The Spokane Sparrow

A bit pressed on time with other duties - but this was a fun find from inside the wall of an old cabin, a January 29, 1967 Seattle Times Sports Page:

In a different era Gerry Lindgren was an eastern Washington legend, and for those with memories that go back far enough he still is. Simply put he was the greatest long distance runner in Washington State history. His high school times were jaw dropping and he ran in the 1964 Olympics, the same year he graduated from Rodgers High School in Spokane. Part of his legend was how much he ran and how he raced. He inadvertently added to his legend when he disappeared in 1980 to parts unknown for several years.

This is a race I remember: a match in 1969 with Liquori, Shorter, Prefontaine and Lindgren:  http://www.historicfilms.com/search/?type=all&q=tele-1236#p1t24800i0o3393. This match between Prefontaine and Lindgren was a match between Oregon's greatest runner and Washington's greatest runner, and a match between two runners who ran extremely aggressive early paces.

Me and my running mates talked a lot about Lindgren and Prefontaine as well as Shorter, Liquori, Mills and Ryan. At one time or another Lindgren beat them all. As a young runner I studied how these guys ran. I never came close to their achievements. I had the wonderful experience of being in a race with Shorter. Physically it was a huge stress for me to stay on his pace; then he went into a whole other gear that I could never imagine being able to do - I was rapidly left far behind.