

RE: Arthur Lydiard or Daniels
[quote]Nobby wrote:

What was it that Squires was doing that made such a huge impact?

The Crest of the Wave

I have studied the ebbs and flows of distance running prowess over the last century. I will put it bluntly: let's squash the
"Great man (coach or runner)" view. None of these guys, Lydiard, Squires, Shorter, et al, created anything. But each happened to ride the wave of a confluence of societal forces from population, to economic, and to political. For a set of reasons in the very late 1960s more guys continued to train after college. Maybe because good jobs weren't as plentiful or that some felt they could postpone job drudgery in favor of a pursuit of amateur running. Without a large population of runners trying to run well we would never have heard of any of these guys. They did not make it happen by force of genius or personality any more that the surfer makes the wave he surfs down.

The personalities and all they produced are like the essential skill, courage, and agility of the surfer but are only the topping that is fun to lick off and talk about.

If anyone wants to talk about the water, the wind, and the bottom contours that make the perfect wave, we can do that. For example: Where are all the Indian, or Indonesian long distance runners? Where is the Punjabi Lydiard or the Java Squires?

