The life and times of one of the Minnesota greats by Pat O’Regan
A fan of running could never forget the headline: Bjorklund Runs 4:05 Mile It was the fastest mile by a high school runner in the nation that year, 1969, and a Minnesota state record that would stand for 39 years. Competing against the terrific high school half-miler, and later sub-four minute miler, Mike Slack, Garry figured he had to go out fast. The first lap was in 57 seconds, the half in 1:58, the three quarters in 3:01. Later Garry would be told that he wasn’t a miler; he was meant for the longer distances. There he would leave his mark on running.
Twig Garry Bjorklund grew up in Twig, Minnesota, a town of scarcely 100 people, 17 miles out of Duluth. His parents, Wally and Ethel, city kids who wanted to be self-sufficient, bought a small farm just outside town and raised cattle, pigs, chicken, goats. And four kids: Garry and his sisters Bonnie (now deceased), Joy and Gay. He was the only athlete in the family. Running began for Garry, notably, the day, age seven, when he and his dad were watching the Millrose Games on television. Stirred by a woman runner setting a world record in the half mile, Garry asked his dad what he could do no one else had ever done. His dad said that if he ran around the house 50 times without stopping, this would be something no one had done. The idea stuck. Months later, now eight, Garry asked a friend named April if she would like to do something no one had ever done. April dropped out after a few laps, but Garry ran all 50 laps, without stopping. Afterwards, lying on the grass, he recalled the moment, “The feel of the cool grass, my heart pounding, I never felt so good in all my life.” Running apparently now had a grip on him. He began to experiment. He would call a friend, tell him he was coming over, and run the mile to his friend’s house as fast as he could, noting the time of leaving home and the time of arrival. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
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