2004 Dedication to Jeff Truman

EXCELLENCE THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Mike Larrabee

In Dedication … Mike Larrabee

No athlete’s career or life demonstrates On Track’s motto—Excellence Through Experience—better than that of Mike Larrabee, the sprinter to whom we dedicate our catalog this year.

Born in 1933, Mike was a product of the Ventura, Calif., schools, where as a high school student, he distinguished himself running the 100, 200 and 400–yard races and relays. In 1952, his athletic performance earned him a scholarship to continue running for the University of Southern California under the guidance of Coach Jess Mortenson. While running for the track and field powerhouse, Mike made the most of the opportunity to earn his degree in Geology.

So began Mike’s determined quest for an illusive spot on the U.S. Olympic team, a goal that slipped through his fingers in 1956, and again in 1960 after a disappointing muscle pull.

Initially an all–out runner in practice, stomach trouble and battered Achilles tendons eventually forced Mike off the track and onto the grass with a lighter training regimen, as prescribed by his Southern California Striders track club coach, Chuck Coker. Quite by accident, Mike found that the reduced training load actually worked to his advantage, improving his performance. He also discovered, by his storied 1964 season, that running a more relaxed, even pace was the key to winning the 400 or 440, a lesson that could only come from experience.

Mike Larrabee gallops to gold in the 400 meters at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Armed with a keener understanding of his own body, as well as the knowledge gained from studying his competition—Ollan Cassell, Ulis Williams, etc.—Mike was able to beat back the nay-sayers who doubted his ability to handle a string of consecutive hard races. Mike applied what he had learned that year about himself and his rivals to run a 44.9 400 meters at the 1964 Olympic Trials in Los Angeles, the performance Mike considered his greatest moment in running. Just a couple months short of his 31st birthday, Mike traveled to Tokyo to collect an Olympic gold medal in the 400 meters, clocking 45.1. Mike’s wife, Margaret, remembers his placing the medal around her neck as “a magical moment” in their life together. As if to answer the critics, he then ran 44.8 on the gold medal– winning 1600–meter relay team.

Mike went on to raise a family of three children with Margaret; put his degrees in Geology and Education to work teaching; and ran a beverage distributing company with his brother. He also worked part-time as Adidas’ U.S. shoe representative to track and field, a position that allowed him to travel and keep connected to the sport to which he had given so much.

Mike remained physically active well after his running career had wound down, taking up tennis, scuba diving, skiing, hiking (for which he raised llamas as pack animals) and mountain climbing. Although he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in 2001 and was only expected to live a few weeks, Mike again defied the experts. Throughout chemotherapy treatments, he continued to live life to the fullest for two more years, until his death on April 22, 2003.

Often outrageous and blessed with a dry wit, Mike Larrabee was always discovering new things about himself. He was an original to be sure, and he is surely to be missed, but never to be forgotten—not by his family and friends, nor by history.

(Our thanks to Margaret Larrabee and Jon Hendershott of Track & Field News for providing background for this story.)