Wednesday, April 26, 2017

1975 Peach Bowl Marathon

1975 Peach Bowl Marathon
It has been a long while since I've posted some "results from the attic" to Trouble Afoot! So, to end that drought, here's the 1975 Peach Bowl Marathon, as the Atlanta Marathon was known back then.


The results were mailed out to participants after the race, probably after an original was pounded out on an electric typewriter and then run through a copying machine. Perhaps a mimeograph was involved. The 1970s were long before the era of "check our website for live results!" I don't have the envelope that my copy of the results came in, but I can guarantee you that it wasn't postmarked the same day as the race.


If you're from that era, some of the names of athletes will be familiar, even if you haven't seen those names for a few decades. The club names are also historically interesting. Hey, there's the Northwest Florida Track Club, the Atlanta Track Club, the Gulf Winds Track Club, and the Florida Track Club. Those organizations are still around today. Is the Kentuckian Cinder Club still a thing? If not, the world is a poorer place. Hey, the University of the South had a marathon team!


The results came with these "Race Notes:"

The 1975 Peach Bowl Marathon was won by 21 year old Penn State University runner George Christopher, in the time of 2:17:49. This was the second fastest time ever run on the difficult Atlanta Peach Bowl course. Neil Cusack ran it in 2:16:18 in 1971 to set the course record. Cusack's performance was run on a slightly different course which was approximately 200 yards longer than the present certified course. Christopher led from the start and won by a wide margin over second place finisher Charles Trayer, 2:25:20, who also hails from Pennsylvania.

The race was run in excellent marathon weather, 40° F, overcast, and 10 mph winds from the northeast. 62 runners finished under three hours for the best quality marathon ever run in the Southeast. Jeff Galloway won the 12.7 mini-marathon in his first "workout" since his 2:19:59.4 performance two weeks before in the Honolulu marathon. Other exceptional performances included Harold Tinsley, Sr., (39) of the Huntsville Track Club in the time of 2:33:32, and Ken Winn (38) of the Atlanta Track Club in 2:34:21. Gayle Barron continued her fine marathon running with 2:57:11, and called her race a hard workout. A surprise performance was turned in by Lisa Lorrain with a time of 3:08:14 in her first marathon and only her third race of over 10 miles. The Atlanta Track Club won the team title, followed by the Kentuckian Cinder Club. Westminster School provided the excellent facilities and the Atlanta Police Department gave the best protection and traffic control that could have been asked for.

This was just a few years after women were allowed in the Boston Marathon, but from the notes it's clear that at least two women athletes were among the finishers of the Peach Bowl Marathon. It isn't clear exactly how many of the 121 marathoners were women, though, because sexes aren't indicated in the results. The same is true of the "mini marathon"--names and times are designated, male and female aren't.


The race was on a two-lap course that finished on the Westminster School track. The track was in a depression, and it wasn't much fun hiking out of that hole if you were a fifteen-year-old who had just finished struggling through his first marathon. Trust me on this; I was that fifteen-year-old. The loop was quite hilly. I understand that when the marathon moved to a new course, the Atlanta Track Club sold this one to Six Flags to use as a roller coaster.


Run on various courses going back to around 1960, this was probably the oldest marathon in the South. Eventually Atlanta Track Club moved it to Thanksgiving Day, the half marathon outgrew the marathon, and then the marathon was dropped. But in 1975 the Peach Bowl Marathon was doing fine. Just look at the results and see for yourself.


