Coffee with Larry, episode 757, June 24,2025, Grand Slam Track, Steve Miller, R.I.P.

Coffee with Larry, episode 757, June 24,2025

This is Coffee with Larry, a nearly daily podcast, now in episdoe 757.

We discuss many of the daily issues in our sport. The podcast is hosted by

Larry Eder, editor/publisher, co-founder at RunBlogRun.com.

All opinions are mine. If you do not like them, if you do not like my politics, then, do not

watch or listen. It is your right in this country, well, at least today.

Topics:

Grand Slam Track, how to manage expectations.

1. Kingston was prime example of issues that GST team had: lack of appreciation of Kingston, its culture and the calendar.

2. Miramar, smaller site, easier to manage, many good stories came out. Bednarek, Jefferson-Wooden, Kerr and as always,

Sydney McLaughlin.

3. Philly, cut to two days, cut distance section to one race and $50k, managed crowd, and TV seemed to be working.

4. LA cancelled, 10,000 tickets already sold, cancelation surprised some, question is whether Grand Slam Track can come back.

5. Managed cancellation with positive press releases, but until new sponsors come on, until TV deal is done, GST is up in air.

Steve Miller, coach, sports marketing guru, creator, thoughts on a man who inspired many

6. Coach at Bloom Township High School, 1965-1976, Cal Poly SLO, 1976-81, six years at K-State, where his

tenure was described as “transformational”, in resurrecting football and sports programs.

7. Miller’s athletes considered him inspirational.

8. I met Steve Miller in 1980 at Martin Luther King Games at Stanford, where he kept Mike Tomesello from pulling me off track

with lap to go in 10,000m, by telling Tomesello off color joke. I learned what happened twenty years later, always greatful to

Coach Miller for being able to finish first 10,000m on track ( I believe I did 24 races of 10,000m on track over years).

9. Steve Miller, with help of Keith Peters and Marc Bloom, presented NIKE athletes at Goteborgy 1995 in best PR by NIKE

ever. Daily briefings, daily interviews, content and food for media. Steve Miller was at his very best: telling great stories.

10. We will keep Steve Miller in our hearts and minds, and are thinking of his friends, family and athletes.

11. Keep John Capriotti and his family in your thoughts and prayers, his father, all of 96, passed last week. He had

run in first Illinois cross country high school champs, placing 16th.

Sponsor: OMIUS, the cooling tech company, www.omius.io, samples available for elite clubs.

Presented by: Brooks Running, sponsor of Runningnetwork, since 1990, www.brooksrunning.com,

See you tomorrow at #coffeewithLarry

Author

Larry Eder
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."
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