"I'd rather be seen on my bicycle than on a park run" - Quote from the dark side

Thursday 9 June 2011

Throwback Thursday…Inspired by a Legend

This is me finishing the 1982 Wally Hayward Half Marathon.



See the red socks? They were inspired by 4 times Comrades winner Alan Robb, who always runs in red socks.




Alan is one of South Africa’s running legends. He has the most Comrades gold medals of all runners (12) which means he finished in the top ten 12 times, including 4 wins. Just as famous as Alan are his legendary red socks. I ran with red socks for many years in the 1980’s, inspired by Alan Robb.

Now for the best part…!!!

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you will know all about Staci (Sandal Girl).



Guess who is Staci’s dad…? Yes, none other than Alan Robb! How cool is that! Read her post here to see some photos of Staci with Alan at this year’s Comrades Marathon expo.

Awesome!

22 comments:

Mark said...

It's a small world after all! Wow...'82! Looking good!!

Anne said...

That is really cool! I love it :)

HappyTrails said...

That is too cool Johann - it is indeed a small world!!

Christi said...

That is fate right there!

Jennifer said...

Very cool! Stacy is cool too and now I know why!

Hey I'm a red socker, but still waiting for my socks to come in from Red Sock Friday, the Atlantic passage is taking longer that usual! Cheers!

Laura said...

Very very cool.
Red socks....awesome....

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Now that is cool

Ewa said...

Doesn't Staci wear red sandals in this picture?

tahoegirl said...

Awesome! Love your old photos.

Amy said...

How cool is that? It is a small world after all!

Chris K said...

Amazing. What a trip. That is so funny, but really cool.

Char said...

The red socks were a real fashion statement - even if you were just following your idol's lead. Staci has a great running pedigree.

Kate Geisen said...

Oh, my goodness. How cool is that?

Lauren said...

Great pictures. So, you've been a runner all along! That is awesome. Seriously, I used to think was just about the worst hell anyone could put themselves through. I didn't begin running until my late 30's.

Andrew Opala said...

Isn't that awesome!

The Green Girl said...

I love this red sock story, Johann!

Liz said...

I like the red socks. Did you wear them for Comrades? How's the toe?

Black Knight said...

Great story...and beautiful "old" pic.
Well, I wear black socks.... if I change color, will I be faster?

SteveQ said...

That's so cool! Dave Bedford (WR in 10K in 1960's) also always wore red socks. When I saw the movies that came out about Steve prefontaine, I looked for Bedford's socks during a key race - but they must've been working off of black and white photos.

Raina said...

I am not too concerned about color these days- just as long as they match and fit!
Very stylish!!!

Jen said...

Love the red socks! And sorry to hear about your broken toe!
Thanks for your kind comments and the advice on the road camber. We do have some really bad roads and I need to be more careful. I used to be and then got lazy. Thanks for the reminder.
Plus I love all your photos!

Christina said...

She's the daughter? That's pretty amazing. I wonder why she doesn't wear red socks?

I just finished tonight the movie The Long Run about Christine, the 1999 winner of Comarades. It was a great movie and I may do a post about it.

Good news starting to do your train runs and about figuring out the culprit and thanks for passing on the advice.