Memories From Alumni Back in the fall, we asked alumni to share some great memories. We are hoping to make this secƟon a mainstay in our newsleƩers, so please share your stories with us! (Email Coach Waldron at renny.waldron@uconn.edu )
From Chris Malm, class of 1993 (and school record holder in the 3000 steeplechase):
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This must have been in 1992, one early Sunday morning… I convinced a few of the guys to join me on a long run, Gary Giffen, Dave Galloway, Mark Militello, Bryan Place and a few others, I don’t recall all. I told them I had this great new run, it was about 15-16 miles. Or so I thought. I had drawn the route on a piece of paper, from the map in a phone book. I now know these are not to scale in the US. We ran for some me, and none of us had any breakfast. Going up the hill on Ashford Center Road, we passed by the Ward cemetery, which at the me looked like it was in the middle of nowhere. “Who the hell would die out here?” I asked. From the back I can hear Bryan Place “I would!” a er about 1h 45 min, we came back to the bridge over Mt Hope River on Warrenville Rd, and realized we had another 45 min to run. Gary was not happy. We must have done sub 6 min all the way back, going up Gurleyville Rd (if you have not run that hill, please do ; from Warrenville Rd, up Mt Hope Rd, down to Gurleyille and then up to Storrs). We finished in 2h 30 min, and later measured it to 24.5 miles. With no breakfast! It was named Death Run, and was never run again.
. . . From Tim Bowler, Class of 1966:
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I remember running at the old Boston Garden my senior year in 1966. Many of the teams would come to Boston and reserve at room at the Hotel Madison to change there, since the Garden was adjacent to it. We only had a few runners entered and we drove via a car or two to Boston with our coach. Upon ge ng there, the coach gave us some meal money. One of our more street savvy guys was told by our coach to knock on a certain door inside the Boston Garden. We had to bribe the custodian of this room with some money. The room was directly off the arena to change our clothes and shower a erwards. Upon entering the room, it was fairly small and I remember only perhaps one shower. On the small chalkboard were diagrammed plays for late Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers. Must have been the visitors’ team room when they were playing the Cel cs at the Garden. In those days smoking was permi ed within sports venues. Near the end of one of the featured races for the evening, the announcer would indicate to please ex nguish your cigare es in deference the runners. By that me, a blue/gray haze would be hanging in the upper er of the Garden. It was a joke to try to enforce anything at that me. Memories...... 10
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