a little history, a little humor

The O.J. of CCSF days… Probably no American athlete in the last 15 years has (and still is!) received more media attention than O.J. Simpson, NFL Hall of Famer and former USC Heisman Trophy winner. His name made the record books early on at City College of San Francisco where he was a member of the school’s national cc record 440-yard relay-40.9 in winning the 1966 West Coast Relays cc race. And he is still in the record books as a member of the USC world record 440-yard relay team which won the 1967 NCAA -38.6. Earl McCulloch, LBCC alum, and Fred Kuller, Santa Ana alum, were also members of that still-standing world record team.

Runner’s caffeine … “Every so often you’ll reach a plateau. Keep training. Nothing is  going to happen on its own. You have to make it happen. If you want to run mostly for fitness and fun, that’s fine. But if you want to be competitive, dedicate your life. Create a routine for training and sleep and stick to it-especially rest up for workouts.

-Julie Koll (Iowa State) 2008 NCAA 10,000 Champion, American collegiate 10k record-holder at 32:11

“Koll on a Roll” by Eric Wills, Running Times, October 2008

A historic marathon year…In August 1984, Jim Fixx, author of The Running Book- a national best seller for over a year, and one of the most famous joggers in America, went out for a run, suffered a massive heart attack, and died. Suddenly, doctors recommended moderate exercise. That year, the number of marathons in the U.S. dropped to 130 from an all-time high of 208 in 1980.

-The Unauthorized Story of NIKE and the Men Who Played There by J.B. Strasser and Laurie Becklund, Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1991