Blogs Sport Wallpaper

Here's a great article about Neil Weygandt, an outstanding distance runner whom I met at the 2006 Boston Marathon (he was going for his 40th consecutive Boston!). I didn't realize Neil has been a legend for quite sometime in the marathon and ultra world. He won an NCAA championship in 1960, has won several marathons, and has respectable PR's in the 50-mile (5:51), 100-mile (14:35), 24 Hour (133.8, then a US indoor record), and 6-day (452 miles). Whew!

Favorite quotes:

Yet Weygandt recalls the positives: the camaraderie and friendships formed at these races. While daytime could be brutal, he says, he enjoyed the respite from the heat that night running offered.

and

With all that he has accomplished in running, friends never fail to cite his modesty and willingness to support other runners, regardless of speed. "Even when he has been injured," says Ann Warsing, a member of his support team for the Philadelphia to Atlantic City 100k, "he has attended races just to cheer on the runners." Adds Schultz, "Win, lose, or tie, Neil would somehow find a way to congratulate your effort and downplay his."

He was recently awarded the Jack Saint Clair Award, given each year by the Philadelphia Athletic Charities Track Club. Congrats, Neil, and I'll see you at Boston '07!

SD