Don Farley Reminisces About Inaugural State XC Meet

Our area's finest teenage harriers went to the Big Dance: the 51st annual New York State Public High School Athletic Association Intersectional Cross Country Championships, held Nov. 11on the campus of SUNY at Utica/Rome.

Perhaps these kinetically-gifted kids are on the threshold of a long and prosperous running career, that may continue for a half century -- give or take a decade or two. But there is one gentleman in Ithaca who also has been there, done all that and more, and performed the sport with excellence for 53 years.

Don Farley competed in the inaugural New York State Intersectional Cross Country Championships on Nov. 18, 1950, in Schenectady's Central Park. The now 67-year-old sensational senior runner, was then a senior at Bronxville High School in Westchester County. He placed sixth in Class B, with a time of 11:36, in a race held on a 2-mile -- some say two-tenths longer -- "cross country" course composed of mostly asphalt.

"It was a while ago, but it definitely made an impression on me." said Farley, a professor of electrical engineering at Cornell University, who also ran for Cornell in the 1950s as an undergraduate student. "I don't remember exactly how we qualified, but I think it was at a sectional meet, which took the winning team and the seven highest individual runners. I was one of those, the only one from my high school to qualify."

The first state meet hosted about 100 male runners, from nine sections, with seven individual qualifiers selected from each section, and seven teams representing each of just two classes: A and B. Now, boys and girls representing 11 sections and Classes A, B, C and D compete at 5,000 meters (3.1 miles).

"It was the first really big meet I had been to, with so many good people in it," said Farley, who had competed at dual meets -- on a losing team -- mostly within a 20-mile radius of his home. "Everybody (at States) was on the same (level). I remember we just took off incredibly fast -- just flying along. You had to go out fast or get lost in the shuffle. I couldn't believe how fast we were running, and then all of a sudden, there was the finish. You then kicked frantically at the end. It was a blur at the time.

"I do remember beating several people I had lost to in the sectional meet, he said. "My coach came up to me afterwards, and asked, 'Could you have run any faster?' and I said, 'No way!' I went flat out the entire way."

Farley began running track in his sophomore year in high school, then gravitated toward cross country as a junior. And, some things never change: the cross country team didn't attract much attention or respect.

"My coach, who was a field event specialist, not a distance runner, said, 'Let's see you run 100 yards, 400 yards? How'd you like to be a miler?' It has become clear over the years that I'm not a sprinter," said Farley, who still runs nationally-ranked age group performances in distances ranging from the mile to the marathon.

Training was minimalist compared to today's sophisticated workout trends, with the team running some low-mileage loops around a park located one-mile from the school.

"We ran three or four miles a day, with no threat of overuse injuries because we didn't overtrain," Farley said. "I don't remember any pre-race things except being very nervous."

There were no Powerbars, sports drinks or pre-race pasta dinners. Shoes were primitive by today's standards.

"I wore flats that were very flat, probably canvas -- maybe Converse -- with some rubber in the forefoot and in the heel; no padding!" Farley said. "They were reasonably light, but not like today's shoes. They were running shoes -- not high tops -- reasonably flexible, but no support."

There was something else missing in 1950: official female runners. The first girls' intersectional state meet was held Nov. 8, 1975 at the Elma Meadows Golf Course, in Buffalo. The standard distance was 2.5 miles, then lengthened to 3 miles in 1976.

"(Girls cross country) was not even a glimmer in anyone's eye," said Farley, husband of Jennie, and father of two daughters and one son. "Culturally, it would not occur to you. But once it happened, it was a great improvement, and you said, 'Of course, it's a good thing.' Now, women are training as hard as the men."

In fact, some of Farley's favorite memories are connected to running marathons with his daughter Ann in the late '70s and early '80s. The duo won the father-daughter division of the Ottawa Marathon, when Don finished in 2:45 and Ann placed third female overall in a time of 2:54. Highlights also include running Boston and New York together, with Ann being seeded among the elites at New York as a result of her 2:54.

Little known fact: New York City Marathon director Allan Steinfeld is a former graduate student of Farley's. "He said, any time we wanted to get in, we could bypass the lottery," said Farley.

What is the secret to Farley's longevity and success? "I've been lucky to run for 50-plus years, and the main trick is to stay uninjured as I get older," said Farley, who ran a 6:15 mile at last year's Hartshorne Master Mile. "It's just genes; my knees and ankles are working right. I also enjoy the competition, and it keeps me training hard. But it's about self respect, and competing with yourself, too. After a while, running becomes a force of habit, and no doubt it keeps you in good health," he said. "Exercise is good for you, but that's not the real reason to do it. It becomes a part of who you are, and you miss it when you don't run."

Farley also has some advice for the current crop of teens at States: "Now, the state meet might be just another meet to you, but it wasn't for me. Kids now have run more big meets, and that's not unusual," he said. "Enjoy it; try to remember the details. You may remember it for a long time."

-- Diane Sherrer