Beginning our 14th year and 1,200+ postings. A blog for athletes and fans of 20th century Track and Field culled from articles in sports journals of the day, original articles, book reviews, and commentaries from readers who lived and ran and coached in that era. We're equivalent to an Amer. Legion post of Track and Field but without cheap beer. You may contact us directly at irathermediate@gmail.com or write a comment below. George Brose, Courtenay, BC ed.

Bob Roncker of Cincinnati, Ohio has sent in this account of one day on the 1943 tour that Gunder Haegg of Sweden made to the US to help raise money for the US war effort. I've also added links to some other articles which talk more about Haegg and that tour including a long one by John Cobley on Haegg's life, career, and that American tour. Thank you, Bob for getting this started. George World…
Most of you read this blog because it is about track and field and cross country mainly from a historical perspective. Today we go off track a bit, but not too far. This blog began because my colleague and co-founder, and most of all friend Roy Mason sent me the following article discovered while he was clearing out old files. It was written in 1986 and sent to a mutual friend Steve Price, now…
This piece is for trivia buffs of the 52nd degree. You have been warned! Last week while working on gathering information about the Al Birtles story which involved a lot of looking at old results, newspapers, telegrams, and smoke signals we found a reference to an old story about Egil 'Bud' Krogh who was one of the Watergate Conspirators and who also ran track with our colleague Roy Mason at…
We heard the news of the passing of Jan Johnson this past week. The news came from several teammates, friends, and internet sources. Jan was the bronze medalist in 1972 in the equipment controversy brought on by who knows in the I.A.A.F. when they disallowed the poles Jan and Bob Seagren had been using for the most part of a year. It was something about the lack of availability on the open market…
Walter 'Al' Birtles 1937-2024 University of Hawaii Walter 'Al' Birtles passed away September 14, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia at age 87. When this was brought to my attention recently, Al's name did not ring a bell until more information was provided. He was a miler at the University of Hawaii in the early 1960's and ran a 4:06 mile, a time of considerable importance in those days. Writing…
Jerome Drayton born Peter Buniak died Monday January 10, 2025 during surgery on his knee. It was not a running related injury but chronic arthritis that got him on the tab le. Born Peter Buniak in Germany in the last days of World War II, his family were Russian/Ukrainian refugees. He spent years in a Displaced Persons camp and then in a German foster home, and after his parents separated he and…
A Legacy of Coaching Excellence Bill Schnier Chuck Hunsaker Bob Lewis Jim Demo Many schools across the country have produced great coaches, but few can claim a single team that has done so. At Capital University, the track and cross-country programs have a storied history, producing some of the most remarkable athletes in the university’s history. Many of these athletes have been inducted into the…
Gregg Bell 1930-2024 No one as old as me could have helped missing the notice of the passing of Greg Bell, Indiana University's 1956 Olympic Champion in the Long Jump. He came between the era's of Jesse Owens and Ralph Boston. He had an incredibly interesting life, rising from extreme poverty to living a life of service to others. Dave Woods has done an admirable job of writing about Greg and his…
Coach Harold 'Lefty' Martin of Dayton, Ohio, more correctly Trotwood, a northwest suburb of the Gem City. I knew Lefty for several years. He was the women's coach at the University of Dayton when I was taken in to coach the women's cross country team in 1998, so he could focus on his own specialties in the sprints and hurdles. I asked him why he was letting go of the cross country position, His…
Following up on our previous posting: Editorial comments are from Bob Roncker. We are not able to transmit the photos from this piece. With regrets. bobroncker@gmail.com 513.236.4828 Memories of the First Heart Mini-Marathon A few days ago you received an account describing the very first Heart Mini-Marathon (1978) through the eyes of Mike Boylan. Mike and The Clifton Track Club were responsible…
Good friends look out for each other in all kinds of times. Today Bob Roncker who goes back to my high school days when we competed against each other in 1960-61, has sent me an account of behind the scenes work at the first Heart Mini-Marathon held in Cincinnati in 1978. It was a 15Km race starting in downtown Cincy. Jerry Springer, yes thee Jerry Springer was the official race starter. He may…
Joss Naylor 1936-2024 This story appeared in The Guardian this week. It is a 17 minute film about an incredible runner in England, Joss Naylor, a shepherd and farmer who in his lifetime performed some seriously extraordinary running feats. And yet he remained a person of modest persona despite his shattering runs. He died this past June at the age of 88. Fell running is a very British sport. One I…
