1976 Olympic Marathon Trials video with Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Don Kardong

Here is a video of the 1976 Olympic Trials Marathon. It is not the best quality, but seeing videos of these great runners of the 1970s is fun to watch.

This reunion flashback video is of a special movie made by Martin Darrah on the US men's Olympic Marathon trials in Eugene, Oregon. There is great footage and wonderful commentary by the leading runners in this race. The WVTC had 5 members who competed in this race. They were Don Kardong, Tony Sandoval, Chris Berka, Ron Zarate and Chuck Smead. Kardong would place third and make the team heading to Montreal. There is some fantastic slow motion video of Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers(1st and 2nd in this race) as well as Kardong and Tony Sandoval(who finished behind Kardong in 4th). Additional commentary can be heard from running author Joe Henderson.

From marathonguide.com 

Sat May 22, 1976 Eugene, OR 

Qualifiers: 87
Starters: 77
Finishers: 49

Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers ran virtually step for step at in what seemed to be a sub-2:10 pace until two or three miles from the finish Rodgers was affected by a leg injury and had to drop back. Shorter would become the first, and as of this writing only, man to win back to back Olympic Trials Marathons. Don Kardong would finish third in 2:13:54.

At the 1976 Olympics, Shorter would go on to win silver behind East German Wlademar Cierpinski who - in recent years - has been suspected of using performance enhancing drugs. Bill Rodgers led the Olympic Marathon in the early miles but fell back with the same leg injury that affected his Trials performance - he would however, rebound to handily win the 1976 New York City Marathon. Don Kardong in fourth place at the Olympics, missing the bronze medal by just three seconds.

1.	Shorter, Frank ( FL)	2:11:51
2.	Rodgers, Bill ( MA)	2:11:58
3.	Kardong, Don ( WA)	2:13:54
4.	Sandoval, Tony ( CA)	2:14:58
5.	Fleming, Tom ( NJ)	2:15:48
6.	Varsha, Bob ( GA)	2:15:50
7.	Bramley, John ( CT)	2:17:16
8.	Pfeffer, Kirk ( CA)	2:17:58
9.	Galloway, Jeff ( GA)	2:18:29
10.	Burfoot, Amby ( CT)	2:18:56
11.	Busby, Bob ( MO)	2:19:05
12.	Hatfield, Carl ( WV)	2:19:18
13.	Sudzina, Marty ( PA)	2:19:55
14.	Forrester, Perry ( CA)	2:20:01
15.	Kurrle, Ron ( CA)	2:20:18