1975 Atlanta Peach Bowl Marathon
  1. 2:17:49, George Christopher (Nittany Valley TC & Penn St. Univ) 21
  2. 2:25:20, Charles Trayer (Appalachian AC) 21
  3. 2:27:12, Terry Gallagher 30
  4. 2:27:53, Bob Thurston (Washington Runners Club) 31
  5. 2:29:38, Carl Bechdel (Nittany Valley TC) 21
  6. 2:31:38, Gary Hill (U.S.C. Track) 20
  7. 2:32:24, Dennis Spencer (ATC) 23
  8. 2:32:44, Kerry Mayer (Univ. of Wisc) 29
  9. 2:32:59, Tommy Raynor (ATC) 25
  10. 2:33:32, Harold Tinsley, Sr. (Huntsville TC) 39
  11. 2:34:21, Ken Winn (ATC) 38
  12. 2:36:02, Davy Collins (Kentuckian Cinder Club) 22
  13. 2:36:19, Benji Durden (Athens TC) 24
  14. 2:36:37, Steve Hall (Knoxville TC) 23
  15. 2:37:33, Craig Harms (Lake Erie AA) 25
  16. 2:38:40, Jim Eastman (Troy TC) 19
  17. 2:38:51, Bill Olrich (Kentuckian Cinder Club) 40
  18. 2:39:53, Lee Cohee (Fla. TC) 34
  19. 2:40:29, Chris Elliot 23
  20. 2:41:04, Kevin Harper (Univ. of the South) 22
  21. 2:43:05, Bob Dalton (West Point) 22
  22. 2:43:24, Bill Caldwell (Vanderbilt TC) 20
  23. 2:43:45, Herb Wills (Gulf Winds TC) 15
  24. 2:43:56, Dave Sexton (Kentuckian Cinder Club) 18
  25. 2:43:56, John Lowe (Oglethorpe Univ.) 19
  26. 2:44:08, Bill Gates (Opelika TC) 31
  27. 2:44:12, Jim Dunaway 18
  28. 2:44:14, Dave Whybrew 29
  29. 2:44:25, Brian Clifford 33
  30. 2:47:36, George Conn, Jr. (E. Tenn. TC) 40
  31. 2:47:57, Grady Silver (ATC) 45
  32. 2:49:55, Gene Weiss (Kentuckian Cinder Club) 27
  33. 2:50:10, Dale Erickson (N. W. Fla. TC) 19
  34. 2:50:20, Gary Gayman (Augusta AA) 17
  35. 2:50:38, Ken Byers (ATC) 32
  36. 2:50:45, Alex McNeil (ATC) 31
  37. 2:50:52, James Oakes (Augusta AA) 27
  38. 2:51:16, Joe Fowler (Douglasville) 24
  39. 2:51:39, Glyn Williams 47
  40. 2:52:09, Jimmy Chandler 19
  41. 2:52:25, Tim Singleton (ATC) 39
  42. 2:52:58, Jim McFadden (Iowa AC) 36
  43. 2:53:06, Felton Wright (Univ. of the South) 18
  44. 2:53:16, Patrick Newberry (USMC) 20
  45. 2:53:20, Bill Neace (ATC) 45
  46. 2:53:31, Richard Rome (Hutchinson) 41
  47. 2:53:37, Daneil Sims 18
  48. 2:53:43, Wynn Englisbe (Columbia TC) 27
  49. 2:54:05, Steve Corner 34
  50. 2:54:06, Richard Haviland (Chatt. - Knoxville TC) 29
  51. 2:54:12, Stephen Hodge (Gulf Winds TC) 18
  52. 2:54:28, John Riddle 25
  53. 2:55:16, Tom Perry 30
  54. 2:55:23, Frank Clark (Statesboro TC) 35
  55. 2:55:33, Dave Fields (Columbus TC) 34
  56. 2:56:27, Paul Mingo (ATC) 26
  57. 2:56:35, David Goggins (Chatt. TC) 29
