Hello Everyone,                                                                                                                                                      July 26, 2018            

     In this Issue:

  July 22, 2018

All Photos Here

All Results Here

http://www.waldenmbc.ca/

Ron Wallingford and his montage of marathon memories 2018-07-20 by Randy Pascal     Try as they might, future Sudbury-connected marathon runners are unlikely to ever surpass the resume that was compiled by long-time Laurentian University professor, Ron Wallingford. A native of Ottawa, the 84 year-old local resident amassed a varied list of athletic accomplishments, dating back to his time at Glebe Collegiate, where he excelled in gymnastics, football and hockey, among others. It was there that his friendship with teammate Frank Adams ultimately opened the door (or perhaps, more appropriately, the floodgates) to his running career. “Frank came to see me play football, so I told my mother I was going to watch Frank at the cross-country race, but I had signed up for the race,” Wallingford recalled recently. “It was a mile and a half race, but everyone was going so slow, I got fed up and took off, and nobody followed me. That was my start in running. I didn't take it really seriously until after high school.” By the time he arrived at the University of Michigan, Wallingford had no choice but to take it seriously. A Wolverines standout in both the 800m and 2-mile distances who would go on to captain the track team in his final year in Ann Arbor, the second youngest of eight children in the family really broke through in the steeple-chase, a somewhat obscure event, in North America, when he first started. “The Royal Canadian Legion used to run track clinics, and there was a former British steeple-chase champion I met, but I can't remember his name,” said Wallingford. “In my first steeple-chase, I must have sunk in around six inches on the water hazard. The next time or two I ran, I improved my time considerably.” In fact, he would hold the Canadian 3000m steeple-chase record for quite some time, representing the country at various international events. Over time, his racing distances would be stretched, though the lure of a long-time Hamilton tradition was far more pragmatic, at least initially, for Wallingford. “I started running Around the Bay race (a 19-mile distance) because they would give you money, if you won, that was taped to the back of the plaque,” he said with a laugh, noting the concerns, at that time, in trying to maintain an amateur status. From there, the 26-mile jaunt that is the marathon was not necessarily that much greater a stretch for the talented multi-sport athlete. The 1964 Boston Marathon would provide a coming out party for Wallingford, as he placed third overall, posting a time of 2:20.51, breaking the Canadian record by almost two minutes. “I remember quite a bit of that race,” he said. “I had not been doing marathon that long at all prior to Boston. Nobody knew me. The guy in first was well ahead, but I had two Finlanders with me. When I made my move, coming in to Boston, the crowds are so big along the sides, you don't know exactly where the finish line was. I was in second and made a move early, I didn't know how close I was to the finish line.” Wallingford would go on to don the maple leaf singlet at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1966 in Kingston, Jamaica (6th in marathon), and at the Pan American Games a year later in Winnipeg (6th in 10,000 – 31.02), enjoying many more elite level placings at Boston and elsewhere in the years that followed. Apparently, he is also not one to rest on his laurels. “I still get out, almost every day.” Quite the legacy, indeed.

 

 

Rocks!! Killarney Paddle Adventure

and Wednesday Run