There are really not that many people who can say they raced against the great Jim Ryun. There are fewer that can say they held their own, in a race against Jim Ryun. There are even fewer who can say they raced against Jim Ryun, held their own against Jim Ryun, were a college teammate of Jim Ryun and were on an NCAA Championship team with the legendary miler. Doug Smith the former Sioux City Central star, if ever questioned, could answer all in the affirmative.
Doug Smith was good enough to be on the track in the same meet, in the same race with not only Ryun, the 1968 Olympic Silver medalist at 1500 meters, but also 1972 Olympic 800 champ Dave Wottle, Marty Liquori and the great Steve Prefontaine. Doug Smith was that good.
With conversions in place, Doug Smith had a high school PR for 1600 meters of 4:11. He ran the equivalent of 9:05.8 for 3200. In 1964 he ran 4:15.5 in the mile as a 14 year old freshman. That is 4:13.9 for 1600 meters. That mark was the national freshman record for 42 years!
While at Sioux City Central, Doug was surrounded by other outstanding runners, who helped push him to great performances. During his high school career, Central won the state mile team race three times, they won four state cross country championships and the 1967 Class 2A track title.
In Cross Country, teammate and 2 time individual champion Dave Compton led Central to team titles in 1963 and 1964. Smith was 3rd as a freshman in ’64, and took his turn in leading the squad to victory in 1965, 66 and 67. This amazing run of success made Central the only team to win 5 in a row plus have the 5 individual champions. In the early years of high school cross country in Iowa, only the top three finishers figured in the teams score. So just for icing on the cake, so to speak, Central finished 1-2-3 and scored a perfect 6 points in the 1964-65 and 66 state meets. They struggled in 1967 finishing 1-3-4, watching their team total balloon to 8 points.
As an individual, Doug’s results are unmatched. He was a 3 time state cross country champion, a three time Drake Relays mile champion and a 3 time state mile champion.
Upon graduating from high school Doug took his talents to Lawrence, Kansas to run for Hall of Fame coach Bob Timmons and the Kansas Jayhawks. It was at KU that Doug was fortunate enough to train and race with Ryun. Smith said, “Jim was a senior when I was a freshman. We became good friends. He was very quiet, reserved and dedicated. His work ethic was second to none. It was good for me to try to stay close to him”.
While at KU, Doug took his mile PR to 4:02.9, was an indoor All American, Captain of the cross country team his senior year and was a part of some of the NCAA’s best teams of the early 70’s.
In Doug’s four years at Kansas, Kansas won 3 Big 8 indoor titles, 4 outdoor titles and 1 cross country crown. They were indoor national champions in 1969 and 1970; outdoor runner-ups in `69 and outdoor champion in ‘70.
After graduating in 1972 with a degree in education, Doug began a 15 year career as a high school teacher and track coach. His teams at Salinas Central won 2 state championships. Doug left teaching and coaching in 1986 to enter the business world. He is now with Josten’s in the Milwaukee area and lives in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
When asked who impacted his life or had a positive influence, Doug was quick to mention his coaches. His junior high coach Rich Risner, his high school coach Ray Obermiller, and Kansas Coach Bob Timmons.
When I asked about other competitors he had those names at the ready as well. He mentioned fellow IATC Hall of Famer Jerome Howe. He battled with the former Treynor standout both in High School and college, as Howe competed for fellow Big 8 school Kansas State, as well as mentioning his teammates from those great Central teams.
In closing, Doug said, “I am very proud of my accomplishments as a runner; especially the discipline it taught me. I learned valuable life lessons from my sport. I am most proud of the team championships I won as an athlete and as a coach”.