Jack Bacheler
Encyclopedia
Jack Bacheler is an American
distance runner and two-time U.S. Olympian (5,000 meters in 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and Marathon
in 1972 Munich Olympics). Bacheler was a founding member of the Florida Track Club at Gainesville, Florida
in the late 1960s, and personally designed the club's distinctive "orange" logo. Standing 6 feet 7 inches, yet weighing only 165 pounds, he towered over most of his competitors. Now living in Clayton, North Carolina
, he is married to Patricia Bacheler. Jack has 2 children, daughter Teresa (Terri), and son Matthew (Matt).
and grew quickly: he was 6 foot 5 inches in the 10th grade at Birmingham's Seaholm High. Because of his height he played basketball at Seaholm High School, but found in his senior year that he excelled more in cross country and track. At the start of his senior year he tried out for the Cross Country team, much to the surprise of the school's legendary track coach Kermit Ambrose (Seaholm's coach 1952-1967). His basketball coach thought Bacheler was only running to get in shape for the winter basketball season, but, as Jack later confided to Sports Illustrated
magazine, he discovered he enjoyed running. After his second X-country meet, he was Seaholm's number one runner. He competed in track for the first time in the spring of his senior year and qualified for the Michigan state championships where he finished third in the mile with a time of 4:28. That was sufficient to earn him an athletic grant-in-aid to attend Miami University
.
At Miami University in Ohio, Jack competed in the Mid-American Conference (the MAC). Following the end of his sophomore year he competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in the summer of 1964, where he finished in eleventh place (out of 13 runners) in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase. As a member of the [then] Redskins team, he earned All-America honors at Miami by finishing seventh in the NCAA Cross Country Championship in fall 1964, and again in spring 1966 by placing second in the steeplechase in the NCAA outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also captured the three-mile run in the Mid-American Conference Track and Field Championships in both 1965 and 1966 and helped lead the Redskins to the All-Ohio and MAC Cross Country Championships in 1965. He broke the school record in the 3-mile run, which had been held by Bob Schul
, who won the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo
. The metric 5,000 is only slightly longer than 3 miles. He graduated in 1966 and, in 1981, he was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame: at that time he was the only Miamian to have participated in two Olympics as an athlete.
Jack then left Ohio and moved to Gainesville, Florida
where he obtained a research assistantship that allowed him to pursue post-graduate studies in entomology
at the University of Florida
, eventually earning a Masters (with his thesis, The Biology of a Anthocorid Flower Bug) and, later, a doctorate. The Men's Track coach at the University of Florida, Jimmy Carnes
, had recently created an administrative entity he called the Florida Track Club, as a means of allowing runners to continue competing even though they were not on the college team. The use of a "track club" was common practice by college coaches, however there was no formal club organization until 1968, when Coach Carnes asked some of the running community in Gainesville to raise some cash to fund travel for club members. Once a true club was created, Jack Bacheler was inspired to design the club's famous Florida "orange" logo, to give thte Florida Track Club members their own identity. That same year, Bacheler trained for a spot on the U.S. track team going to the 1968 Summer Olympics
in Mexico City
, where the high altitude and "thinner air" would present a challenge to distance runners.
Because the 1968 Summer Olympics were being held at relatively high altitude, and late in the year (late September), the United States adopted an unusual two-part qualifying program for its Track & Field team. Athletes would compete in Los Angeles
in late June, and the top finishers would then advance to a high altitude competition to be held at South Lake Tahoe, California
in July. Bacheler qualified for the altitude-training squad with a time of 14:00.4 in the 5,000 meters at Los Angeles. At South Lake Tahoe he appeared to be less impacted by the altitude that most; Bacheler said he was accustomed to the difficulty of running in Gainesville in the summer, when it is extremely humid. In the Trials final he surprised by finishing in a virtual tie with Bob Day
for first place.
At Mexico City, he finished fourth in his qualifying heat and was the only American to qualify of the finals. One year later he said he felt so good in the qualifying race that he thought he could place in the top 5 in the finals. As it turned out, five of the first six finishers (all but Ron Clarke
of Australia) were from high-altitude countries.
