When the Russians invaded Afghanistan in 1980, a friend named Tony from Santa Fe snuck into Afghanistan as a freelance photographer for Life Magazine. He was captured by the Soviets. I wrote a letter to John McCain about it to, who was my senator. He immediately took an interest and played a key role in getting Tony released.
Later that year, another friend named from Northern New Mexico named Tony was poised to win the Olympic marathon, and was the top rated marathoner in the US – if not the world. Jimmy Carter imposed an Olympic boycott, and Tony was denied his chance at gold.
Other memorable events from 1980 included the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, spectacular floods in southern Arizona, and 10 feet of snow on the ground in Northern Arizona.
Yes, the world was a dangerous place before Al Gore et al. fixed Earth’s climate.
Were you the marathoner?
I ran marathons, at about 2/3 the pace of Tony Sandoval.
I ran 4km in under 12min when I was a teenager. It felt like I was sprinting the whole way.
I was so happy with myself until I calculated that I was running at about world record pace for a 42km race.
Hell I was an SF soldier for a decade and felt pretty darn good about myself when I broke 11 minutes for 2 miles. Never was a great runner but put a ruck on my back and I’d put the hurt on almost all of them. 55 lb ruck, LBE with basic load and full canteens, M-16, full uniform doing 12 miles in 1 hr. 58 minutes and 55 sec. Only about a mile of it was on paved roads. Don’t ask me what it works that way but that is the way it did for me. Later, even as an instructor at 37 years old, I’d put the hurt on most of the 20 some y/o trainees when it came to rucking but in that same period did the 2 miles for my last APRT running at over 12 minutes. Even Tommy Grace, taking his first APRT since he’d recovered from nearly dying in a helicopter crash out ran me.
Wow, the ‘Phoenix floods’ in Dec 1978 ( I missed a Chemistry final at ASU because of it), and then in 1980, when only two routes over the Salt River (and for a short time, only Mill Ave Bridge) was open . . . yeah, I remember that. GEE, Why wasn’t it called ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ THEN . . ? ! ? ! ! 🙂 :-).
And Carter, that ‘BLEEPING’ jerk and the boytcott of the 1980 Olympics, when the Olympics WEREN”T supposed to be political . . I dont’ care if they were in Moscow that year . . Carter should be strung up with Fonda, AND OBAMA, as TRAITORS of the US ! ! !
I also ran cross country in high school ( but only my senior year, in 1978). I thought 18:28 for 3.1 miles was fair for a ‘first year’ runner . . sure wish I could hit even 1 1/2 times that now . . ! 🙂 . . . aaahhhh, good times, then . . . .!
In February 1980 I was living on Scottsdale Rd and working in Tempe. It took about two hours to commute each way across the Mill Avenue Bridge
A buddy and I ran 17 miles after our final boot camp PT and stopped because it was too dark to see any longer. Later that year we spent a long time 12 miles off the coast of Iran because some asswipes decided a revolution might be good fun and taking some hostages was an added bonus…