got those shoes on E bay for less than the cost of shipping them.

These little independent stores are the backbone of the running shoe market for people who really buy shoes to run, jog and race in.   The billions of dollars that Nike, New Balance, Brooks  and the rest make are from non runners who just like to be seen in stylish clothing and shoes and buy their stuff at Walmart, Target, Hudson's Bay, Discount Outlets and the like.  One of the challenges the small stores face is online purchasing.  People go to the small stores to try on shoes, get knowledgeable technical advice, then go home and order the shoes for a few bucks less online.  So if you as a runner want to see these stores stay in business, you need to support them by shopping and buying on site, that means in the store.   

Adam King with the Garby/Gorby Shoe

 Of special interest was another pair of shoes that belonged to 'Scott Garby'  of Piqua who ran a 1:52+ 880 at the NCAA meet in 1926.    There is a  little discrepancy when I looked up the result on the TF&N  site.

The Scott Garby/John Gorby 1926 shoe

NCAA meet history

The 880 race in 1926 was  probably held  at Soldier Field.  The track was mismeasured and declared to be  23' 3" short.  The actual race distance was 872.25 yards or 797.6 meters.  

The winner was Alva Martin a Northwestern senior in a corrected time of 1:52.0. Actual time was 1:51.7.    Second was Walter Caine of Indiana in a corrected time of 1:52.8.   Scott Garby (listed in results as John Gorby) a Northwestern sophmore was third and no time given.    "No time" does not appear to be unusual in the 1920s for the also rans in NCAA results.    So if the listing on the shoes in the store of 1:52, is to be believed we can assume that John Gorby (Scott Garby) was right on the heels of the second place finisher.   

So next time you're tooling down the pike on I-75 north of Dayton and have a little time on your hands, pull into Piqua, do not stop at the Mall,  go downtown to 321 N. Main St.  Can't Stop Running, get some good advice, a pair of shoes and sign up for the next local race that the store is busy promoting.  On a good day you might even  get a free cup of coffee.