Ted corbit won Philadelphia marathon 50 years ago

True enough, Ted won the Shanahan Marathon in Philly...on Jan 5, '58! January! The rest of Ted's marathons in '58: Macombs Dam Park 26.7, Bronx, 1st, 3/16- 2:41:49, Boston, 4/19, 6th- 2:43:47 (unofficial finisher as he failed the pre race 'physical'), Yonkers, 3rd, 5/18- 2:35:44, North American, St Hyacinthe, QUE, 2nd, 8/31- 2:57:11, Jersey City, 3rd, 10/11- 2:33:54, Jr Nat'l AAU, Valley Forge, 1st, 11/15- 2:34:41.

I don't know when Boston did away w/the pre-race physical but, as I recall from reading Distance Running News, Ted's heart rate was too high/too low. He ran anyway.

I received the above info on Ted from Jim Crossin in correspondence that started on a popular running website. He was kind enough to send me several pages from a '66 issue of Distance Running News that included Ted's entire marathon resume from '51-'65. I was curious about how Ted qualified for the '52 US Oly team in the marathon & Jim sent the following explanation, from the 1952 USOC Quadrennial Report:

'Upon recommendation of the Marathon sub-committee, a selection plan similar to that in effect for the '48 OG's was adopted. Under this plan, the US Marathon championships of '51 & '52, together w/the Boston Marathon of '52, were designated 'qualifying races' w/the winner of the '52 Championship (if eligible) and two others w/the 'best average races' in all 3 races to be selected for the Olympic team. Victor Dyrgall of NY, winner of the '52 Championship and Tom Jones, who had finished 2nd, 2nd & 3rd respectively of the eligible Americans in the 3 races, were clearly entitled to selection.

There was, however, a difference of opinion in the sub-committee as to the third man for the team. John Lafferty of Boston had finished 2nd in the '51 race and 11th and 5th in the '52 races. Ted Corbitt of NY had finished 13th in '51, and 6th and 3rd in '52. The dispute was as to the method of scoring. Eliminating only eligible foreign athletes from the scoring would give Lafferty the better score of 14 (2-7-5) to Corbitt's 16 (10-3-3). Elimination of all except those who had run in all three races (as was done in '48) put Corbitt ahead of Lafferty 10 (6-2-2) to 11 (1-6-4).

The full committee at its meeting in Long Beach, CA, all coaches and managers of the team present, unanimously decided in favor of Corbitt, not only on the basis of past interpretation but also on the extremely practical ground that, whereas Lafferty had been better than Corbitt in '51, Corbitt had beaten Lafferty in both races in '52, when the Olympic Games were going to be held.

It is recommended that selection of Marathon runners for future Olympic teams be based solely upon performance during the year of the Games and that whatever method is used be clarified as to scoring. He (Ted) ran what must have been a disappointing 2:51 in the Olympics. There is a picture of Zatopek leading the pack after exiting the Olympic stadium and it shows Ted in about 15th place. 53 finished. Maybe he went out too fast. Dyrgall ran 2:32:52, 13th, Jones 2:42:50, 36th'.

Our (US) current method is, of course, the top in 3 in a Trials race qualify, provided all 3 have bettered a standard set by the IOC.

It took a while but is worth the wait: I got approval to share a poem about Ted written by Caleen Sinnette Jennings. Caleen is an award-winning Professor of Performing Arts at American Univ in DC and is also a playwright & performer. It's dated 12/13/07. It's an exquisite piece of writing about a man that deserves such prose.

Ted Corbitt

Once more around the track-
A victory lap,
Though death's come up on the inside lane,
Never lay your body down,
There is no finish,
There is no line,
Once more around the track,
Let us see your serenest of smiles,
Let us celebrate your sinews and muscle
And marvel at your workman's gait,
Your refusal to wait,
And your absolutely indefagitable commitment to
Once more around the track,
Father, friend, hero,
Long distance visionary,
Healer with the gentle laugh,
May we run with you,
May we know that same breeze humming through our ears?
May we know what you think, or don't think about
As you log 50, 70, 100 miles,
As you put heel to ground,
As you beat the sound of your humanity,
Into the yielding earth?
Once more around the track,
Sage, mentor, idol,
Who says we can't run the distance?
You did for 88 years,
Who says pain is an obstacle?
It was never enough reason for you not to do
Once more around Manhattan Island
Once more around London to Brighton
Once more around the Olympic track,
So may we carry your torch,
Athlete, scientist, therapist, gentleman?
May we cheer your name, Ted?
May we catch a last glimpse of you doing
Once more around the track?
Forgive us if we lay your body down,
Forgive us if we follow your spirit
Once more around the track
Before we dry our eyes
And call it a day.

I've devoted all of my next column in Michigan Runner to Ted. If you'd like to get a sneak peek, contact me at: runningshorts@aol.com. It includes the poem by Jennings.

Update: there's a terrific story about Ted in the Sept/Oct '08 issue of Marathon & Beyond by Gail Kislevitz. It's more about Ted, the Man, than his service & running accomplishments. Nothing is lost, however, in focusing on Ted as the humble, compassionate man he was. David Katz is quoted in the story, "Ted was my God. I thought he'd live forever."

Kislevitz concludes with: 'The world will be a better place if we can indeed strive to follow Ted's lead.'