Hello, shut-ins far and wide. As we all cope with the ongoing shelter-at-home lockdown, let’s go back in time some 40 years when the sport of road racing was still in its Boom years and we could all gather in great numbers with enthusiasm rather than concern.
Today, we take you back to Far Hills, New Jersey for the 1980 Midland Run 15K, one of the top road races of the era. The following is the race call from that May morning, featuring three New Jersey natives: my Runner’s Digest radio show co-host, the sadly departed Todd Miller; race director Bob Bright, who would go on to direct the Chicago Marathon in 1982 as it turned from a regional to an international-quality event; and 1976 Olympic steeplechaser Mike Roche.
Post-race interviews with a few athletes and Bob Bright follow as we discuss the future of the sport during a time when running was making its move into the Big Time and excitement levels were sky high. Enjoy.
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WANDERING IN A RUNNING WORLD 
Do you have any control over the advertisements on your page? The advertisement was for a “secret God anointing oil” that the socialistic Democrats don’t want you to know about. I would rather not support this kind of advertisement.
Didn’t realize that. The ads get placed in because the site is free. Guess it’s time to upgrade to the pay version which takes out the ads. Wonder if I could generate some donations?
Thanks for bringing it to my attention. TR
Great fun after a weekend of surgery and COVID. I really enjoyed hearing about my Ronald McDonald Club Providence teammate, Anne Sullivan; she came in sixth. Post-race interview still topical … “as a race director you look at runners as people.”
Hoping you are staying safe, Paul, doing the selfless work all you healthcare providers are doing. That Midland Run was really at or near the peak of the first running boom. Everyone and their brother was there. And Todd’s race call captured it beautifully. All the best. TR
At first I was like, no way am I going to listen to all this without any video, and then the race started and I was immediately sucked in. Love the partisanship in Bright’s call of the race urging Lindsay home. And what a field Midland attracted – both men and women.
Todd had a great exhuberance calling races, and Bob and Mike really added to the excitement. We were all riding the wave of the Boom back then.
Those were the days…