Unfortunately, he came down with dysentery
on the day of the 5,000 finals and was unable to compete.
and Jeff Galloway
, moved to Vail, Colorado to train at altitude. Each of the trio planned to compete in both the 10,000 meters and the Marathon at the Trials, which were to be held at the University of Oregon in Eugene. In the finals of the 10,000, the three FTC runners were running first, second and third, but Jack faltered on the final lap and (to the delight of the crowd) he was passed by a Eugene native, Jon Anderson. On the final day of the Trials, the FTC trio again dominated in the marathon. Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore crossed the finish line together in a time of 2:15:57.8. Behind them, Jeff Galloway, having already secured a spot on the team in the 10K, helped to pace Bacheler and magnanimously eased up near the finish line to that it would be clear to the officials that Jack had finished third(2:20:29.2), earning an automatic spot on the marathon team with Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore.
Although the Munich marathon course was essentially flat, temperatures were just over 80 °F (26.7 °C). The race was run on Sunday, 10 September and started at 3 pm. Shorter won in near Olympic record time of 2:12:19.8, Moore finished fourth (2:15:39.8), and Bacheler who had faded from fifth place in the final miles, crossed the line in ninth place (2:17:38.2).
Between Olympic performances Bacheler captured National AAU Championships in cross country and the 10,000 meters in 1969 and the six-mile run in 1970 while running for the Florida Track Club. He received his Ph.D. in Entomology 1972, and worked as a post poc in the Entomology Department at North Carolina State University until 1976 when he became an Assistant Professor. In 1972, he became an associate professor. Bacheler continued his association with running by working with the distance runners. In 1979 and 1980 he coached the NCSU women's cross country team to the AIAW National Championships.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
distance runner and two-time U.S. Olympian (5,000 meters in 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and Marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
in 1972 Munich Olympics). Bacheler was a founding member of the Florida Track Club at Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
in the late 1960s, and personally designed the club's distinctive "orange" logo. Standing 6 feet 7 inches, yet weighing only 165 pounds, he towered over most of his competitors. Now living in Clayton, North Carolina
Clayton, North Carolina
Clayton is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. A very small portion of the town extends into Wake County. As of 2010, Clayton's population was 9,676 people. Since 2000, it had a population growth of 38.80 percent. Much of that growth can be attributed to the town's close...
, he is married to Patricia Bacheler. Jack has 2 children, daughter Teresa (Terri), and son Matthew (Matt).
Early running career
Jack Bacheler grew up in Birmingham, MichiganBirmingham, Michigan
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...
and grew quickly: he was 6 foot 5 inches in the 10th grade at Birmingham's Seaholm High. Because of his height he played basketball at Seaholm High School, but found in his senior year that he excelled more in cross country and track. At the start of his senior year he tried out for the Cross Country team, much to the surprise of the school's legendary track coach Kermit Ambrose (Seaholm's coach 1952-1967). His basketball coach thought Bacheler was only running to get in shape for the winter basketball season, but, as Jack later confided to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine, he discovered he enjoyed running. After his second X-country meet, he was Seaholm's number one runner. He competed in track for the first time in the spring of his senior year and qualified for the Michigan state championships where he finished third in the mile with a time of 4:28. That was sufficient to earn him an athletic grant-in-aid to attend Miami University
Miami University
Miami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
.
At Miami University in Ohio, Jack competed in the Mid-American Conference (the MAC). Following the end of his sophomore year he competed in the U.S. Olympic trials in the summer of 1964, where he finished in eleventh place (out of 13 runners) in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase. As a member of the [then] Redskins team, he earned All-America honors at Miami by finishing seventh in the NCAA Cross Country Championship in fall 1964, and again in spring 1966 by placing second in the steeplechase in the NCAA outdoor Track and Field Championships. He also captured the three-mile run in the Mid-American Conference Track and Field Championships in both 1965 and 1966 and helped lead the Redskins to the All-Ohio and MAC Cross Country Championships in 1965. He broke the school record in the 3-mile run, which had been held by Bob Schul
Bob Schul
Bob Schul is a former American long distance runner. , he is the only American to have won the Olympic gold medal in the 5000 m, at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.-Early career:...
, who won the 5,000 meters at the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The metric 5,000 is only slightly longer than 3 miles. He graduated in 1966 and, in 1981, he was inducted into the Miami Hall of Fame: at that time he was the only Miamian to have participated in two Olympics as an athlete.
Jack then left Ohio and moved to Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
where he obtained a research assistantship that allowed him to pursue post-graduate studies in entomology
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, eventually earning a Masters (with his thesis, The Biology of a Anthocorid Flower Bug) and, later, a doctorate. The Men's Track coach at the University of Florida, Jimmy Carnes
Jimmy Carnes
James Jerome "Jimmy" Carnes was an American track and field athlete, coach and administrator. A successful coach at the high school, college and international levels, Carnes compiled a 161–11 career dual meet record, highlighted by four college conference championships and six state high...
