Frank Shorter, In His Own Words
A little over a month ago, I put together an article compiled of a a series of quotations from Bill Rodgers in his book, Marathoning, published in 1980. A couple weeks later, I picked up a new book, Olympic Gold, A Runner’s Life and Times written by legendary runner, Frank Shorter, along with his co-author, Mark Bloom. This book was written and published in 1983-84, while Shorter was still actively training and competing. Shorter has published a memoir more recently, in 2016, but I wanted to go through this book first as it was written in the same time period as Rodgers’ book and I thought it would be another interesting insight from a primary source of that time. I plan to go through Shorter’s memoir soon, but for now, I wanted to let the 36-year old Shorter have his say.
Like the last article, I have tried to select quotations that mostly stand on their own, but I have added context in a few cases. Shorter’s book was organized in a more chronological fashion than Rodgers’ so I opted to let the quotations sit under their chapter titles instead of flowing them altogether. All quotations from Shorter are in italics and are taken directly from the text with their corresponding page number(s) following in parentheses. In a few cases, I replaced a pronoun with its proper noun for better clarity and those words will appear in bold. Moreover, any added context from me always appears in bold after the quotation.
I hope you all enjoy this second edition of hearing from another legend of sport.
Frank Shorter, in his his own words:
Chapter 1: MIDDLETOWN AND MOUNT HERMON
I had learned that I could set a goal and, by trying very hard, quite possibly succeed. (6)
I’ll play by the rules as long as I feel they’re sensible and fair. But when they’re not, I’ll look for altneratives. (6)
A whole bunch of us used to play a form of tag, and often I was the last kid to get caught. (12)
Teachers asked me why I was wearing sneakers, and I told them matter-of-factly that I was running to and from school… …It was 2 miles to school from home. (15)
Chapter 2: YALE
I’m probably eccentric myself. Perhaps one has to be to get anywhere, to disarm others in allowing you to take chances. (23)
This was Giegengack’s genius - his desire, and ability to teach you how to coach yourself… …Since college I’ve never had a formal coach. (24) Giegengack was Shorter’s coach at Yale.
I don’t think I ever ran more than 50 miles a week until late in my senior year, when I was running twice a day. (25)
Giegengack was wise enough to know you couldn’t tell a Yale athlete to do something without explaining why… (25)
In my first three years at Yale… …I didn’t really win anything big. (28)
…I think my adherence to the study ethic helped my running because I learned how much I had to put in to get what I wanted and at what point diminishing returns set in. (31)
Giegengack always kidded me about my aversion to running at daybreak. “A quarter to noon’s an early run for Frank.” (37)
I got the right blend of encouragement and reprimand from my coach. (39)
I beefed up my training by running twice a day four of five days a week for a total of 80 miles a week. (41) Shorter’s senior year running volume.
I tend to be an optimist, and I’ll usually draw something encouraging, or at least something not terribly discouraging, from a defeat. (41)
I never go into a race thinking I’m really going to win. (42)
Chapter 3: RUNNING FOR MY LIFE
…that’s what any runner who hopes to win major races must have -- the courage to put everything on the line in the middle of a race, and not be afraid to lose. (49)
I’ve never considered myself a nose-to-nose confrontational type… …but there comes a time when you have to try to persevere, to survive in a tough environment. (53)
One way for a runner to pick up some money was to exchange a plane ticket sent to you by a meet promoter for a reduced-fare ticket, pocketing the difference. (57)
Because of the low tuition for Florida residents, $240 a quarter, I was able to enroll in law school, which I pursued more for the intellectual exercise than out of any burning desire to become an attorney. (58) Shorter finished his law degree from the University of Florida after the Munich Games. The current in-state tuition for the University of Florida law school is $10,902 per semester.
Marathon runners, even if they have nothing in common other than their running, have much in common because of the profound experience of the marathon. (60)
…I ran my first serious marathon on June 6, 1971… …and at 16 miles I said… “...Why couldn’t Pheidippides have died here?” (62)
We ran twice a day, sometimes three times. Twenty miles a day, sometimes more. There were a couple 170-mile weeks, which is probably equivalent to 200 at sea level. (64) Preparing for the 1972 Olympics in Vail, Colorado (~8,000 feet)
At high altitude, as much as you try to maintain your leg speed, you can’t… …I sensed I needed ten days to two weeks at sea level to be at my best. (65)
It is almost impossible to be in peak form_twice_in the same season, especially in the distance events. (66)
Chapter 4: MUNICH: 1972
Gammoudi, though an Olympic Champion, seemed the type of person who didn’t think he could win unless everything went according to plan. Viren was going to win no matter what. (74) Shorter ran the 10K before the marathon in the Munich Games. In that race, Gammoudi and Viren fell early on. Viren recovered and went on to win gold.
There’s a certain abstraction to the Olympics, as though they are more of an idea than a thing. (74)
I wasn’t wearing a watch and paid no attention to the split times. (78) in the marathon.
I told myself to get as far ahead as I could because if I got far enough ahead, I honestly thought no one would catch me. (81)
More satisfying than victory itself is the anticipation of it. (83)
I was the first American since Johnny Hayes, in 1908, to have won it. (85) Shorter won gold in the 1972 Olympic Marathon.
The following quotes appear in the next chapter, but they are directly relevant to Munich.
