Fred
Brandner Letter
821 Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa
Dear
Bill:
Physical education was not required for war veterans,
but if K. S. T. C. had been competing in cross country
in the fall of 1920 we might
have met six months sooner. About the middle
of 1921 I finally persuaded the Veteran's Administration
to let me run in a
meet if the track coach would allow
me to enter. On the Tuesday
before our first outdoor
meet of the year, which was on our home track, the following conversation, which
you probably forgot long ago, took
place.
F.B. Coach, will you enter me in the two mile run, Saturday?
B.H. Can you run?
F.B. I can beat any two miler that you have.
B.H.
Now wait a minute, we have several boys that are pretty good, but we can enter three
men in the event.
Then just before the
two mile run on the next Saturday, coach Bill told me
to stay as close to the
other runners as I could and see if I could take third place. I had other plans,
but said, "OK". After seven laps
an opponent was
running in first place. I was running second.
The gun shot for the eighth lap
and then came the GREATEST THRILL of my life. I passed him and then went on to win
the race.
Then did Bill come running over to
me to say, "Congratulations"?
No, he asked me, "Don't
you know that it's a dumb thing to pass a
runner on the curve?". I was greatly amused, but answered,
"No coach but if I run for you again I'll not
do it any more." "Oh, you'll
run for me," he answered. I look back on my track days with
a heap of satisfaction because I did run.
This is how I must sum it up, Bill.
You gained a fair runner for a short time but
I gained one of the best friends of my life.
Most sincerely yours,
Fred A. Brandner
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