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by Walt Murphy’s News and Results Service (wmurphy25@aol.com), used with permission
This Day in Track & Field–September 25
1977—The winners at the inaugural Mayor Daley Marathon in Chicago were Americans Dan Cloeter (2:17:52) and Dorothy Doolittle (2:50:47). Cloeter would win again in 1979.
(From the Looking Back link below)
Just a few miles into what was then the Mayor Daley Marathon, Dan Cloeter came to a halt. He and the other lead runners had been striding over a narrow bike path in Chicago’s Lincoln Park near Lake Michigan when they hit a traffic jam.
‘You could hardly have two people running side by side on this path,’ Cloeter recalls.
It was essentially an out-and-back route, and those at the front were suddenly running against the tide of slower runners coming from the opposite direction. It wasn’t an ideal situation for a race with 4,200 starters.
“There wasn’t a motorcycle or bicyclist, you know, yelling, ‘Be careful, the lead runners are coming!’ Cloeter says. “I remember several times along a 2- or 3-mile stretch where I came to a complete stop.”
The race, now known as the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, grew over the years to become one of the largest in the world, now drawing upwards of 50,000 entries.
Looking Back (2017): https://www.motivrunning.com/recalling-inaugural-chicago-marathon/
(The photos referenced in the above article are no longer available)
https://www.journalgazette.net/sports/rec/20171008/runner-looks-back-at-first-chicago-race
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-09-19-0209190355-story.html
A First Look: https://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2012/10/03/how-i-won-the-marathon
Winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_Chicago_Marathon
1983—Paul Cummings set a World Record of 61:32 for the ½-Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. He was the 1974 NCAA Champion in the Mile while competing for Brigham Young.
https://more.arrs.run/runner/3808
https://www.mormonwiki.com/Paul_Cummings:_Mormon_Athlete
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at runblogrun…