Frank Shorter: My Marathon:Reflections on a Gold Medal Life

Frank Shorter has always been one of my heroes in the running world. I watched him win the Olympic Marathon in Munich on our family's television and fretted along with the announcers when an impostor ran into the stadium ahead of him trying to steal his Olympic glory. I started running cross-country the next year when I began high school. I bought the first book written about him, by John Parker of  "Once a Runner" fame, in 1973 from Runner's World. I was one of the less than 1000 people who ran in the 1975 Falmouth Road Race which has been described as the start of the road racing running boom along with Frank Shorter in my hometown. I used a quote I found from Frank Shorter in a Sports Illustrated article as my high school yearbook quote in 1977 and I followed his career though the years.

On his way to winning the 1975 Falmouth Road Race

I bought a copy of his first autobiography when it first came out it 1984: Olympic Gold: A Runner's Life and Times, so I wasn't too keen to shell out the bucks when a new autobiography from Frank Shorter came out this year, particularly when I started hearing about the many factual mistakes in the book that an editor should have caught and corrected. So I sort of ignored getting a copy of the book My Marathon: Reflections of a Gold Medal Life until I noticed that the Kindle edition of the book was only $2.99 (compared to the hardcover price of $26 on Amazon). I knew that the book would have new information on the abuse charges that Frank had been recently discussing in relationship to his father and I wanted to hear what Frank had to say so I splurged the small amount of cash needed to buy it and downloaded a copy.

Many years ago at Fitness University
in Nashua, NH with Frank
and two of my children.

I enjoyed reading Frank's new book even though most of his reflections were about stories I was already well aware of (still worth reading again): his Olympic gold medal run, his reflections on Steve Prefontaine, particularly as Frank was the last person to see Pre alive, and his silver medal run in the 1976 Olympics and his wonderment and concerns about the surprise winner Waldemar Cierpinski and the much later confirmations that this runner was doped up by the East German sports machine. The book also touches on other issues that Frank was involved in including the rise of professionalism in the sport and the anti-doping measures that Frank is so tightly tied to. Then there is the hovering story of his abusive father and the effect on Frank and his siblings and how he quietly dealt with this throughout his life and eventually started opening up to the public about his father.

After a run with Frank in Hollis, NH about 20 years ago.

Most of the stories here are like a greatest hits of his career. A runner who hasn't lived through the events of Franks life through the books, running magazines, and races that he has run may find the telling of his life interesting and I would say necessary if you are a runner. Those of us from the road running glory days will appreciate the new angle on things, but will also realize that Frank can't write about all the races that he has run that are missing in this book.  Probably due to how Frank has compartmentalized his life due to his childhood experiences and his schooling as a lawyer, this book is reflective of the facts and how they all fit together. As much as Frank thought out how he would win the gold medal, and planned and trained for that, in Munich, his writings give an outline of his experiences in races and in transforming running into the sport it is today. On the other hand, Frank doesn't write as much about his feelings, nor does he give much insight into the internal struggles that he may have faced. And this is to be expected.

My signed copy of The Frank Shorter Story

I won't write about the many factual mistakes in the book except to relate two that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere and in particular, these two mistakes refer to my hometown Falmouth Road Race. The section of the book that refers to the running of the 1975 Falmouth Road Race refers to it as the inaugural edition of the race and talked about the cream of the running Boston running community running it along with about 100 citizen racers. The 1975 race was the third running of the race in Falmouth, not the first, and there were about 800 racers.  As a fifth grade teacher, I just have a minor quibble about a sentence mentioning Falmouth, "...the Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod." We say, "On Cape Cod!" There are many other errors in the proofreading of this book that should be corrected, but they are documented elsewhere.

Frank signed this for my class a few years ago, then looked
at it, laughed, and rewrote the message in a different way
on another board.

I do find that as a reader who knows Frank's stories that the new book updates with a new perspective of him that you might not find in older sources. I recall reading years ago about his small town family doctor father and Frank's large family thinking how charming and blessed he was with his upbringing, only to find out later that he dad was a monster and the happy family story was only an illusion. I remember reading about how Frank trained in Taos, New Mexico for the Olympics and reading how his father use to trail behind him in a car with a rifle due to Frank having a run in with some locals, but then reading that story in a different light with the revelations about his dad.

This book is well worth a read in finding out how a champion athlete trains and thinks and would recommend that you read it particularly while it is now selling at Amazon for only $2.99 for the Kindle version.

I have already started to read another running Kindle version bargain that I also bought and this one was only $1.99: First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rule Breakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever by Amby Burfoot. While I may have grown up running races far behind the greats of running like Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers, I saw more closely the struggle and growth of the first women to break down the barriers that held women back in sports and it is good to read about the history of many of these women that I have met, run with (or behind), and watched as they broke down the barriers holding them back.

Meb for Mortals is only $2.99 on the Kindle.

14 Minutes: A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life Alberto Salazar's autobiography is only $1.99. My review of that book is here.

2015 Falmouth Road Race: Top Male Finisher Photos

Lead pack running together up Heights Hill: Sam Chelanga, Leonard Korir, Stephen Sambu, and Micah Kogo.

Stephan Sambu would pull away for the win.

