Saturday, March 26, 2011

Great Running Performances: Emil Zatopek


Great Running Performances: Emil Zatotek


By Jim Israel                           www.mistergripes.com

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.

Men, today we die a little.

What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.

….Emil Zatopek

There’s an ancient proverb that describes perfectly the life of Emil Zatopek:

         “Character Is Fate.”
Every aspect of this extraordinary life is informed by monumental perseverance, grit, discipline and integrity.

His early days were certainly not a harbinger of the great deeds to follow. Born in Koprivinice, Czechoslovakia, one of six children in a working-class family, Zopotek at 16 began working in the Bata shoe factory in a neighboring town. In 1940, when he was eighteen, Bata sponsored a 1,500-meter race; Zatopek was persuaded to enter the run even though he had no interest at all in running, and had, in fact, done no training. Nevertheless, out of 250 runners, Zatotek came in second. A career was born.

Within four years, Zatotek had broken Czech records for 2,000-, 3,000- and 5,000-meter distances. His running style became as well-known as his burgeoning running prowess: he threw everything into his running and this was reflected in his agonizing facial expressions. ‘Gangly, inefficient and unattractive’ were often-heard descriptions. Zatpotek couldn’t have cared less:

I shall learn to have a better style when they start judging races according to their beauty. So long as it’s a question of speed, then my attention will directed to seeing how fast I can cover the ground.

He may have looked ‘unattractive,’ but no one approached the intensity and duration of his work regimen. He’d train in any weather, and endure incredibly punishing routines – he was said to have done 400 meter intervals up to EIGHTY times in one training session. He would often jog in place for hours, reading a book, and even run 2-mile intervals with his wife on his back.

The 1948 Olympics in London made Zatotek: the celebrity and renown of “The Czech Locomotive” was now known around the world. He won a gold in the 10,000 competition and came in second in the 5,000 meter race. Though he lost the 5,000, here’s a description by an English announcer of Mr. Zatotek’s sheer determination during his stretch run:

“Blimey, the blighter’s cracked! The guy [Zatotek] is taking off after the Swede! Look how he runs, like he’s just swallowed some lye and had a wad of steel wool dropped down his shorts! His head rolls from side t’ side like a clapper in the bell on a ship in vomitous seas. This Zatotek is cracked! But he’s catching the bugger! How’s that for guts? Make up more than 20 meters in a half-a-lap. Stupid, but a hell of an athlete!”

Zatotek became an immortal during the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. He won three gold medals at three distances: the 5,000-meter race, the 10,000-meter race and the marathon, in a span of eight days. This feat will never be accomplished again. He achieved the trinity even though a doctor two months before the Games told him not to compete because of an ongoing gland infection. Zatotek was not to be denied.

1952: 5,000-meters:

“Four runners all within a bobbing head of each other. The crowd is frantic, howling wildly. Then the howls coalesce. They are screaming, “Za-to-PEK! Za-to-PEK!

From somewhere deep within, the Czech Locomotive has summoned the courage of the angels!”

Emil Zatotek didn’t intend to run the marathon in Helsinki. He hadn’t trained for that distance, and was not prepared for it. But three days after the 10,000 win, he announced his intention to run in the 26-mile competition. He knew very little about marathon strategy. So, he followed a simple plan: he would stick near a top competitor. [“I didn’t want to follow a nobody.”] The strategy worked: Emil Zatotek was on Brit Jim Peters’ tail for 25 kilometers and then ran away from the pack. He had never run a marathon before, yet shattered the Olympic record by 6 minutes.

Let’s finally look quickly at his overall racing career: he set 18 world records over distances from 5K to 30K, won four gold medals and one silver; at one point, over a span of six years, the great Zatotek won 38 consecutive 10,000-meter races, including 11 in one year.

Emil Zatotek was one for the ages.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Recipes for Runners


Green Tea Smoothies – Ami Hassler

10 ice cube
2 bananas, chopped
2 cups of milk or vanilla soy milk
1 tablespoon of honey
3 tablespoon of matcha ( the powdered form of green tea - available at Whole Foods near the coffee bar.  The brand is Rishi )

Throw it all in your blender

Michael Ring suggests freezing the banana and adding peanut butter – yum!!


Sesame Noodle Salad – Jennifer Bolstad

This one is a winner in my book because it incorporates all five of my favorite running-fuel-foods: peanut butter, pasta, peanut butter, peanut butter and peanut butter. So easy to make and it is delicious served hot or cold. And did I mention it has peanut butter in it?


16 oz linguine
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds*
1/4 cup sesame oil
2 Tbsp Chili garlic sauce or other hot sauce**
3 Tbsp creamy natural peanut butter, plus a little more if you're a fanatic
2 Tbsp honey
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
Pinch minced ginger or ground ginger
3 scallions, thinly sliced

Cook the pasta to al dente, adding the peas in the last minute or two. Drain.
Whisk together everything else in a large bowl. Add the noodles and peas and toss thoroughly.
Yum.

*Fairway and Sahadis sell untoasted sesame seeds in bulk, you can toast them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 325 for about 5 min
** I use the kind called "Tuong Ot Toi Vietnam" with a rooster on it a bright green lid. Asian spices aisle.

315 Pounds of Generosity

315 Pounds of Generosity

Thanks to the generosity of Cherry Tree racers, we filled three 55 gallon barrels with gently used running gear!!  For the cost of a pair of running sneakers per barrel, we will ship all of this gear to runners in Belize.   

Gwelda and Harry Fairweather express their sincere thanks and appreciation to the entire club.  On behalf of the Belize Amateur Athletic Association (BAAA), Gwelda and Harry acknowledge the generosity of Michael Ring, Tom Byrnes, Anne Perzeszty, Sandra & Natacha Ferrari (we were able to fill a whole barrel with the amount of sneakers and tee shirts they gave), Richard & Kathleen Weaver, Veronica Antoine, Maggie Deschamps, Frank Deleo, Doug Olney, Julio Zavala, Ken Locke and the entire Prospect Park Club.  As this list was compiled from memory (names weren’t recorded at gear drop-off), please accept sincere apologies and equal thanks if your name was not mentioned *here.  

Ian Gray, President of the BAAA also shares his thanks:  "On behalf of the BAAA and all
here in Belize we express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous contributions. 
The Govenment here will help us by allowing the barells to enter the country of Belize for free.  Once the barrels are here I shall take some photos with the runners and your donations. Once again many thanks from Belize."