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UTICA, N.Y. - (Saturday, July 8) - The Stanley Theater in downtown Utica, NY was alive with running illuminati this evening. The occasion was the third annual induction ceremony for the National Distance Running Hall of Fame and as one might have expected, it was all but impossible to turn around without crossing paths with an illustrious member of the running community, among them "Runner's World" publisher George Hirsch, Hall of Fame alumni Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Nina Kuscsik and Kathrine Switzer, Mary Wittenberg Executive VP of the NYRRC and Carey Pinkowski director of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The spotlight shone brightest, though, on the true stars of the evening: the inductees.

This year's ceremony, conducted in a packed auditorium, differed from previous editions in that two inductees - Clarence DeMar and Steve Prefontaine - are deceased and another - Grete Waitz - is from overseas. None could argue, though, that the contributions made by these three to U.S. distance running, in addition to that by the fourth inductee, Alberto Salazar, have been such that they all stand as icons of the sport.

At the Boston Marathon few names are more revered than that of DeMar who won the event an unprecedented seven times and who, but for the misguided advice of his doctor at the height of his career, might have pushed that tally into double figures. Accepting the Hall of Fame plaque on behalf of his father, Robert DeMar, emphasized the importance of running - most particularly running the Boston Marathon - on the elder DeMar's life. So too it was on the life of Alberto Salazar, the man who won in New York three times and who claimed the laurel wreath in Boston in 1982 after an unforgettable duel with Dick Beardsley.

"I don't look back on my career that often," commented Salazar who, in 1994, also won the 52 mile Comrades Marathon in South Africa. "Whatever we accomplish in life, if it's solely for our own good then it doesn't mean that much. The things you do that affect others in a positive way, those are the things that count. Whatever facet of life you're in, God has given you a gift; do the best you can with that gift."

Salazar might have been speaking for Prefontaine, the multi-U.S. record holder (at one time he held every U.S. record from 2000m to 10,000m) and with whom Salazar shared an intense competitive nature rarely seen in any distance runner. Prefontaine died in an automobile accident in 1975 at the age of 24; in Utica, his sister Linda touchingly accepted his award. Recalling the effect her brother had - and still has - on runners of all ages and abilities, she encapsulated his life with one of his most oft repeated quotes: "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. That," she proffered, "is a quote from Steve Prefontaine."

That, indeed, may have been the theme of an evening that saw an almost tangible empathy among talented athletes who refused to sacrifice their gift. Grete Waitz may have been the most gifted of them all, in addition to being a competitor of peerless tenacity. From her days as a world leading track racer at 1500m and 3000m, to her five World Cross Country titles and her nine New York City Marathon victories, the 1984 Olympic Marathon silver medalist may simply be the greatest female middle and long distance runner of all time. Her performances in New York, in addition to those in other races across the USA, were more than sufficient to confirm the Norwegian native's election into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.

"I'm so grateful for everything running has given me," Waitz commented. "I look at my career and I ask myself in what other career could I have been world class and have a good effect on so many people. I may have been a little of the inspiration for so many people beginning to run, but I've learned just as much from all those people who have run with me."

Waitz, Prefontaine, Salazar and DeMar join Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Amby Burfoot, Kathrine Switzer, Joan Samuelson, Nina Kuscsik, Billy Mills and Francie Larrieu Smith as members of the Distance Running Hall of Fame. Their enormous accomplishments define them and have left an indelible impression on their sport. In Utica's National Distance Running Hall of Fame, fittingly, their names are literally cast in stone.

The Hall of Fame also presented its George Sheehan Memorial Award to Bert Rosenthal, the longtime Associated Press track and field writer.

Special thanks to 
Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Coordinator for providing us this press release.
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