by RBR AdminWalt Murphy is one of the finest track geeks that I know. Walt does #ThisDayinTrack&FieldHistory, an excellent daily service that provides true geek stories about our sport. You can check out the service for FREE with a free one-month trial subscription! (email: [email protected] ) for the entire daily service. We will post a few historic moments each day, beginning February 1, 2024.
by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service ([email protected]), used with permission
This Day in Track & Field–October 26
1941–Italy’s Adolfo Consolini threw the Discus 175-0 (53.34) in Milan to break the 4-month old World Record of
174-8 3/4 (53.25) that was set by American Archie Harris. He would set two more World Records during his career, win 15 Italian titles, and compete in 4 Olympics, winning the gold medal in 1948 and silver in 1952. At the 1960 Games in Rome, at the age of 43, he recited the Athlete’s Oath at the Opening Ceremony before finishing 17th in the discus.
WR Progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men%27s_discus_throw_world_record_progression
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/71922
Wiki Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Consolini
1969—Ted Corbitt sets an American 100 Mile Track Record (From his son Gary)
On October 25 – 26, 1969, Ted Corbitt set an American Record for running 100 miles on the track. His time was 13:33:06 at age 50.
*The race was held at Walton-on-Thames in England.
*This race was 4 weeks after his 2nd place London-to-Brighton 52.5-mile effort
*Ted Corbitt finished 3rd in this race. The winner, Great Britain’s John Tarrant, set a World Record 12:31:10.
*The previous American Record held by an amateur was James Saunders February 21, 1882 at the American Institute Ring, New York indoors. His time was 17:36:14.
Ted Corbitt, a member of the National Hall of Fame, wrote the following about the race in a lengthy article that appeared in the December 1969 issue of Long Distance Log titled “The RRC Invitational 100 Mile Track Race for the Percy Cerutty Cup” here’s an excerpt:
“My 5-mile segments times through 50 miles were: 36:00, 1:12:07, 1:47:59, 2:24:26, 3:01:09, 3:38:02, 4:14:45, 4:52:49, 5:32:10 and 6:13:22 leaving me in 4 th place.
Fatigue manifestations will hit each man according to the way his body responds to the stress of running. Outwardly it is obvious that each runner gradually slows up. In this sense, fatigue is sneaky in such a race where breathlessness is not provoked to any great degree.
In my own fight to finish 100 miles, somewhere past 50 miles I became aware of a strange feeling encircling my knees, not pain but fatigued produced discomfort, a “beaten up” feeling. By 70 miles I had rubbed a lot of skin off the inner side of my thighs especially on the left side: due to friction of my shorts. This could have stopped me, but the alert refreshment team headed by Mrs. Peter Goodsell, who used to serve as handler for her running husband, located some Vaseline for me. A good smearing of Vaseline on my legs turned off all pain. I’m still amazed at this since I subsequently poured a lot of water on my body, via sponges, much of it dripping down my shorts. One odd thing is that my right wrist became very sore during the last two hours of the run. This was due to flexing and extending this wrist joint as I ran. That was the extent of my discomfort.”
Gary Corbitt
Curator: Ted Corbitt Archives
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association
Hall of Fame Bio: https://www.usatf.org/athlete-bios/theodore-ted-corbitt
1980—Making his debut at the distance, 22-year old Alberto Salazar won the Men’s race at the NY City Marathon in 2:09:41 in cold and windy weather. Salazar, the 1978 NCAA X-Country Champion, wore his University of Oregon uniform while fulfilling the promise he made to Race Director Fred Lebow that he would break 2:10 in his 1st marathon! Bill Rodgers, the 4-time defending champion, finished 5th in 2:13:20.
For the 3rd year in a row, Norway’s Grete Waitz won the Women’s title with a World Record performance (2:25:41.3/she ran 2:32:29.8 in 1978, 2:27:32.6 in 1979). Runnerup Patti Lyons-Catalano ran 2:29:33.6 to become the first American woman to break 2:30. 3rd in 2:34:24.9 was Waitz’s fellow Norwegian, Ingrid Kristiansen.
Winner of the Men’s Masters title was 41-year New Zealander Roger Robinson, making his marathon debut, with a time of 2:22:12. The husband of women’s pioneer Kathrine Switzer (they got married in 1987), Robinson, who has been covering the NY City Marathon as a journalist every year since 2000, shared his personal experiences with the event in 2020, which marked the 50th Anniversary of the race.
Other Notable Finishers:
Men: 2.Rodolfo Gomez (Mexico) 2:10:13, 3.John Graham (Scotland) 2:11:46, 4.Jeff Wells 2:11:59…9.Dick Beardsley 2:13:56…21.Jerome Drayton (Canada) 2:17:58
Starters/Finishers: 14,011/12,512; Men: 11,646/10,891, Women: 2,465/1,621
https://results.nyrr.org/event/801026/overview
https://results.nyrr.org/event/801026/finishers
Top-25: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_New_York_City_Marathon
Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Lh4kdbYKQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3qBsciCoZM
Past Winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_New_York_City_Marathon
Photo Gallery—NY City Marathon Through The Years
