“Distant Finish”

Commander David D. Bruhn, U.S. Navy (Retired) is the consummate naval historian, publishing more than two dozen books on the topic. But the Chico resident, and Chico State grad, also has running in mind—as in “road racing,” road, trail, and relay racing.

He’s now completed a trilogy “devoted to competitive running in northern California in the 1970s.” “Toe The Mark” focuses on Chico’s high school running programs; “Stride Out” turns its attention to Chico State; and the final book in the series, “Distant Finish” ($29 in paperback from Heritage Books, Inc.) covers “road racing” from the Bay Area northward.

“Distant Finish” is co-authored by Jack Leydig, who not only served as the president of the West Valley Track Club but published 81 issues of the Northern California Running Review from November 1969 to Spring 1981; the story of running in the 1970s draws heavily on this “bible of the sport.” 

Each chapter presents stats and stories for a single year. There’s an appendix and index, and 176 historical photographs. The cover shows “Mad Dog” Bill Scobey of Humboldt State College, who in 1970 told a reporter he averaged running 125 miles a week on “dedicated” weeks;  and Luanne Park, “a 1978 Chico High graduate” who ran for Butte College in 1980, achieving a time of 2:11.07 in the 800 meters, “number one … on the college’s all-time Top 10 List.”

“Bob Darling was the San Francisco Olympic Club’s second runner in the 1969 Bay to Breakers with a 28th place finish…. In autumn 1969, Darling became Chico State College’s second-ever All-American in the sport of cross country with his 14th place finish at the national championships.” The book closes with how Darling got the bittersweet nickname “the Rocket.”

“Readers who ran road races in northern California in the 70s,” the authors note, “may well find their names in this book.” The decade began “just before the ‘running boom’ spurred by Frank Shorter winning the gold medal in the 1972 Olympic Marathon…. The so-called running fad that developed during this period never slowed down once it laced up its shoes.” As Darling writes in a foreword, these “distance runners blazed the trail for future generations!”

"Stride Out"

When it comes to the hallowed halls of sports fame, Chico has much to be proud of. For Cdr. David D. Bruhn, USN (Retired), that includes track and cross country, and though the Chico author has specialized in writing Naval history, he turns his attention to running in two recent books.

The earlier title, "Toe The Mark," details the "distance running dynasty developed at Chico High School … in the 1970s." Now, "Stride Out" ($29 in paperback from Heritage Books, heritagebooks.com) seeks to honor the development of both the men's and women's track and field and cross country programs at Chico State from 1969-1979.

The book sports more than 100 historic photographs. It's a comprehensive, year-by-year account of coaches and teammates, including setbacks (budget cuts eliminated Chico State cross country in 1975) and triumphs (it returned the next year, and a women's program was added).

Detailed accounts of meets and practices abound; ah, memories! 

In 1977, the Lady 'Cats' cross country rigorous workout regime, under coach Cherrie Sherrard, included Thursday's hour of "Fartlek," Swedish for "speed play," "a combination of different distances at different speeds to stress continuous movement, plus weight training." 

In 1979, Wildcat Cross Country team member Jill Symons (shown on the cover) was All-American.

Chico State's Duwayne Ray is also on the cover; he won the mile at the 1969 NCAA College Division Track and Field Championships in Ashland, Ohio and that year was All-American and National Champion in the mile.

Miler Kim Ellison clocked in at 4:01.4 in 1972 on the College Field dirt track, in bitter cold, a school record that stood for 37 years until Scotty Bauhs' 3:59.81 performance in 2008.

Speaking of 1972, runner Laura de Ghetaldi remembers team members taking to the track one afternoon and being serenaded by the lead singer-songwriter Tom Johnston and the Doobie Brothers who were practicing nearby for that night's Pioneer Week concert. "Listen to the Music" provided "the best 'Fartlek' training I ever had in all my years on our track." Some 39 years later de Ghetaldi had a chance encounter in a Del Mar parking lot with—Tom Johnston. 

Run and get the book for the rest of the stories.

"Toe The Mark"

"My competitive running," naval historian David D. Bruhn writes, "ended in late autumn 1976" when, "running on a muddy trail along the American River early one morning, I slipped and slid into the river." He had run for Butte College; later, after enlisting in the Navy, he graduated from Chico State and "earned a commission via Officers Candidate School." He met his future wife, Nancy, a Navy nurse, at a base in Colorado.

His cross-country coach, Al Baeta, emphasized the importance of holding on to energizing memories. "Running in Chico in the 1970s is one of those memories." And so, drawing on Enterprise-Record archives and interviews with runners and coaches, Bruhn tells the story of the running programs not only at Chico State, but Chico High and PV High, in the 70s. "Toe The Mark" ($29 in paperback from heritagebooks.com) features a foreword by Walt Schafer--no stranger to running himself--and 114 historical photographs.

Tracing the running programs year by year with plenty of stats, the book also weaves personal stories into the narrative, making it not only an extraordinary reference but one that captures the story of legendary track and cross-country coaches (such as Bill Gregg, Chuck Sheley, Jack Yerman, Dale Edson, Cherrie Sherrard, and more) who got the best out of their runners.

In an email, Bruhn notes that "The two individuals pictured on the front cover are Wildcat All-American and 4:01 miler Kim Ellison, and Wildcat All-American and Olympic Swim Trials participant (as a 16-year old Panther) Jill Symons. Symons is (little argument) the greatest multi-sport female endurance athlete Chico has produced to date."

In 1977 Symons, along with Girls Cross Country teammates Suzanne Richter (All-American at Cal, "still number six on the all-time 5,000 meters list"), marathoner Luanne Park, Julie Selchau, and Darcy Burleson, were known as "Charlie's Angels" (after coach Chuck and a certain TV series), arguably, Bruhn writes me, "the greatest high school prep team of any sport in the North Section."

"Toe The Mark" is the ultimate runner's high.

Bruhn is hosting a "1970s Runners Reunion Weekend," August 27-28 in Chico, with more than fifty participants; for information on signed copies of his book write commanderbruhn@gmail.com.