Dick Tayler will hear echoes of 1974 win

Press, 7 August 1978, Page 17

Dick Tayler will hear echoes of 1974 win

By

KEN COATES

Remember that fairhaired runner from South Canterbury, Dick Tayler, who p.owered past his rivals and stormed down the straight to victory in the 1974 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres at Christchurch? Tayler was struck down by arthritis at the peak of his athletic prowess while still only in his midtwenties. Only in recent months has he finally come to terms with the stark fact that he will never run competitively again. But as he sits at home on his father’s Winchester farm which he helps work with his elder brother, Peter, memories come

flooding back as he watches television coverage of the Edmonton Games.

“Tayler, Tayler, Tayler,” roared the crowd, as the 10,000 metres neared its climax at Queen Elizabeth II Park. His superblyjudged race moved within many New Zealanders a sense of patriotism they probably never imagined existed.

And for Tayler, the rank outsider, who beat the favourite, David Bedford (England), the strong Kenyan contenders, and the hard-running David Black, also from Britain, it was “just like a dream.” The victory was no fluke. Tayler won in 27min

46.65, and set a Commonwealth Games and New Zealand record. He was an immensely talented athlete who had run a sub fourminute mile and a 2h 16 min marathon. He was at the peak of his capability.

In those vital few weeks before the Christchurch Games, he proved himself. He ran a secret time trial one cold evening on the track at Q.E. II Park, 10 days before the Games 10.000 m.

Tayler could hardly be-

lieve how easy it was to run a personal best of 13min 40s for 5000 metres. And he had plenty in reserve at the end. That time was 2s faster than he had ever run the distance before. It boosted

his confidence — something that he had lacked at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games and the Munich Olympic Games. Arthur Lydiard advised him: “Leave your run as long as possible — even if it means waiting till the final straight.” Dick today recalls getting a terrific mental and physical uplift as he passed the first runner and a cheer went

up. Another runner was passed and another roar went around the stadium, louder this time. It was nice to know his efforts were being appreciated, but it brought a problem: Bedford, Black, Richard Juma, and those other Kenyans would be alerted that someone was making a move.

He passed another runner and the cheering started again — but, thankfully, the leaders did not seem to be taking any notice. Bedford’s arms shot above his head as the runners neared the 5000metre mark. He had been hemmed in, and Dick was glad to be clear of the jostling. The time for the 5000 metres was 13min 47s and Tayler knew Bedford would have liked this to have been several seconds faster. He sensed how seriously the Englishman had been upset. There was still quite a gap from Bedford, Paul Mose, Juma, Black, and Patrick Kiingi, back to lan Stewart, .of Scotland, and Tayler, with Daniel Shaughnessy, of Canada, plugging along right behind him. Tayler knew he was steadily making up ground, clipped past a failing Stewart and set about catching those ahead. He had the inside lane to himself, and it was simply a matter of stepping up the pace to a second or two faster every 400 metres. At the three-quarters stage, Tayler did a mental check. He was in good shape, with plenty of running left. He could have pushed himself then, caught the bunch, and

hung on. But he would have had nothing left for that final surge. He opted for a bid to outfox Bedford. The time of 17min 46s for 16 laps was fast, but still he felt good. On the

eigtheenth lap he had caught up the leaders. It was then that he heard the crowd going wild, and he grinned inwardly: “Go on cheer,” he thought. “The Silver Fern is up where it belongs.” Dave Bedford shot him a glance, did a double-take, and turned for a longer look with surprise all over his face.

Once again Dick toyed with the idea of hitting the front. But he remembered Arthur Lydiard’s advice. He stiffened a little as he saw Black shoot to the front ahead of Juma and Mose. He quickened and passed Bedford, who at that moment was out of contention.

Black moved into top gear and Juma went with him. Coming into the bend on lap 24, Dick Tayler stayed right on Black’s shoulder and the two runners swept on at the head of the field towards the final 200-metre mark. Then the New Zealander kicked out with all he had left and whipped past Black. The roar of the crowd reverberated around the stadium as Tayler widened the gap to first .one yard, and then two — until he was clear. Down the straight strode the strongly-built New Zealander, increasing his lead with every stride to win a fantastically welltimed race.

Today, Dick Tayler looks a little stockier than four years ago. He works on his father’s 500-acre intensive cropping and mixed farm at Winchester.

A few weeks ago, he took the day off to act as time-keeper in the Canterbury cross-country championships at Tinwald. He was more relaxed than three years ago when I watched his agonising effort to regain form again in a six-mile road race at the annual Ashburton New Year sports meeting. “That really was the crunch,” he recalls. “They talked about an injury, but I knew deep down there was something seriously ■wrong when all my joints became aching and hot.”

Tayler tried dozens of treatments. For a time he was reduced to a wheelchair. But arthritis became a fact of life to Dick Tayler. But he will be watching all the Games telecasts. Learning to live with arthritis led him to appearing on the Telethon this year in Christchurch. He says that treatment has earned him significant remission of the complaint. He can now move reasonably freely around the farm. Farm w.ork keeps him fairly fit, and he could jog for up to half an hour — if the motivation was there.

He also did what many a runner struck by injury resorts to — he bought a racing cycle.

“I went out on the road most days and cycling did a great deal for me— for my ankle and knee joints, geting my lungs really working, and helping me get reasonably fit.

“But it was the frustration of coming to terms with the condition that was hard. I was impossible to live with, I know. I really suffered. I had reached a plateau, was so fit, and was running times and beating runners I had

never dreamed of beating.” Why was Dick Tayler struck down in his prime? The marathon distance has always fascinated him, and he ran one a year between 1969 and 1972. With hindsight, he thinks he mismanaged his training by failing to take full advantage of marathon conditioning. He attempted to train too hard too soon after the gruelling road races of 26 miles. And this could have built up a stressful condition leading to the arthritis attack. These days, Dick Tayler will talk marathons with anyone who has covered the distance. How about the 10,000 metres at the 1978 Commonwealth Games? Dick picks the flying Kenyan, Henry Rono, to win, if he runs. He says that in spite of the series .of incredibly fast times Rono has been running recently he is an athlete who can compete in any type of race — from out in front, or surge through to win from behind.

But with the caution bom of experience, Tayler adds: “World recordholders don’t always win, and so much can happen on the day.”