Peter Gagarin

Peter Gagarin

(In his own words)

 

I didn’t run much growing up. I signed up for track in 11th grade and lasted a week, my lack of speed and lack of endurance not being a good combination. My first race was a mile at age 23, part of the PT test at Army Officer Candidate School, 6:05 in combat boots and fatigues. I think the course was quite a bit short. My favorite sport had been ski racing, alpine not cross-country. I broke both legs (at different times), the left one badly. That leg is 3/4” shorter than the other one and both feet point to the right. Definitely not good for a runner. And yet….

 

When I was 28 I discovered orienteering, navigating through the woods to a bunch of checkpoints, fast as you can. I loved it, and I had a knack for it. And it was clear immediately that I needed to be a much better runner. And so I started training. No coach, no plan, just do something.

 

When I was 30, in 1975, Gail and I moved to the valley, first to Amherst, then to Sunderland in 1984, where we’ve lived ever since. It wasn’t long before I’d found my way to the runner’s shop in Northampton and met Fred Pilon. And joined Sugarloaf. Fred had a sense of adventure that matched (probably exceeded) my own. SMAC gave me opportunities to get involved in running in ways that wouldn’t have occurred to me.

 

Before long the miles started to add up. I started to do some races. Boston was the Holy Grail. At that point the qualifying time was 2:50. I started a marathon in Foxborough in 1978, ran 22 miles at 6:45 pace, that works out to about 2:57, so qualifying was never going to happen. The legs tightened up and I just stopped. I wasn’t good enough. 

 

A year later, 1979, Fred called up, could he borrow my car, there was a 50-miler in Maine the coming weekend that he wanted to go to. And then, why didn’t I come with him. Seemed like a fine idea. Not need to qualify. No need to run a marathon first. So we went, we started, 6 hours and 59 minutes later I finished (a few minute behind Fred), 8:15 pace all the way. I wasn’t fast, but I could keep going.

 

Fred was already trying out 100-milers, and of course he dragged me along. We went out to Utah in 1982 for the Wasatch 100. Third year of the race, about 20 starters, Serious mountains. A seriously difficult course. We stayed together. We made it to the next-to-last aid station at 67 miles. Everything hurt. It was 2 am, upper 20s out, very windy, and snowing. We still had two high passes to cross and 33 miles to go. It wasn’t going to be happen. But I loved the adventure and figured I’d be back.

 

Meanwhile, all this running training was helping my orienteering a lot. My navigation skills were getting better and better, ditto my ability to move quickly and efficiently though forest of all kinds. I started going to the National Championships in 1974, finished 5th, then 3rd, then 1st the next four years. I went to the World Championships 3 times, best finish was 43rd (out of 79) in Norway in 1978. Still not nearly fast enough. 

 

I was 2nd and then 3rd and 3rd at the next three national championships, and then won for a fifth and final time in 1983. It so happened that Wheaties, the Breakfast of Champions, had broadened their marketing efforts and was conducting a Search for Champions of the amateur variety. You could vote for anyone, a ballot was on the back of Wheaties boxes. The orienteering federation spread the word to vote for me, and we got enough votes to make the top 50. That was round one. In round two, you had to send in all sorts of info about your accomplishments and character and a couple of letters of reference. Sort of like applying to college. And then one day the phone rang and a voice on the other end said, “This is Mary Tickle from General Mills and you are one of our 6 winners of the Search for Champions.”

 

At some point we went out to Los Angeles, spent most of a day at a photo studio in Hollywood, had a big dinner with the judges (Hank Aaron, Roy Campenella, Sam Snead, Mary Lou Retton among others), and a breakfast the next morning at the LA Colosseum, with all three TV stations in LA broadcasting live. My favorite judge was Bob Richards, he won the gold medal in the pole vault at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics and was the first spokesman for Wheaties. When I introduced myself to him, his first words were, “I know what orienteering is. It’s where you run across mountains and eat lizards.” And Mary Lou was cool too, she just had incredible charisma.

 

And then, sometime later, the box appeared with me on it for a short period of time. Who would have believed….

 

I turned 40 about then. Fred and I and Stan Wagon had started the magazine UltraRunning in 1981. More and more ultras were being organized. And, of course, we ran a bunch of them. I did the Leadville 100 in 1984, 3rd year for it, about 50 starters, finished 4th. Went back to Wasatch in 1986, finished that. Went to the infamous Barkley Marathons in 1988, finished 2nd. 

 

At the same time there was more involvement with Sugarloaf. I was on the Board for a number of years, also Treasurer. I started the Mt. Toby Trail Race and organized it for a few years, ran in the Cape Cod and Lake Winnipesaukee relays, ran in and helped out at the all-comers meets. I loved the Sunday “fun runs” in the winter, a different host each week, a long run, then food and social time. You made friendships that last. 

 

I turned 45 in 1989. Stan decided he wanted to break 60 seconds for a 400 (his best was 62 or 63). I was more interested in the mile, best was 5:15, goal was 5:00. We started in January, intervals a couple of times a week, at the Smith indoor track during the winter. I did 5:08 at SMAC’s indoor all-comers meet in late February. SMAC’s outdoor all-comers meets started in mid-May. The mile was always the first event, and the most popular, lots of heats, there would be a dozen or so of us in the 5:00-5:15 predicted-time heat. Went the first week, 5:02, close. Went the second week, 5:01, closer. I couldn’t go the next week, and then it got really hot, and I didn’t try again. But still, the effort, the coming so close, it was all totally satisfying. 

 

Two months later I set a second PR, 18:33 at the Vermont 100 Mile. I still didn’t feel like I was a good runner, there were always people a lot faster, but I was getting better.

 

I was still running marathons once in a while, Boston had changed the qualifying time, so I could do the race. But 3 hours wasn’t there. Did 3:02, did 3:01. Not going to happen, and then one more try when I turned 50, just one of those days when you feel good, 2:57. There were a few tears turning that last corner onto Hereford Street.

 

As late in my life as I had gotten into running, it seemed that I was also late in slowing down. I was still doing a lot of orienteering, still loved it. The most fun was going to Europe where the sport is much more popular, and where I now was almost as fast as the competition. Won the World Masters in my age group once, was in the top 10 a number of other times. 

 

I ran my last ultra in 2011, age 66, 50 miles on trails, 11+ hours. I ran my last marathon at Boston, 2015, age 70, 4:05, cold and wind. I stopped running in the winter of 2016, back problems, stopped orienteering too. Missed them both tremendously. Restarted both in 2019, very gently, very carefully. The back went bad in the summer of 2021, for sure no more running. 

 

But then in March of 2022 Dr. Dennis Oh at Baystate cleaned out the problem disc and fused the L4 and L5 vertebrae, and three months later he said I was good to do whatever I wanted. August of 2022 I started up running again, slowly and gently again, lots of hard work and slow progress, but continually getting better. My last race was a 5-miler at Thanksgiving in Austin, TX, 51:02, age 81.

 

Running has been a part of my life for a long time. It is wonderful for my mental and emotional health. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do it. My left leg is still shorter, my feet still point to the right, but every day I wake up with a smile and think, What shall I do for exercise today?