Back in the days when track & field was still reasonably prominent, the Los Angeles area supported two indoor invitationals: the Sunkist meet at the Sports Arena, and the Los Angeles Times Indoor Games at the Forum. The latter made more of an effort to include local athletes and had a full slate of high-school and college events. I ran in the Devil Take the Hindmost mile in 1983, when I was a junior at Cal State Northridge. The devil was in full costume, and there were about 15 guys in the race. Since it was an 11-laps-to-the-mile track, there were 9 times that someone would get dropped (the first and last laps were freebies). Since I had watched the race before, I knew a bunch of idiots would go out way too fast. My strategy was to run in the middle of the pack, safe from the devil but also avoiding the maniacal surges and ridiculous early pace of the frontrunners. Everything was going fine for the first few laps. I cruised along in about 6th or 7th, having no problems other than running on slippery banked wood for the first time in my life. I was just beginning to feel comfortable when I heard the announcer (Scott Davis, who IS the voice of track & field in southern California) say "It looks like the devil will get Mike Trujillo of Cal State Northridge at the end of this lap"! I looked around in panic and sure enough, the only guy behind me was the devil. My oh-so-smart strategy of staying out of trouble in the pack didn't account for the race attrition behind me! While I had been maintaining my distance behind the leader, the back of the pack had been creeping up on me. I immediately surged like a madman (which, after all, is the point of the race as far as the fans were concerned), sacrificing a runner from Cal Lutheran on that lap. (Poetic justice? a religious school nabbed by the devil?) I stayed nearer the front for the rest of the race, finishing 3rd or 4th in about 4:20. Not fast, but hey, I got my name in the paper! So, I owe Scott Davis a big thank-you for saving me from the eternal shame of being yanked off the track by a guy in "full red satin costume including hood with horns, a cape, long forked tail, etc, and a fake goatee--and of course carrying a long plastic pitchfork." \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Mike Trujillo, Angeleno-in-exile Asst. Girl's Track & Field Coach Davenport (Iowa) Central HS (319) 391-5448 [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] ////////////////////////////////