  58. 2:57:11, Gayle Barron (ATC) 30
  59. 2:57:12, William Mashburn 20
  60. 2:57:27, Jeff Sharp (ATC) 17
  61. 2:58:29, Ben Barron (ATC) 32
  62. 3:00:14, John Glenn (Univ. of the South) 21
  63. 3:00:38, Howard Dial (ATC) 34
  64. 3:00:54, Charles S. Gibson (Chatt. TC) 40
  65. 3:00:58, Jim Haddle (Douglasville) 35
  66. 3:01:01, Mike Ridge (Charlotte TC) 27
  67. 3:02:08, C. P. Thomas, Jr. (Columbia Runners) 40
  68. 3:03:20, Hugh Toro (West Ga. Coll.) 21
  69. 3:04:06, Richard Fritz (Hartford TC) 26
  70. 3:06:19, Jack Lansford (West Point Mar. Team) 19
  71. 3:07:03, Elliott Galloway (ATC) 55
  72. 3:07:30, James Unger (ATC) 25
  73. 3:07:32, James King, Jr. 35
  74. 3:08:07, Phillip Limonciello (ATC) 34
  75. 3:08:14, Lisa Lorrain (ATC) 20
  76. 3:08:17, Lennet Daigle (Columbia TC) 27
  77. 3:10:03, Gus Davis (ATC) 54
  78. 3:10:07, Arthur Williams (Greenville TC) 32
  79. 3:10:54, Roger Sayer (Lockheed (Glerc)) 40
  80. 3:10:55, Bill Horton (Glerc) 45
  81. 3:11:11, Winston Howell (Troy TC) 33
  82. 3:12:34, Frank Van Middlesworth 20
  83. 3:14:30, Roland Anspach 49
  84. 3:15:11, Charles Harris 44
  85. 3:15:12, Ken King (ATC) 41
  86. 3:15:14, G. Scott Owen 32
  87. 3:16:07, W. W. Anthony (Columbia TC) 44
  88. 3:18:50, Gerald Kiefer (ATC) 43
  89. 3:21:02, Jeff Cramer 28
  90. 3:22:07, Jay Whitlock 17
  91. 3:22:39, Ben Gross 45
  92. 3:23:44, Don Davidson (Douglasville) 30
  93. 3:23:42, Louis Bors (Kettering Striders) 54
  94. 3:23:48, Johnny Dodd (Nashville Striders) 30
  95. 3:24:04, Bob Ford (ATC) 48
  96. 3:24:45, Richard Harris (Columbia TC) 42
  97. 3:25:06, Rod Jordan (ATC) 38
  98. 3:25:46, Andrew Park 45
  99. 3:25:58, Ben Kennedy 44
  100. 3:27:27, Bill Beer (ATC) 41
  101. 3:28:20, Robert Hill 27
  102. 3:28:37, Bob Campbell (ATC) 40
  103. 3:30:20, Daniel Birchmore 24
  104. 3:30:49, Keith Barton (Dallas CC) 36
  105. 3:32:12, John McAuliffe (AMJA) 29
  106. 3:32:12, James McGuone 28
  107. 3:32:33, Lew Birdseye (ATC) 36
  108. 3:33:50, James Dean (Stein Club) 37
  109. 3:34:30, Randall Safier (Johns Hopkins) 19
  110. 3:34:35, Jim Weathers 27
  111. 3:34:57, Ted Caswell 29
  112. 3:35:09, Ted Sammons (ATC) 41
  113. 3:35:19, Pat Stone (ATC) 56
  114. 3:36:03, Emmett Bondurant 38
  115. 3:36:29, Doug Moose 24
  116. 3:37:54, Charlie Berke 21
  117. 3:40:26, Bill Thorn (ATC) 45
  118. 3:47:08, Harvey Taylor (Ft. Benning) 32
  119. 3:54:58, Emory Lawrence (Univ. of the South) 20
  120. 3:58:18
  121. 4:03:24