A few days ago I put out a posting on using artificial intelligence. Today we're going back to real intelligence compounded a bit by fading memories. The Principal Protagonists: Bruce Kritzler : of Jacksonville, FL formerly an Ohioan from the Findlay area, coached at Louisiana Monroe, and NC Wilmington among other places. The most total track nut I know. Bob Roncker : Cincinnati, OH, founder of…
There is a low level AI link that showed up on my computer recently. It is called Gemini. I did not even know it was AI until this morning when I clicked on it to see what the hell it was. I asked it a few questions which it answered rather promptly, so I decided to test it a bit more and asked it to write a poem about running on a cold wintry day reminiscent of a poem I put on this blog a few…
Alain Mimoun interview I received this from Bob Darling a few months ago. It's an extended interview with the great French Algerian runner Alain Mimoun who was a great friend of Emil Zatopek and includes some good film of their epic battles in Helsinki in the 5,000 meters, Zatopek 1st and Mimoun 2nd. and Melbourne with Mimoun's victory in the marathon and Zatopek finishing 6th on a wretchedly hot…
Where Were You When President Kennedy Was Shot? November 22, 1963 To fellow readers and writers, I sent out this query November 22, 2024 on the 61 st anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. The question was inspired by George Cummins a former member of the US Peace Corps who had contacted his Peace Corps group Tanzania 5, about their memories of that day. So I followed up with a…
I received the following note from David Bruhn regarding a new book out on the story of Al Baeta, long time coach at American River Community College in Sacremento, CA. Hoping some of our readers, especially from the West Coast will give the book a try and let us know about it in the form of a review. Dear George , It's my hope that you will make visitors to your site aware of a new book published…
Here is the link to that article: 1978 NCAA Nationals Madison WI Comments Thanks for sending this information out. I too was at the 1978 nationals in Madison, driving with the Indiana team which did quite well: Jim Spivey (15th), Randy Stoneman (37th), John Gustafson (44th), etc. It was truly cold and I remember it being almost balmy once we returned to Bloomington when the thermometer crested at…
Dallas Long ( from USC Athletics ) Dallas Long has passed away on Tuesday this week in Whitefish, Montana. He was 84 years old, a two time Olympic medallist in the shot put including a gold in 1964 in Tokyo. He graduated from North High School in Phoenix, Arizona, and along with is coach Vern Wolfe migrated on to the University of Southern California where he set numerous national and world…
WHAT’S IN A TEAM? BY JERRY BOUMA What does it mean to be part of a team? This question suddenly posed to me by my long-time friend and former Villanova teammate Russ Ebbets the day I learned he was submitting to surgery to remove a brain tumour. It struck me that Russ's question arose in his hour of greatest need. Without question, he was at his most vulnerable. Would he survive? Would he emerge…
Recently we received a copy of Track Coach (issue 249) formerly Track Technique published by Track and Field News. We requested and received permission from Track and Field News to publish Editor, Russ Ebbets' column and another article by one of Russ's Villanova teammates, Jerry Bouma. Here is Russ's column. Jerry's piece will appear in our next issue. Thank you, Russ, for this memory of Brooks…
Statue of Harry Jerome in Stanley Park Vancouver, British Columbia " Races The Trials and Triumphs of Canada’s Fastest Family" By Valerie Jerome Perhaps you remember Harry Jerome? If not, let me remind you that he is an indelible part of Canadian track and field history if not Canadian history. But who was Canada's fastest family? Was it Percy Williams, Olympic 100 meters champ in 1928, or Ben…
Dave Perry (kneeling), Tom Von Ruden, James Metcalf, John Perry After 59 years, James Metcalf, John Perry, Tom Von Ruden, and Dave Perry were inducted into the OSU Hall of Honor recently. The Perry brothers and Jim Metcalf were present. Tom Von Ruden passed away in 2018. When I was at the University of Oklahoma we frequently ate their cinders in various races. It was always a great rivalry. Coming…
I'm reading a book titled "The Coming Wave" by Mustafa Suleyman co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence firms Deepmind and Inflection AI. I predict it will replace Fred Wilt's "How They Train". Fascinating read about what AI , Bio-Technology, robotics, and DNA research are up to and capable of doing and will do in the near future. The advances are so huge and mind boggling. A couple of…
This week I was almost intrigued by the promotion of the meet called Athlos, in the old Randall's Island stadium now called the Icahn Stadium in NYC. However I wasn't intrigued enough to remember to watch it. Gettin' old, I guess. But I did read about it and wondered how someone dreamed up this promotion. Personally I'm on burn out after the Olympics and Diamond League wrap ups. This concept of…