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I have just come across your club website and after all these years thought it would be good to add to your club history, especially as it seems that Tal Morrison, whom I remember so well is still an important person in the club. I’m not sure if he will remember me but if so please pass on my best wishes to him.
I was a member of the then Dallas Cross Country Club for two years from 1970 to 1972. As an Australian I had been awarded a track scholarship at what was then Dallas Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University). Coming from a strong distance running background in my hometown of Melbourne I was keen to get some competition on the roads and in late 1970 joined your club. From memory I ran five or six races at White Rock Lake which were then held monthly and organized by Tal, a delightful, dedicated and hard working President.
At the time there was a choice of the 11.1 mile Round the Lake or 6 mile run. Looking at your web site it seems that the round the lake race still exists but is now a 15K; I do remember I loved this particular event as it was so scenic and a great race. Though I won each of the events I competed in I recall that in one Round the Lake in early November 1971 I had a tremendous tussle for the first five miles where two of us went “hammer and tongs” until one of us gave in. We covered the first five miles in just over 25 minutes and with my untied shoelace flapping in the breeze for four miles I simply couldn’t stop.
Eventually I managed to get away and after being “out of sight” around one of the many corners quickly tied up my shoelace. I stayed ahead of my rival to win in 58.15…27 seconds shy of Jim Crawford’s race record and the time was a reflection of the great competition. The next month in a solo effort I was very proud to break Jim’s Round the Lake record by 20 seconds in 57.28. A couple of months later I also broke his 6 mile record with a 31.15 but the Round the Lake effort was the one I was so pleased with as it was held by such a great athlete.
As a college athlete on scholarship it was difficult to manage more races than what I had with your club but I thoroughly enjoyed each one and the friendly, social atmosphere that accompanied each. I managed to bring along a number of my fellow American college teammates and introduce them into the world of long-distance road running…which contributed towards their fitness and our team performance. As track & field co-captain and cross country captain and coach training runs around the lake (two X 11.1 mile laps once a week in hard training) formed an important part of our program.
After my two years in Dallas I moved to Vancouver, Canada where I continued running at University and then for many years until my early 50’s. I had a successful running career which included many years in veterans (now called Masters) athletics with Canadian, Australian and world titles.
I have no doubt had I remained in Dallas that I would have been a regular participant in your club’s races.
I am pleased to see that the club continues so successfully today and hope that I have been able to add to your many years wonderful history. Should I have the opportunity in the near future I would be delighted to witness one of your club events.
Last revised March 28, 2008
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