Lawson to race into the New Year
By JERRY KLEIN
UDK Sports Editor
Distance runner John Lawson will be celebrate New Year's Eve in a foot race—more than 4,000 miles from home.
But Lawson won't be alone; there will be 349 runners from different countries, too. He will be the only United States representative competing in Sao Paulo, Brazil's "Midnight Race."
At home in their Stouffer Place apartment, meanwhile, Mrs. Fat Lawson will anxiously await a $9 station-to-station telephone call.
WHEN LAWSON finishes racing from 1966 into 1967, hopefully within 30 minutes, the slightly-built athlete will speak to his wife for three minutes—from a New Year.
The tension mounts when Lawson crowds with his competitors
JOHN LAWSON
at the starting line. About 15 minutes before midnight, the 42nd Annual Saint-Silvester International Race begins.
The race ends several minutes later in 1967 or whenever the runners finish the 9,700-meter course (approximately six miles).
And, for foreigners, staying in for those six miles might be harder than winning. The race is run through the downtown streets of Sao Paulo with thousands of howling Brazilians urging their countrymen on.
THE HYPERACTIVE fans have even been knon to grab runners from the race. They throw things, too. Just the same, Lawson is not concerned.
"I'm not worried about getting hurt," he said recently.
He laughed, "It will be a lot of fun. If, we'll say, I get pulled into a bar, I'll try to get back into the race right away."
Lawson almost didn't get into the race in the first place. In fact, it took a second place finish and the winner's withdrawal last month at the National Amateur Athletic Union championships in Los Angeles for him to qualify.
RUNNING UP and down the hilly course at Pierce Junior College Nov. 26, Lawson finished second to Ron Larrieuw, a truck driver, in 32:09.
Larrieu did not accept the invitation. Lawson did.
paying for the trip. Lawson will not leave until Dec. 28 or 29. Right now, he manages to run 15 miles daily—three to six in the morning, the rest at night.
The Amateur Athletic Union is
He concentrates on improving his speed by running both 100 and 120-yard straightaways.
EXCEPT FOR staying near the front, Lawson has no strategy for the "Midnight Race."
Ryun-
"Right from the start, I will have to get out there and run." Lawson admitted, "and then stay with the top 40, anyway.
Continued from page 1
BUT LAWSON is well aware that he will be the only one wearing a track shirt with the letters USA.
The difference between this race and the others the 1565 national cross-country champion has run isn't too great. He looks at it more or less as an entertainment race, with no pressure at all.
Continued from page 1 brought tears to the eyes of Mrs. Wescoe," said the Chancellor.
Another Jim Ryun fan, Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe, told the New York audience of his thrilled reaction while visiting England upon reading in the London Times that Ryun had set a world's record.
"One of the few things an amateur athlete can accept and retain," he said, "are pleasant memories and good friends."
"If I get back in the 200th spot, there will be too many to pass, and I'll never be able to make up the difference."
He thanked his parents, his coaches and his friends.
When the time came for Ryun to announce his acceptance of the award, he approached the mike relaxed and apparently at ease among the 145 track stars and sports writers.
"I want to represent the United States as well as I can," Lawson said, "and even more so, since I've always wanted to put on those USA colors."
Guests of honor at the ceremony included Ryun's parents and his high school coach at Wichita East, J. D. Edmiston.
Now that he is putting on those USA colors, how does he think he'll do?
Lawson doesn't know for sure. He says, "I must stay alert during the race to know what position I'll be in. I have to know what's going on around me. A lot of mental conditioning is required."
Soccer—
Continued from page 5
Continued from page 5
"IT MADE ME proud and Knetsch, Wichita graduate student, with two apiece.
Making the list with one goal each were Herve Pensec, Morbihan, France, graduate student; Christian Klosel, Odendorf, Germany, graduate student; Alastair MacGregor, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, graduate student; and Isidore Nvaboya, Burundi freshman.
Although the top scorers, Mayanda and Finch, will be lost from next year's squad, Bob Evans, soccer coach and graduate student from Wales, expects the team to be strong and to produce better results than this year's Jekyll and Hyde games.
Before each race, he reads "The Power of Positive Thinking," a practical guide to optimism written by Norman Vincent Peale.
Thursday, December 15, 1966
6 Daily Kansan
"It PSYCHES ME up," Lawson said, "and it's very important to me. You can't win and be afraid."
ing for the Olympics. Now he thinks he does.
Even as Lawson is racing from 1966 into 1967, he'll be thinking about 1968. That's the year the Olympic games will be held in Mexico City.
And talking about years, only a few years ago, Lawson says he didn't have a chance of qualify-
"IT'S THE ULTIMATE goal in my career and in amateur athletics." Lawson said.
His present goal is winning in Brazil.
If he finishes in the top six, he won't be able to join the other five for the proposed racing tour of Uruguay and Argentina.
He has to make the 4,000-mile trip home in time for a test.
It's the January 7 Western Civilization Comprehensive Examination which he has to pass to graduate.
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JAY JANE SCHOLARSHIPS
Organized in 1923, Jay Janes is an honorary pep club for women at the University of Kansas. The main object of the group is to organize and encourage the student body enthusiasm. In the last few years through participation in fund-raising drives, Jay Janes have also been able to provide scholarships to worthy KU women.
Three main considerations guide the awarding of the scholarship. 1) Financial need 2) Contribution to campus life 3) Academic record. Each application must be accompanied by a letter of reference from a member of the faculty or administration of the university. In the event that two candidates of equal standing are under consideration and one is a Jay Jane, preference will be given to the Jay Jane.
This year Jay Janes will be awarding two scholarships for the spring semester. The amount of the scholarships will correspond to the university's instate tuition fee. Any full-time upperclass undergraduate woman student of the university may apply.
Applications are due by January 4th in the Dean of Women's office, and may be obtained from your AWS House Representative, from the Dean of Women's office or from J. K. Grey of the Alpha Chi Omega house. The announcement date for scholarship recipients will be January 12th and only successful candidates will be notified.
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