Trivia: What brand of shoes did Frank Shorter wear when he won the 1972 Munich Olympic Games Marathon?

ROOTS. Following the 14th annual Ortho Rehab 8K in Jackson April 16, a gorgeous spring day, I dressed for a run of my own. I headed south to a rail/trail that slices diagonally through town. The plan was to go 25 minutes out, then return. Nearing my turnaround time, I ran next to Parkside Middle School, where an invisible hand guided my steps the next several minutes.

In my day, Parkside was a high school whose track still lay next to the rail-now-trail. I rarely circle tracks now my days of fast workouts are past, but I made a happy exception this time. You see, as an Ann Arbor Huron senior in 1970, I set my high school PR and a school mile record of 4:28.9 (Huron was only three years old) on that track. I had been away too long.

I veered off the rail/trail drawn by memory and a chance to relive a prized moment. Ducking through a gate, I joined three women on the weather-beaten track, moving in the traditional counterclockwise direction. The black rubberized oval was devoid of lane lines and worn smooth in spots, with chunks missing from others. At the east end I could see where an inner lane had been laid to convert the track from 440 yards to 400 meters, subtracting just over two meters.

I completed the lap, looked at my watch and saw it took a little over two minutes, twice as long per lap as it took 35 years before. While my memories of how the race played out and my quarter-mile splits were fuzzy, I did recall sprinting hard to finish third and win a medal. I ducked out the gate and looked up into the stands, where my coach Kent Overbey (still at Huron after starting in 1969!) and teammates sat. I turned for another look at the venerable track, then headed for downtown, completing the run in 49 minutes. That time failed to account for the few minutes time slowed down, altered by a spontaneous turn of nostalgia. The rush of overlapping images were fun and, like cats, hard to herd.

And on the way home ...

ROOTS 2. On the way home from Jackson, I left the highway due to construction and struck out on back roads. I turned this way and that on roads I hadn't traveled in years. The roads dipped, rose and wound as I headed north and east past lakes, parks, farms and country homes. I saw the new Pinckney High School and kids there circling a track. Not being in a hurry and remembering the date, I turned in for a look.

On the same weekend in 2001 I'd worked the Ortho Rehab race, then beat it to Pinckney to see my son run for the first time. Jeff was a freshman at Ann Arbor Pioneer and had stunned mom and dad a month earlier by announcing his intentions to run track. Although surrounded by running growing up, we'd left what Jeff wanted to do up to him, knowing running isn't necessarily the most fun thing for kids to do.

We wondered how Jeff would like it when and if he tried running. He'd had the usual adaptation experiences and a race at 800 meters a couple days earlier under his belt when I got to Pinckney High.

Jeff was scheduled to run a relay mile that was going to be scored cross-country style. Different. I had never seen him run, so I watched intently as the race developed. He hung near the back, then started passing others around halfway.

Because it was on the grass, I had no idea how fast he was going, but I recognized desire when Jeff neared the finish and kicked.

He finished about midpack in 5:55. It was a solid effort for a novice and best of all -- he enjoyed what he was doing!

Jeff's first race remains etched in my mind. He went on to make all- state in cross country as a senior, and how the rest of his career unfolds will be of his making. He has his parents' undivided attention and support.

ROOTS 3. And one more look at what once was: On April 17, 2004, a friend in Toledo, Pete Buehler, ran his 100,000th mile. A crowd ran with him over his final miles, and later I leafed through Pete's old training logs, taking note of his April 17 entries every year. Each was a nugget of information.

Since I've run a few miles myself and have a foot-high stack of training logs, I thought it would be fun to see what happened dating back to 1981 (that's as far back as my logs go). I've picked May 15 because it marked 500 consecutive days of either running or cycling, a modest achievement (and 500 consecutive days shy of qualifying as a legitimate "streak" in my book) since Jan. 1, 2004.

The entries and brief commentary:

'81 - 35 minutes morn, 62 minutes eve. My days of two-a-days were winding down.

'82 - 54 minutes, too much beer yesterday. Too much beer? Me?

'83 - No run. After a bad fall in August 1982, I didn't run much for 11 months.

'84 - No log. Had attended the first Women's Olympic Trials Marathon May 12 in Olympia, Wash., where (ex) wife Karen ran 2:46 for 81st place in the deepest, most-competitive field before or since. 109 women broke 2:50, 164 broke three hours.

'85 - 63 minutes. Recovering from a very hot Old Kent River Bank Run 25K.

'86 - 66 minutes. Decent Old Kent 25K five days before in 1:30.

'87 - 61 minutes. Interviewed Joan Benoit Samuelson at Old Kent a few days earlier.

'88 - 43 minutes in Cleveland. There to work at Revco 10K/Marathon.

'89 - 50 minutes. Routine day.

'90 - 61 minutes. Exceeded 1,000 miles for the year.

'91 - No run. Streak of 2,012 straight days had ended April 19 when I awoke to a locked, painful knee. Missed 30 days of running.

'92 - 60 minutes with Steve Angerman. Steve and I ran early on Fridays a few years on and off.

'93 - 61 minutes in Jackson following a race.

'94 - No run. Day after running Old Kent 25K on a foot that had suffered from gout a month.

'95 - No run. Ran first first days of year and missed the rest due to mystery ache (diagnosed seven years later as arthritis) in left foot.

'96 - 52 minutes. Routine run.

'97 - 64 minutes along Flint River. Would miss from May 18 until late November due to mystery ache in left foot (arthritis).

'98 - 90 minutes on Holdridge Lakes mountain bike trail near Mt. Holly. I missed a cut-off trail and ended up doing dehydrated walking.

'99 - No run. Turned ankle while running and chipped bone April 24. Didn't run again until July 7.

2000 - No run. Knee went bad April 19. Cycled but didn't put it in the log, for some reason.

'01 - 30 minutes on bike stand. Probably pressed for time or bad weather. 30 minutes is about all I can tolerate.

'02 - Can't find log. I'm sure I did something special.

'03 - 80 minutes of mountain biking at Holdridge Lakes. Kudos to mountain bikers who developed the trail.

'04 - 48 miles of road cycling with Wolverine Sports Club members from Northville to Ann Arbor and back. I've learned a lot about cycling from these people.

'05 - 44 miles solo road cycling at 18.4 mph to south around Milford GM Proving Grounds. Consistent training last 2+ years is paying off.

There have been good days, bad days and everything in between since '81, pretty much like events swirling in the world about us. What's in your training log?

Answer: adidas, custom-made. MR