Saturday morning August 3, 2024
Bill Blewett on the pole running next to you know who
Yesterday we all were blessed with watching the closing stages of one of the most incredible track and field races ever, that 10,000 meters won by Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei (26:43.14) followed closely by Berihu Aregawi (26:43.44) of Ethiopia and Grant Fisher (26:43.46) of the US and Canada's Mohammed Ahmed (26:43.79) and another nine more who would break the Olympic record for the event. But I was also saddened by the news that a good friend and regular commenter to this blog Bill Blewett had passed away Friday morning.
Bill was a father of a loving family, a University of Oklahoma graduate, a research engineer, a journalist, a coach, a walk on at the university who would run a 4:02 mile, and a winner of the Peach Tree road race. Late in life he also became known as an astute writer. His two books "The Science of the Fastball" and "Fifty Years a Runner" display his scientific knowledge and sense of humour and are worth anyone's time to pick up and enjoy.
The irony in Bill's passing on the day of this iconic 10,000 meters race is not lost on me. Faced with a very challenging illness, Bill never quit trying to overcome the hurdles thrown down by a rare form of leukemia that required massive numbers of blood transfusions along with chemotherapy. Until his last months he was still getting on the treadmill in his house to have a go at exercising his body knowing that it would give him some of the strength needed to carry on the fight.
Bill came to the university the year after I left. We only met about forty years after those days, but our friendship grew through our love of this sport. We first met when I was on a working trip to Washington, DC. Bill came over there from his home in Belair, Maryland to talk track. I had been writing a blog for Oklahoma track folks and he had been on the mailing list. Then a few years later Bill was doing research on his books and was interested in the physiology of sport and came for a visit to my home in Dayton, Ohio. He knew I had done graduate work at the Human Performance Lab at Ball State University, and he wanted to meet Dr. David Costill who made that Lab famous for a lot of things including long distance running. We did a pilgrimage to Muncie, Indiana to meet Dr. Costill and also charted a few side trips around Ohio to meet a couple of his old teammates living in the area. Bill Schnier went on that quest with us. Neither one of us were up to running much due to injuries at the time so we did an easy bike ride one of those mornings. Anyway we continued to correspond for years and as this blog grew we often received stories and comments from Bill and shared some of his writings with our readers.
I'll leave you with a link to one of our blog postings. It's a review of "Fifty Years a Runner" done by Paul O'Shea. Book Review 50 Years a Runner
Take care and enjoy the O's,
George Brose
William's obituary
William Keenan “Bill” Blewett died peacefully at 77 years old at his home in Bel Air, Maryland on Friday August 2nd, 2024, after a courageous two-year battle with Leukemia. Bill was a father, grandfather, coach, runner, sportswriter, mechanical and industrial engineer, author, and Harford County community leader.
Bill was born on July 15th, 1947, in Los Angeles, California to Mildred Marie (Haggard) Blewett and David Henry Blewett. Raised in Lawton, Oklahoma he discovered a passion for running in High School, and he ultimately walked on to the Varsity Team at the University of Oklahoma. Through persistence and intense training, he eventually led the Sooner team, competing in the 1968 Olympic Trials (marathon), and later recorded a personal best 4:02.1 mile. He won hundreds of races nationwide, including the renowned Peachtree 10K in Atlanta in 1973.
Bill moved to Harford County, Maryland in 1974 and began his 35-year career as a Civilian engineer for the military’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defense program at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. He became one of the US Military’s leading experts in his field. After his retirement from the government, he was a Senior Scientist at Battelle until 2012.
Bill began a second career in 1981 as a freelance sportswriter for The Aegis and The Baltimore Sun and wrote a weekly column for 41 years. He knew how important encouraging young athletes in the newspaper could be for their development. Throughout his life, Bill devoted himself to coaching, teaching, and mentoring young runners. He created and hosted dozens of community races for youth and adults, including “The Bill Brown Cross Country Series” and the Harford Country Track Meet, two beloved events that helped thousands of kids fall in love with running and fitness.
He authored two books, “The Science of the Fastball” (2008) and “Fifty Years a Runner”(2023) and continued to write for The Aegis and The Sun until two weeks before his passing. He served on the Bel Air Recreation Committee and its Board of Directors until his death.
Bill is survived by his wife Joann (Kolarik) Blewett, his three children, John David “JD” Blewett, Daniel Henry Blewett, and Anne Elizabeth (Blewett) Arroyo, and grandchildren Theodore “Teddy” Arroyo, Ruby Arroyo, and Ada Arroyo. He is survived by his sister Eugenie (Blewett) Kelsey of Lawton, Oklahoma, brother Charles Blewett of Edmond, Oklahoma, and brother Thomas Blewett of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A celebration of life for Bill Blewett will be held at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, MD on Monday August 12th, 2024. There will be a visitation with the family from 9:30am-11am, and a Service from 11am-12pm. Join the family in wearing your favorite running/exercise shoes with your funeral attire. In lieu of flowers, Bill requested that donations be made to two non-profit organizations that serve the youth in Harford County, (i) the Boys and Girls Club of Harford and Cecil County, and (ii) Inner County Outreach.
from Walter Mizell: Good article on Bill Blewitt, George. I knew I knew him but couldn’t figure it out until you gave the dates. I stayed in Norman until August, ‘66. Working on a masters degree. I must have met him that school year of 1965-66 since I was still working in the athletic dorms that time as a dorm counselor (Washington House, to be precise) and kept in touch with most of the track guys at least nominally.
George,
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