, had recently created an administrative entity he called the Florida Track Club, as a means of allowing runners to continue competing even though they were not on the college team. The use of a "track club" was common practice by college coaches, however there was no formal club organization until 1968, when Coach Carnes asked some of the running community in Gainesville to raise some cash to fund travel for club members. Once a true club was created, Jack Bacheler was inspired to design the club's famous Florida "orange" logo, to give thte Florida Track Club members their own identity. That same year, Bacheler trained for a spot on the U.S. track team going to the 1968 Summer Olympics
1968 Summer Olympics
The 1968 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Mexico City, Mexico in October 1968. The 1968 Games were the first Olympic Games hosted by a developing country, and the first Games hosted by a Spanish-speaking country...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, where the high altitude and "thinner air" would present a challenge to distance runners.
1968 Mexico City Olympics
In the lead-up to the 1968 Olympics, Jack ran twice a day, seven days per week, averaging 12-to-14 miles per day, largely training on his own in the heat and humidity of central Florida. Prior to the U.S. Trials, he competed in only six outdoor track meets, running a personal best of 4:04.2 in the mile in April.Because the 1968 Summer Olympics were being held at relatively high altitude, and late in the year (late September), the United States adopted an unusual two-part qualifying program for its Track & Field team. Athletes would compete in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in late June, and the top finishers would then advance to a high altitude competition to be held at South Lake Tahoe, California
South Lake Tahoe, California
South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The population was 21,403 at the 2010 census, down from 23,609 at the 2000 census...
in July. Bacheler qualified for the altitude-training squad with a time of 14:00.4 in the 5,000 meters at Los Angeles. At South Lake Tahoe he appeared to be less impacted by the altitude that most; Bacheler said he was accustomed to the difficulty of running in Gainesville in the summer, when it is extremely humid. In the Trials final he surprised by finishing in a virtual tie with Bob Day
Bob Day
Robert John Day AO is a businessman in South Australia. A millionaire, he is a home builder and one of the founders of Home Australia...
for first place.
At Mexico City, he finished fourth in his qualifying heat and was the only American to qualify of the finals. One year later he said he felt so good in the qualifying race that he thought he could place in the top 5 in the finals. As it turned out, five of the first six finishers (all but Ron Clarke
Ron Clarke
Ronald William "Ron" Clarke, MBE is a former Australian athlete, writer, and current Mayor of the Gold Coast. He is one of the best known middle and long distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.- Early life and family :He attended Melbourne High School...
of Australia) were from high-altitude countries.
Unfortunately, he came down with dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
on the day of the 5,000 finals and was unable to compete.
1972 Munich Olympics
Three months prior to the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jack, along with Florida Track Club teammates Frank ShorterFrank Shorter
Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s....
and Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway
Jeff Galloway is a former American Olympian and the author of Galloway's Book on Running....
, moved to Vail, Colorado to train at altitude. Each of the trio planned to compete in both the 10,000 meters and the Marathon at the Trials, which were to be held at the University of Oregon in Eugene. In the finals of the 10,000, the three FTC runners were running first, second and third, but Jack faltered on the final lap and (to the delight of the crowd) he was passed by a Eugene native, Jon Anderson. On the final day of the Trials, the FTC trio again dominated in the marathon. Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore crossed the finish line together in a time of 2:15:57.8. Behind them, Jeff Galloway, having already secured a spot on the team in the 10K, helped to pace Bacheler and magnanimously eased up near the finish line to that it would be clear to the officials that Jack had finished third(2:20:29.2), earning an automatic spot on the marathon team with Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore.
Although the Munich marathon course was essentially flat, temperatures were just over 80 °F (26.7 °C). The race was run on Sunday, 10 September and started at 3 pm. Shorter won in near Olympic record time of 2:12:19.8, Moore finished fourth (2:15:39.8), and Bacheler who had faded from fifth place in the final miles, crossed the line in ninth place (2:17:38.2).
Between Olympic performances Bacheler captured National AAU Championships in cross country and the 10,000 meters in 1969 and the six-mile run in 1970 while running for the Florida Track Club. He received his Ph.D. in Entomology 1972, and worked as a post poc in the Entomology Department at North Carolina State University until 1976 when he became an Assistant Professor. In 1972, he became an associate professor. Bacheler continued his association with running by working with the distance runners. In 1979 and 1980 he coached the NCSU women's cross country team to the AIAW National Championships.