Gulf Winds serves Breakfast on the Track
The runners are heroic just to finish the four laps around the track (plus 9.34 meters). Fast or slow, going for records or just trying to go the distance, they’ll all be running a Mile.
By Herb Wills, Tallahassee Democrat
Gulf Winds Track Club hosts its 18th “Breakfast on the Track” one-Mile race at the Maclay School Track on Saturday morning, Aug. 15. Mid-August seems about the right time to do a Mile in Tallahassee, because it’s certainly the wrong time to go longer. No one is going to say, “Hey, Aug. 15 may very well be the hottest day of the year. I should plan on going after my best time in the marathon that day.” No one in their right mind would, anyway. Summer is a time for slower runs and shorter runs while you drink lots of water and wait for October and cooler air. A one-Mile race fits well into that strategy.
America has such a love affair with the Mile, though, that hardly any time of year could be considered wrong for a Mile on the track. Glenn Cunningham, Gil Dodds, Wes Santee and Jim Ryun were all American Milers and they were all household names in their day. Ryun went on to become a congressman. Bernie Sanders was the captain of his track team at Brooklyn’s James Madison High, where he ran the Mile. Sanders was never as fast as Ryun, but he did Ryun one better by being elected to the Senate.
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