My shot of Tom in 800 at 2009 Lahti worlds.
If you ever get contacted by
Marc Bloom for a story, jump at it! He’s one of the savviest track and running writers in history — a prolific journalist and author. On Thursday, he
did a great piece on
Tom Hartshorne, a long-overdue look at the middle-distance star and Hartshorne Masters Mile meet director. I’ve known Tom for years, but didn’t really hang with him until 2009 Lahti worlds, when we traipsed around town on a meet off day with another athlete. Now 61 (same age as me!), Tom offered up great tidbits and quotes, such as: “My theory about masters running is that we try to recreate the feeling we had in our 20s when you ask your body to do something, and it actually does it. When that happens, … it’s awesome.” We also learn that he once was a barefoot runner and his high school PRs included a 4:19 mile and 9:28 two mile, “and [he] once found himself dueling future Olympian
Matt Centrowitz (father of the current world-class miler Matthew) on the home straight of a cross-country race. Centrowitz outleaned him.” Classic yarns.
7 Responses
As I have said in this space before, Tom is the world’s best host — well, at least in masters T&F. I’ve gone up to Ithaca nine years in a row for the Hartshorne Mile, and I am looking forward to my tenth this January, in large part because of Tom.
He takes care of my every need, as he does the needs of all the invited runners. He encourages but does not punish; he gets happy about good developments but not in a ridiculous way. He is also a pretty good dancer (far better than I am, at least).
He works harder than anyone can imagine to bring in great runners (Sonja Friend-Uhl, Tony Young, Anselm LeBourne, Earl Fee, to name a few), and it does hurt him when someone commits to his race and then backs out late.
I have nothing bad at all to say about Tom. Now let me go up to read that piece by Marc Bloom.
Thank you Marc for the story of a great runner and a friend for over 20 years.
A great host. A great person. Thx for getting me to NY in the past for your Awesome event. Cheers
Ken, I was that other runner that hung out with you and Tom in Lahti six years ago. Tom was very encouraging to me, and stayed in touch after our meeting there. He’s a great person, and a great asset to masters running.
I enjoyed hanging with Tom in the heat of Lyon for the 800 rounds listening to great stories from his global racing experiences. A legend. A master.
I remember you well, Doug! You shared your experiences as a Mormon missionary in Finland and showed us some interesting places. Too bad the indoor food court closed at, what, 5 p.m.?
Tom has been a presence in Masters T&F for longer than anyone can imagine, given his 61 years of age. My teammates and I on Cornell’s track teams of the late 1960’s often had the pleasure of his father, the legendary Jim Hartshorne, work out with us every so often, once witnessing him in his mid 40’s(?) run a 4:44 indoor mile practically by himself, a feat that was so incredible to us at the time that it had no precedent. While only in grade school back then, Tom was already an athletic standout, and has joined his father as one of the legitimate legends and generous patrons of Masters T&F, with the yearly Ithaca indoor meet, as well as his stellar middle distance performances in national and international competitions.
A telling moment: I once saw Tom sprinting through the parking lot at Killington mountain in Vermont one January, skis and boots in hand, later noting to him that he was probably the only person who had/would/could do such a thing after skiing down the steep black diamond slopes all day. Just a reflection of his energy and enthusiasm! One of the best guys in all of Masters T&F, in every respect.
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