Never did like sit-and-kickers

In sports, as in life, I have long valued the consistent and diligent over the talented and spectacular. Thus, back in the days when I ran competitively and followed track and field closely, I liked the distance and middle-distance runners who went out hard and pressed the pace. In running, the one who sets the pace is considered to be the one who is doing the hard work. There may be some law of physics that makes it physically more demanding, just as geese switch out the point in the V flying formation; but it definitely is more psychologically demanding. The wait-and-kick guys were the ones who let the other runners do the heavy lifting, and then came charging by down the stretch to grab the glory. I never did like them.

There have been a few of the front runners who have been spectacularly successful. I remember one runner from one of the African countries who courageously went out to a huge lead on the field in the Olympic 5000 or 10,000 race, then had the guts to hold on for the victory. Outstanding! Emil Zatopek (arguably the greatest distance runner of all time) liked to run from the front. He said it was the only strategy that gave him a chance to win. Zatopek won four Olympic gold medals, including the unduplicated feat of winning three golds (including the marathon in his first try at the event) in the 1952 Olympics.

Dave Bedford and Ron Clarke were two runners from my era who were known to be strong front-runners, but who did not have much success in big meets. Bedford set the world record for 10,000 meters, and Clarke set world records 17 times.