A day after winning the Minnesota State College Conference cross country championship on a 4-mile course in Bemidji in 19:19, Van Nelson set a 30-kilometer American record in 1:37:16.4 at the Macalester track on October 31, 1965. The phenomenal performance was a full 8 minutes less than the recognized record set by Dick Haines two years earlier. Van, a Minneapolis Washburn graduate, was a 19-year-old sophomore at St. Cloud State at the time of the run while runner-up Steven Hoag (1:44:20.5) was a freshman at the U of M as was the third place finisher, Paul Chaffee (1:59:51.4).
Earlier that year, Ron Daws edged Van in a 10-mile run on Macalester’s Tartan track. Ron’s time of 51:27 broke the Minnesota State AAU record of 52:30 set by Bruce Mortenson (St. Louis Park HIgh School graduate). Bruce was athe 1965 NCAA steeplechase champion as a runner at the University of Oregon and later finished 6th in the 1972 Boston Marathon.
Another memorable run in this famed series of runs on the Macalester track came in September of 1965 when Van won the Minnesota AAU 20-kilometer championship in 63:47.8 over runner-up Ron Daws and third-place finisher Jeff Reneau, father of well-known runner Michael Reneau. It was another state record and run at times in a downpour with an estimated one inch of wate on the track!
Some other information to share in recognizing these historical runs in St. Paul: Jeff Reneau placed 10th in the marathon at the1968 US Olympic Trials while Michael Reneau, a wrestler at Hudson High School (WI) and the University of Wyoming, ran a 2:16:20 at the Chicago Marathon in 2008 when he finished 7th overall.
What memories! Thanks to Van for sharing his memories and to Patrick D. Lanin for recording the data decades ago.
Minnesota Athletes 