History and Background

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I will try everyday to bring you a new profile of a runner. The runner will alternate from old to new each day. I hope this will bring you some inspiration and give you some history of this great sport. On every Sunday I will change from the profile of a runner to a specific running event in history. This will hopefully bring you a knowledge of the sport. After all how else can we grow as runners without knowing the past. Today the runner of choice for the web site is Frank Shorter.

Frank Shorter was the last American male to win a major championship distance race. He gained the gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Frank Shorter took the lead with a surge and received a 30 meter gap on the lead pack. The lead pack did not even go after him. This was a mistake. For he knew that he was going to win at the 17 mile mark of the 26.2 mile race. He had a minute lead at this point and ended up with a two minute win at the end of the race. Frank went into this race as a basic unknown. The field did not worry about him taking off on his surge because they thought he would die and fall back.

After this race Frank became a national icon. He is credited for the running boom that occurred in our nation. He was a big factor in this but not the only one. Frank was the one who put the final push to the rolling stone that sent this nation running.

The reason Frank Shorter won was because he had confidence. Even though nobody knew who he was. Frank knew who he was. He was Frank Shorter who had dedicated his life to his goals and now it was going to be his day to show the world who Frank Shorter is.


	Running History \| home History and Background \| Motivational Quotes and Stories. \| High School Page \| Great Running Links \| Contact Me History and Background I will try everyday to bring you a new profile of a runner. The runner will alternate from old to new each day. I hope this will bring you some inspiration and give you some history of this great sport. On every Sunday I will change from the profile of a runner to a specific running event in history. This will hopefully bring you a knowledge of the sport. After all how else can we grow as runners without knowing the past. Today the runner of choice for the web site is Frank Shorter. Frank Shorter was the last American male to win a major championship distance race. He gained the gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Frank Shorter took the lead with a surge and received a 30 meter gap on the lead pack. The lead pack did not even go after him. This was a mistake. For he knew that he was going to win at the 17 mile mark of the 26.2 mile race. He had a minute lead at this point and ended up with a two minute win at the end of the race. Frank went into this race as a basic unknown. The field did not worry about him taking off on his surge because they thought he would die and fall back. After this race Frank became a national icon. He is credited for the running boom that occurred in our nation. He was a big factor in this but not the only one. Frank was the one who put the final push to the rolling stone that sent this nation running. The reason Frank Shorter won was because he had confidence. Even though nobody knew who he was. Frank knew who he was. He was Frank Shorter who had dedicated his life to his goals and now it was going to be his day to show the world who Frank Shorter is.