Bill
McChesney
There is no reason not to be happy’
By Doug Levy
Of M* Emtrmk)
The 5000-meter race was about to begin, and a buzz
travelled through Hayward Field It seems Oregon track
fans always have a special feeling about distance races
Bill McChesney. the Ducks all-everything in the
distances, would win the race It was that simple The
fans knew, the other runners in the race knew it, and
McChesney knew it
Yet, if someone is looking at McChesney for the
first time, they would have trouble believing anything of
the sort He stands only 5-6, weighs only 115 lbs and is
dwarfed by the bigger runners surrounding him
But when the race starts, McChesney becomes the
epitome of the distance runner He surprises people As
a matter of fact, McChesney has made a lifetime out of
surprising people
• ' Billy'' is a dwarf of a child As a seventh grader he
weighs only 63 lbs Being that size, organized sports are
out of the question, so he turns to running
And why not? Brothers Tom and Steve (both of
whom went on to become high school all-Americans)
are already running, so Bill decides to try All that results
is six state championships for South Eugene High
School, three in the two-mile and three in cross country,
along with a 1976 state meet record in the two-mile
(8:50 9)
• McChesney is in the 1980 NCAA 5,000 Sure, he's
had a good year, but these are the NCAAs, and nobody
expects too much of him So what happens?
McChesney chums out a 13:47.96 clocking and speeds
to a third-place finish and all-America status
• The 1980 Olympic Trials are at Hayward Field The
United States will not go to the Olympic games, but
some of the world's finest track and field athletes are
here to prove they would have belonged Bill
McChesney is one of those athletes Me thrills the local
crowd with a third-place finish, making the team, as he
says, "by the skin of my teeth "
• The 1981 Northwest Relays at Hayward Field
McChesney, redshirtmg this track ssason, has been
sharpening he skills in Europe He has run a 13:18 in
Norway, and today he plans to go after the American
5,000 record (13:15 06) He doesn't get it, but oh, he
comes so close with a btastering 13:15.77 that electrifies
the Hayward Field crowd "The highlight of my career —
the hometown kid makes good,'' he stys of the race
To hear McChesney teH his story, one would think it
was all a matter of course "As a kid, I was extremely
small I can't imagine how small I must have been
Physically, I had the type of body to be a runner, then I
found out I was very good at it ”
"Plus I had a very good junior Mgpti coach, Jerry
Andrews, and of course. Harry Johnson at South
Between those two, I feel I got the finest coaching a
young distance runner can get in the whole country, if
not the world Then, of course. I came to Oregon and
the coaching expertise continued '
The funny part of that story is that McChesney
almost didn't come to Oregon The urge to get away
from home led him close to signing with the University of
Arizona, but the atmosphere of Eugene kept him home
"There are not very many towns where you have people
wanting to grow up and be distance runners,”
McChesney explains with a laugh.“Eugene. I believe, is
unique "
His father, Bill Sr., himself an excellent high school
and college runner and current holder of the age-group
mile record for 53-year-olds (4:51), adds, "when it
came down to it (McChesney signing with Oregon), it
was Hayward Field and those doggone fans"
Another factor in McChesney's staying home was
the late Steve Prefontaine "He came to visit when I was
in junior high school, and that inspired me," the
younger McChesney recalls “I'm glad I came here. I
remember the first time I went away to a dual meet I
couldn't believe there weren’t 6,000 fans there
Eugene is definitely different"
Bill Sr and his wife Marcia never pushed
McChesney to go to Oregon "Like a lot of kids, he kind
of wanted to get away, but we re obviously glad he did
what he did," says the elder McChesney
Once at Oregon, McChesney joined a distance
corps that included Alberto Salazar. Rudy Chapa. Ken
Martin and Don Clary McChesney had run against
Chapa and Salazar in junior races, and a rivalry
between the three was bound to occur
McChesney explains: "Rudy and Al were my own
age, and we d run similar times in high school There
was a problem the first couple of years because we
were so close m ability that we raced too much in
workouts I honestly think we wasted some of our better
efforts dunng those workouts After a couple of years
we realized we had to work together and become
friends rather than rivals "
Now McChesney has only praise concerning
Salazar's present success "I think he's fabulous — he's
deserved every win he's gotten I really admire Alberto "
The senior also has praise for another man who has
made running at Oregon a little easier — coach Bill
Dellinger “My first couple of years here, I was from a
regimented high school program, so I had to get used to
Bill's structure, which was a little looser," says
McChesney. “It takes a couple of years, and that’s why
we have what's called the junior blossom. Ken Martin
hadn't done much, and then his junior year, boom. And
look at Jim Hill now.”
The relationship between McChesney and
Dellinger now is more one of friends than of athlete and
coach As McChesney says, “He came up to me after I
got back from Europe and told me, ‘You’re a man now,
you know where you're going. Think of me more as your
advisor than your coach.' "
1982 has been a tough year for McChesney.
Sidelined by an Achilles tendon injury in the winter and
slowed by a hip pointer this spring, McChesney has
been able to run no faster than 13:51.68 in the 5,000 —
the time he posted against Oregon State Saturday. Still,
McChesney is not the kind of guy who lets a few
setbacks worry him. "I'm the kind of person who
doesn't panic by adversity I have had to overcome
obstacles before, and I'll do it again. I have a real ability
to surprise people "
Besides, bearing down has never been a problem
for McChesney. "I just try to think about pace, tech
nique and relax," he says of his races. “There will be a
time when I’ll hit a physical peak. My best years have
generally come when I was supposedly having a down
year ”
In the future, McChesney hopes to make the 1984
Olympic team "I definitely want to make the Olympic
team, and I think we'll go in 1984,” he says. Despite the
amateur system in the United States, where a runner
often has to train and juggle a job at the same time,
McChesney bears no grudges.
"Yeah, it can be really hard to train, have a job and
be married, but I think the system is slowly changing.”
The Eugene native will go after the 5,000 meters in
1984, but he hasn't ruled out the 10,000. "I’ve only run
it (the 10,000) once since last year — I got a 27:30.47,
and I let the pace slide. I’m sure I can run it much
faster. ” He adds, “actually, my major goal is to see how
close I can get my mile time to 3:50 (he has run 3:56).
Everything keys off the mile."
After graduation, McChesney wants to become a
chiropractor, working with athletes, and he plans to live
and train in Eugene. He and his wife, Nanci have been
married for eight months, and it has given him a better
perspective on running. “It helps immensely,” he says.
“And, you know, I’d like to run faster, but if I don't, the
world is not going to stop."
At the moment, McChesney is optimistic about
himself and this year’s Oregon team. “Myself, I'd like to
get fit and be a real factor in the NCAAs. The team? I
think we have a good big-meet team. We have an
outside chance (of winning the Pac-10 championship).
A lot of our guys have held back, and maybe they can
comeon later."
McChesney has had a superb career at Oregon:
all-American honors in cross country and track, a
third-place NCAA finish in the 1980 5,000-meters, a
third-place finish at the Olympic trials, and the 13:15.77
at last year's Northwest Relays, which made him the
second fastest American ever at 5,000-meters. But
most importantly, Bill McChesney is a man who values
the records for what they are, and he is a happy man.
“I have no regrets,” he says. “I've been given a lot
of talent and a good mind. There is no reason not to be
happy."
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