6th place finisher Daniel Salel

7th place Aaron Braun

8th place Chris Derrick

10th place Meb Keflezighi

11th place George Alex

12th place Zachary Hine

13th place Chris Kwiatkowski

14th place  Christopher Stadler

15th place Bo Waggoner

16th place Eric Ashe

17th place Eric McDonald

18th place Sean Duncan

Here is a video of author Paul Clerici as he talks about the history of the Falmouth and his book History of the Falmouth Road Race.

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2015 Falmouth Road Race: Top ElliptiGO Finishers

Some of the top finishers at this year's Falmouth Road Race are also ElliptiGO riders. Here are some photos I took on Heights Hill near the finish line of these athletes. Nine of the top 17 female runners have done some training on the ElliptiGO. I put a * next to those who are more casual riders. Three of the top twelve men have trained on an ElliptiGO.

2nd place female Sara Hall

4th place Neely Gracy

5th place* Amy Cragg

7th place Alexi Pappas

10th place Liz Costello

12 place Stephanie Dinius and 14th place Clara Santucci

16th place* Katie Dicamillo

17th place* Meghan Peyton

8th place Chris Derrick

10th place Meb Keflezighi

12th place* Zach Hine

170th place Brian Baker-3rd from left (6th age group) ran his 37th consecutive Falmouth Road Race
in the exact time 45:10 that he did 37 years ago in his first Falmouth at 17 years old.
Brian started supplementing his training with the ElliptiGO this winter and it is
paying off for him with faster times and healthier running.

Frank Shorter (no shirt) won Falmouth in 1975 and 1976.
Last year I talked with him about riding the ElliptiGO. Frank has one!

Here is my post on the top ElliptiGO races at last year's Falmouth Road Race and Falmouth Mile (which was not held this year).

I finally got a chance to start reading Paul Clerici's new book History of the Falmouth Road Race. I just take photos for fun since I can't run anymore, but I am thrilled to see that four photos I took of the race last year are included in the book.

And of course, this is how I get to my spot on Heights Hill where I photograph the race.
I grew up about a half mile from the finish line and ran this hill and these roads
hundreds and hundreds of times!

History of the Falmouth Road Race by Paul Clerici: Wheelchair Competition

(On July 6, 2015, the first-ever book entirely about the Falmouth Road Race was published. Entitled “History of the Falmouth Road Race,” it is written by Massachusetts runner and writer Paul C. Clerici, author of “Boston Marathon History by the Mile” and “History of the Greater Boston Track Club.” In a series for Recover Your Stride, he has provided some anecdotes, tales, and tidbits that will run here on a regular basis leading up to the 43rd edition of the Falmouth Road Race on August 16.)

Paul C. Clerici: Wheelchair competition at the Falmouth Road Race began for the men in 1975 and for the women in 1979. Bob Hall, Natalie Bacon, and Craig Blanchette have each won the most races overall with eight apiece. Hall dominated Falmouth with the first eight titles from 1975 to 1982. Bacon also was untouchable as she won the first eight titles from 1979 to 1986. And Blanchette won his eight crowns in 1991, 1992, 1995 to 1998, 2000, and 2010. Amazingly, 19 years separate his first and eighth victory!

Jim Hansen: My first Falmouth Road Race was in 1975 and I remember Bob Hall racing in his wheelchair quite vividly. He started with all the runners and as I headed down the hill from the wooden bridge on Church Street towards the ocean, I suddenly heard a loud cry, "On your left!" and I moved out of the way as Bob Hall came hurtling down the road in his metal wheelchair. 

Here is a photo I took of Bob Hall after the 1980 Falmouth Road Race.

Here is a photo I took of James Senbeta winning the 2014 Falmouth Road Race.

Here is my photo of Tatyanna McFadden winning the 2014 Falmouth Road Race.
Other 2014 photos can be found here. 

Paul C. Clerici: In the Falmouth Road Race, there have been 12 course records set in the men’s open division (Gilbert Okari’s 31:08 in 2004 is the current CR); 13 course records in the women’s open division (Lornah Kiplagat’s 35:02 in 2000 is the current CR); 18 course records in the men’s wheelchair division (James Senbeta’s 23:32 in 2014 is the current CR); and eight in the women’s wheelchair division (Tatyana McFadden’s 27:06 in 2014 is the current CR). And interestingly in regard to international wins, while there have been 32 in the men’s open division and 25 in the women’s open division, there has only been one international winner in the men’s wheelchair division (from France in 1994) and only one international winner in the women’s wheelchair division (from Finland in 2006) - all other wheelchair wins have come from Americans.

I met Paul last year and was thrilled to find out that he was writing a book on the history of The Falmouth Road Race. This is the one of many tidbits from the race that he will be providing my blog in anticipation of this year's Falmouth Road Race. If you are like me and enjoy reading background information and hearing the history of the great runners and races from the "running boom" years, you might want to do a few things in anticipation of reading Paul's upcoming book.

My blog has a lot of photos and information on the early days of the Falmouth Road Race. The first year that I ran was the historic 1975 race. You can read about it here. Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher tells about the runners and the races that made the "running boom" and the 1975 Falmouth Road Race plays a pivotal role. You can read my review here. Paul has written other books on running including Boston Marathon History by the Mile and History of the Greater Boston Track Club I am very much looking forward to reading Paul's new book on The Falmouth Road Race.