Remembering The First Race

Castro Valley High School in 2022.  We ran on a clay track back then.  Today, it is an all-surface weather track.
 

It was Saturday, March 2, 1968.  At the time, living in Hayward, I went to San Lorenzo High School.  It was our first track meet of the season and we went to Castro Valley for an Invitational meet.

 

The weather was cloudy and breezy.  It threatened to rain several times but held off to very late in the day.

 

The invitational had roughly 15 schools throughout the East Bay.  That didn't matter.  It was getting ready to run.

 

Back in the 1960s, high schools in America were still running events in yards and miles.  During the 1968 track season, I would be alternating between the mile and two mile in meets.  In this event, it was the mile.

 

The result of the race was disappointing for me.  The hope was running five minutes with four laps at 1:15 apiece.  The wheels came out with about 660 yards to go.  The legs felt like lead.  It was like the mind was willing but the legs were weak!  A 1:15 third lap ended up as a 1:23.  The final lap was 1:22, not better at all.

 

Fortunately, I wasn't the last runner to finish.  Two runners were roughly 150 yards back when I finished.  However, it felt embarrassing.  

 

My distance coach was positive about the whole thing though.  He had a program for the distance runners and he felt we were right on schedule.  As it turned out, we were.

 

Our school won the regular season and league meets that year.  Though I fell short by roughly four seconds in the mile, the distance improved to four minutes and 54 seconds.  Next year could not come soon enough.