The idea that my victory might carry some significance had not even crossed my mind… …marathoners were not to be taken seriously. They were nonconformists with strange daily habits. (88)
…I didn’t dwell on the victory… …I didn’t want people hanging around telling me how great I was. There’s always a chance you start to believe it. (89)
Chapter 5: MONTREAL: 1976
I didn’t mind being the favorite. It didn’t put any extra weight on me. I’d been the favorite in every marathon since Munich, against top fields, and had won them all… …There is a competitive advantage to being a distinct favorite. The other runners watch you, perhaps more than they should. (106)
There is a picture of me shrugging, somewhat apologetically, as I entered the stadium, clearly defeated. I was telling the crowd, which I knew had been pulling for me, “I’ve done all I could do. The guy beat me.” (112) Shorter finished 2nd to Waldemar Cierpinski in 1976. Cierpinski, while never stripped of his medal, would later be implicated, along with a myriad of other East Germany athletes, in a state-sponsored doping campaign that was brought to light in the 1990’s by Werner Franke.
In Munich, I felt good and the day was good.; in Montreal, I felt bad and the day was bad. (113)
Chapter 6: MOSCOW: 1980
It was a complicated and frustrating time for amateur athletes… …If we opposed the boycott, we were putting personal goals over national loyalty; if we supported the administration, we stood opposite other athletes… …weakening the strength and solidarity of the Olympic stance. (115)
I believe in the inherent goodness of the Olympics. Left alone, the Olympics is the most neutral stage we have. (116)
Finishing second in 1976 did not seem to affect my stature in American running… …After Montreal, I was preparing myself for life as a former Champion. (121)
I gave in… …on April 26, 1978, nine days after the Boston Marathon, the operation was performed. (125) Shorter had been dealing with a foot injury that he believes went back as far back as the winter before the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Shorter would be perennially plagued with complications from this injury and its surgery.
People were actually interested in what I did… …It took me awhile (sic) to get used to that… …the growing race fields and clinics brought me closer to people… …Olympic medals or not, I still wanted to get out of bed the next day and run. (126)
I’ve learned that when you have celebrity, people ascribe to you qualities you may not have -- talents, abilities, intelligence. (126-7)
I’ve always considered the act of running to be something to be developed with common sense, body feelings, and instinct, not with complicated formulas… ….I see myself as an average person who tries hard. (127)
Maybe the best solution would be to give the Olympics a permanent home… …My vote would go to Helsinki. (133)
Chapter 7: GETTING FIT
In the middle of that workout, at the height of his objection, I turned to Pre and said, “You know, nobody in the world is training harder than we are right now.” (137) Shorter’s response to Steve Prefontaine when complaining about the blizzard conditions on a run outside Taos, New Mexico at an altitude of 10,000 feet.
…a canon of running that has been critical to my success… …one that I believe is important for all runners who hope to achieve their potential: mental toughness… ….You have to be willing at times, to be in over your head. (139)
As runners, no matter what our ability, we are constantly seeking, and then treading, the fine line between running too much and running just enough. (139)
I’m not obsessed with competing or with winning. What I am obsessed with is training; I know that if I’m well trained I’ll compete well. (141)
When I look over my old training logs, I find that in the decade between 1970 and 1979 I_averaged_17 miles a day… ….That’s about 120 miles a week for ten years. (143)
I run twice a day Monday through Saturday and once Sunday, when I take my longest run of the week. (146)
I may race a lot, but I’ll train “through” many races and peak only for a chosen few. (147)
The more running you do the trickier the process of tapering off before competition… …I’ll cut my mileage by 25 percent before an important race, more before the Olympics… (152)
When it comes to children and running, I believe it’s not in a child’s best interest to train too hard before totally physical maturity… …The attention given to the competitive performances of children is disturbing… …it’s best for children to try different sports; when they’re ready they’ll choose what they feel they’re best at… (154-55).
Chapter 8: GETTING HURT
You feel good, then something suddenly hurts… …Injuries can be that way. They can creep up on you and turn your whole training world upside down. (162-63).
For someone who had run almost every day for ten years… …not running for weeks on end was very hard on me. (169)
When well, training comes first; when injured, getting well comes first. (174)
I’m way past the denial phase, able to face up to the reality that I may never be 100 percent again. (180)
Looking back, I think Ken Davis was on to something when he said that my “fundamental physiology” has been responsible for both my success_and_failure as an athlete… …The same personality -- independent, introverted, single-minded, self-reliant, self-confident, distrusting -- that enabled me to excel as an athlete in full health hindered me when I became an athlete in pain. (182)
Chapters 9-11: GETTING PAID, BEYOND RUNNING, LOS ANGELES: 1984
Certain runners nowadays seem to feel it’s more important to make money than run at their best. (207)
The worst thing he said was that I’d become so wrapped up in my running that I may have lost control of it. He was right. (217) Shorter reflecting on a profile written by Frank Deford prior to the Montreal Olympics.
There’s something special about wearing a USA uniform. You have to earn it, and once you do it invests you with a certain responsibility to carry yourself with dignity on and off the track. (223)
I do much of my interval training at the University of Colorado indoor track… …Running center that Boulder is, it doesn’t have a really good_outdoor_track. (226) I’m happy to report this is no longer the case. Boulder now has multiple outdoor tracks available for public use throughout the city.
My favorite event is the 10,000 meters, and that’s what I had hoped to run in Los Angeles… …By leaving the marathon for the 10,000 meters, I’m going against the trend. (227, 232)
As I go about my preparations for 1984, I know I’m coming upon the Olympics for the last time as a prospective competitor… …this will be my last possible Olympics, the last one the old legs will have a shot at. (244-45) Unfortunately, Shorter would not represent the U.S. in the 1984 games.
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Source:
Shorter F, Bloom M. Olympic Gold, A Runner’s Life and Times. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company; 1984.
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