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| | Tuesday, January 25 | |||||
Special to ESPN.com | ||||||
Hicham El Guerrouj is a fantastic runner; we all must agree on that. I have
to confess, however, that the unbeatable world record holder in the mile has
lost some of his luster in my eyes, now that I have heard of someone better.
Another grand stunt that I wish the Fargo Forum would verify is the goal of Jerry Dunn to run 200 marathons in the year 2000. The toughest part of the challenge, one would think, is that there are not 200 marathons available to run in one year. Dunn has surmounted that obstacle by deciding to include training runs as part of his total. He calls them, "solo treks, all on certified marathon courses and all witnessed for official verification." Dunn, who lives in Spearfish, S.D., promotes this venture, and his sponsors, with a website called "marathonman.org." A skilled practitioner of public relations, he has even earned a full feature story in USA Today and mention in the U.S. Congressional Record, as well as an appearance on the Today Show. I shouldn't forget to mention that the city of Chicago presented him with its official flag, and Indianapolis and West Virginia both have declared "Jerry Dunn Days" in connection with his earlier ventures. These have included running the Boston Marathon for 26 days straight and New York for 29 days straight, as well as a "world record" 104 marathons in 1993. Craig Masback called him "a symbol and challenge for all of us." Certainly, the good folks at America's newspaper checked out his story, as would any great reporter (see Eugene Fitzgerald, above). They even included a plug for his favorite endurance supplement. In Dunn's case, we can rest assured that his quest is legitimate, because the U.S. Mega-Marathon Association has already declared that it will ratify his 200 marathons as a world record at the end of the year. Thank goodness the USMMA jumped in, because the folks at Guinness have rudely told Dunn to go fish. I failed in my attempts to find any additional information on the Mega-Marathon Association, but I refuse to let that cast aspersions on Dunn's achievement. "It's a personal challenge I've taken on and people will have to take my word for it," insists Dunn. If that's what it takes to be a hero these days, I wish Dunn all the best. The mailbag Bill Anderson: "I have no idea whether or not your race rankings are 'correct' (whatever that would mean), but I must admit I sure enjoy reading about them!" Greg Kuhl: "Excellent job on the Top 100. It's obvious you did a ton of work and your efforts should be commended. An old college buddy and close friend to this day was in the 1976 Olympic steeplechase. Tony said he didn't think it should have been ranked as high as fourth, but he was glad it was." Stephen Owen: "Thanks for your competition rankings! Somehow I guessed the No. 1. I was 15, and I remember the shock when I heard the news of the 10,000 on the radio when I woke up the morning after. Billy Mills was then a virtual unknown, not given a chance of even being close to the leaders. "Somewhere I read a great story about the 1956 Olympic Hammer: To psyche out his Russian opponents, Connolly went out to the warm-up field very early the morning of the final and made holes with his hammer, giving the impression of monster practice throws. It worked!"
Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News,
is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail
at michtrack@aol.com.
| ALSO SEE Track: Mills' race was century's best Track: Spring beckons -- in January Track: Sprint stars in a spat Track: Lewis bashes sport that honors him Track: Saving America's lost talents Track: Have Olympic hopes? Join the club Track: Rankings don't rate well Track: Agents need PR training Track: A little help from her friends Track: How low can Loroupe go? Track: Show Szabo the money  | |||||