1975 Atlanta Peach Bowl Mini-Marathon (12.7 miles)
  1. 1:06:01, Jeff Galloway (ATC) 30
  2. 1:06:09, Ralph King 19
  3. 1:07:40, Randy Stroud (ATC) 21
  4. 1:09:56, Robert McDuffie 20
  5. 1:11:39, Dennis Gandy (Athens TC) 30
  6. 1:12:00
  7. 1:12:39, Mike Roberts (Athens TC) 20
  8. 1:13:00, Ron Gaff (N. Medford Club) 41
  9. 1:14:35, Doug Hawley (Chatt. TC) 35
  10. 1:15:57, Charlie Patterson 33
  11. 1:17:52, Mikel Wagner (Augusta AA) 19
  12. 1:18:39, Allan Taylor (Columbus TC) 35
  13. 1:20:31, John Hodge 16
  14. 1:20:50, Don Hale (ATC) 30
  15. 1:20:55, William Hogg (ATC) 32
  16. 1:21:34, William Quillen 24
  17. 1:21:38, Harold Tinsley, Jr. (Huntsville TC) 12
  18. 1:22:03, Chris Schaufele (Athens TC) 36
  19. 1:22:14, Bruce LaBudde (Ga. St. U. TC) 30
  20. 1:22:30, Eric Partin (N. W. Fla. TC) 14
  21. 1:22:35, Bill Royston (ATC) 29
  22. 1:23:05, Edward Brown 27
  23. 1:23:23, Wayne Nicoll (Augusta AA) 43
  24. 1:23:55, Wayne Cutrer (Athens TC) 34
  25. 1:24:16, G. W. Freestone (Ashville) 29
  26. 1:24:35, Doug McElhinney (Jacksonville TC) 30
  27. 1:24:55, P. Sparling 26
  28. 1:25:01, Steve Reece 18
  29. 1:25:01, Jack Preston 17
  30. 1:25:15, Lawrence Clark 31
  31. 1:25:25, Jerry Miller (Mid-Ohio Striders) 34
  32. 1:25:27, R. W. McDermott (ATC) 45
  33. 1:25:50, Herb Laws (ATC) 42
  34. 1:26:20, Sam Benedict (ATC) 28
  35. 1:27:07, James Winkler 28
  36. 1:27:12, Howard Triebold (Nittany Valley TC) 21
  37. 1:28:20, John McCormac (N. W. Fla. TC) 15
  38. 1:28:52, Chester Lambert 42
  39. 1:29:15, H. T. Marshall 58
  40. 1:29:58, Lloyd Lundin (KTC) 56
  41. 1:30:19
  42. 1:30:29, Andrew Daigle (Columbia TC) 15
  43. 1:30:55, Elmer Beardshall (ATC) 37
  44. 1:30:56, Kirby Fidler 22
  45. 1:30:57, Richard Rinehart 26
  46. 1:31:03, Fred Watts 36
  47. 1:31:39, John Oeltmann (N.W. Fla. TC) 63
  48. 1:31:54, Dale Morris (ATC) 34
  49. 1:32:07, Dick Lawrence 16
  50. 1:32:09, Al Cass 44
  51. 1:32:15, Lloyd Slack 51
  52. 1:32:42, Larry Wilson (ATC) 35
  53. 1:33:03, John McNeill 29
  54. 1:33:15, John Anderson 23
  55. 1:33:40, Jill Hall (Univ. of Tenn. Women Track) 21
  56. 1:33:50, Jasper Hulsey 35
  57. 1:34:10, Leitch Wright 46
  58. 1:34:23, Pete Lampley 26
  59. 1:34:28, Steve Parker 15
  60. 1:35:32
  61. 1:35:34, Jim Fuller 29
  62. 1:37:07, Julian Turner 16
  63. 1:37:45, John Shultz 47
  64. 1:38:04, William Kellett 18
  65. 1:38:12
  66. 1:38:37, James Cannon 36
  67. 1:38:47, Andy Heiskell 32
  68. 1:38:50, Walter Farr (Augusta AA) 36
  69. 1:38:58, Bomar Newton (Augusta AA) 33
  70. 1:39:26, John Finn (ATC) 36
  71. 1:39:34, Rosita Selvey 19
  72. 1:40:30, Sheldon Cohen 47
  73. 1:40:45, Monty Montgomery 37
  74. 1:42:16, Pat Curtis (Lockheed) 48
  75. 1:43:15, Greg Shivers (Athens TC) 27
  76. 1:44:37, Douglas Newman 28
  77. 1:45:28, Mark Kinslow 16
  78. 1:45:29
  79. 1:46:49, Mary Thomas (Columbia TC) 25
  80. 1:47:11, Nancy Wright 16
  81. 1:47:43, Steven Dubner 20
  82. 1:47:45, Steve Stratton (Festina Lenite) 13
  83. 1:47:47, Eric Spitler (Festina Lenite) 16
  84. 1:48:23, Jerrold Dubner 18
  85. 1:48:41, Paul Hodge 14
  86. 1:49:02, Abbi Byers (Athens TC) 23
  87. 1:49:12, Jenny Fidler (ATC) 23
  88. 1:50:47, James Birdseye (ATC) 15
  89. 1:52:00, Warren Toro (Ft. Gillen Striders)
  90. 1:52:14, Jerry Bagley 21
  91. 1:53:15, James Bell 36
  92. 1:54:38, Bill Love 18
  93. 1:56:30, Amy Daigle 23
  94. 1:56:37, Clancy Head 40
  95. 1:57:25, Bob Manning 61

Links
#1951
Bookmark and Share
Posted by Herb Wills at 1:41 AM
Labels: , , , ,

2 comments:

  1. UnknownSeptember 30, 2021 at 10:09 PM

    I ran on same high school Cross Country team at Sylvan High with Tom Raynor ... he finished 9th in the 1975 marathon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Herb WillsOctober 1, 2021 at 4:02 PM

      One striking thing about these results is how many of the finishers were "serious" runners--athletes who currently or formerly raced for their high schools or colleges.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)