B R E A K D O W N !

 Interview

Bob Wood

With Toni Reavis

The man credited with spearheading the ouster of USATF executive director Ollan Cassell, who for 31 years reigned over running in America, has submitted his resignation as a member of the USATF Search Committee formed to replace Cassell. 48 year-old Bob Wood of North Salt Lake City, Utah has been USATF's Men's Long Distance Running Committee chairman since December 1992, and serves on its 22-member executive committee. He spoke with The Running Life on May 5th after submitting his resignation to new USATF president, Pat Rico.

TRL: After working so hard to turn out Ollan Cassell, and now having the chance to shape the future of your sport, what led you to resign?

BW: One reason I quit is I don't think the best candidates have been found for the job [of USATF executive director], or even interviewed for that matter. And I don't want to come in and have to choose between five names, all of whom are bush league, and say, "this is my choice." I won't have my name associated with that process.

TRL: Who are some of the names being considered to replace Ollan?

BW: I have no idea. Alfred E. Newman is a major candidate, I think. The Tooth Fairy? Who knows.

TRL: As a member of the search committee you don't know who the potential candidates are?

BW: I have no clue who is on the list. How ludicrous is that? In my resignation letter to Pat Rico I said, it's mind boggling that the search committee itself does not have access to its own list of candidates."

TRL: But whoever is picked by the search committee has to be approved by the executive committee. Correct?

BW: Yes. But unless the candidate is really good, it won't happen, because the executive committee isn't behind Pat Rico. They perceive this choice as hers and they won't back it. I feel we are in trouble on this one.

TRL: But...

BW: Think about the job. Who in their right mind would want it? If you look at it objectively - from a business standpoint - who would want it? It's a dying quail, to say the least. It is a very unworkable organization. [Editor note: USATF has a $2 million budget deficit and has lost four indoor and two outdoor meets in 1997.]

TRL: Was there any one thing which precipitated your action?

BW: Pat Rico is working with Korn & Ferry [the head hunting firm retained by USATF] on a short list of candidates, all of whom she can live with. I called Korn & Ferry in early April to ask how many people had applied for the position, and could never even get a call back. Pat says the list is confidential. How can it be confidential to the search committee for heaven's sakes? This is absurd. And we are paying $50,000 for the search.

Then they let us [the search committee] know on May 1st that the meeting to select a candidate to present to the executive committee is May 17th. We had one meeting in January as a search committee, and since then not one meeting or even a conference call. That hardly does justice to a decision which I think is the most important the sport has had since the inception of the organization. Bob Bowman [IAAF Race Walking Chairman] resigned, too.

TRL: After finally getting Ollan Cassell voted out of office, how did things get off track in your mind?

BW: After the angst we went through, it is painful to see the slide back we've taken. I feel like it's gone from the good-old-boys club to the good-old-girls club. There are five women and three men [two of whom have now resigned] on the search committee. All chosen not for their wisdom or experience, but because they represent entities who help Pat Rico politically. That's what's wrong.

TRL: Are you surprised?

BW: I'm disappointed. I'm not surprised by anything that's a reflection of ineptitude or closed doors of this organization. And I backed Pat, too [for president of USATF]. But it was between her and Evie Dennis. That's like asking if you are intrigued by Attila the Hun or Genghis Khan. In my weaker moments I tried being on the inside. That didn't work. I even tried getting along. But that was just perceived as weakness.

TRL: Is your frustration at all borne out of road racing's second-cousin status in USATF?

BW: Not really. Not that there are any dollars in USATF for a separate road running division, even if they wanted one. We are hurting. What will happen is one bright day they will not meet their payroll and the whole organization will go under. They have no money. They need someone to bring money to the dance, or have another dance. But when Nike dropped out as sponsor of the indoor circuit, who stepped up? Nobody. And I don't wear Nikes nor am I in their pocket. But if Nike is the only company willing to step up, and we say, 'No.' We'd rather flush the sport down the toilet than let Nike take its chance.

TRL: Does any of this change your opinion at all of Ollan Cassell and his reign?

BW: No. It was going bad the way it was. Look at USA Today: 18 pages of sports and not one single line on running.

TRL: Besides the mention of the woman with the liver transplant running the Pittsburgh Marathon. But getting back to the search committee. Doesn't it make more sense, if you are looking for an executive, to identify the person or persons you want for that position, and then go after them? Rather than ask who wants the job?

BW: Well, of course. I can ask for applications from my kitchen. But I have no confidence that road running would be any better regardless. I had hoped we had a chance to make a change. But I have no confidence that the best candidates have been located much less interviewed. The personal conflicts have been built up so long that they are hard to overcome. You know what killed our sport, though?

TRL: How long do you have?

BW: Prize money. The old ARRA [Association of Road Race Athletes] gang can pat themselves on the back for that one. It was the lazy man's way to put on a race. You didn't have to know the sport, or know how to deal with public relations, or how to negotiate skillfully. Just plop down some prize money and wait to see who comes. All they did was make the sport financially attractive to third world athletes only.

TRL: The money in the sport hasn't changed perceptively on the roads since prize money was initiated at the Cascade Run Off in Portland, Oregon in 1981.

BW: The sport is behind us, to tell you the truth. If European track had gone to prize money, none of their athletes would be making any money, either. If basketball had used prize money, they would have gone nowhere as a sport. They wouldn't be in large arenas or have superstars. They could have kept the money low and the players would have played for cheap, because they love their sport, too. I'm at the point where I'm drained dry. I'm only a victor if I'm not dragged down any farther.

The USATF Search Committee:

The USATF executive committee will review the search committee's recommendation over the weekend of May 30-31.