The likes of Khalid Khannouchi, Steve Jones, Catherine Ndereba and Paula Radcliffe make me smile. As a member of the media, I have been fortunate to witness the world records of Khannouchi, Ndereba and Radcliffe in Chicago. I watched Steve Jones on TV.
World records are ephemeral. They are the unique moments when fitness, weather, competitiveness all come together and for once, perhaps twice, the athlete put the limits of the human body and spirit behind them. These athletes, for a second, like Icarus, have tried to touch the sun. In the case of the four record holders, in their world records, they touched the sun.
These are momentous occasions in the life of an athlete. They are also fleeting moments, part of the memories that give structure and meaning to an athletic life.
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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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