Tribute to an old coach: Len Olson

This post is long overdue and I apologize to older alums for the delay in getting the word out. Former Marist men’s track coach Len Olson passed away back in April at the age of 86. Len was the track coach at Marist for 10 years, starting in 1967 and also served as cross country coach for the first five years (this, according to his obituary). I met Len many years ago for lunch, along with very loyal Marist Track Alum Peter VanAken (who notified me of Len’s passing via email … again, sorry for the delay in getting this out). At the time, Len shared with me several oversized bins of historical information from his time with the program, and they are tucked away in our storage area in the McCann Center. He was a meticulous note taker and passionate about track. Peter also shared this link to Len’s obituary. He live a good and long life, and did a lot for track and field – not only in Poughkeepsie but all over the country, as you can see in the obit. He even wrote a book about the history of Masters Track and Field!

In addition, thanks to loyal alum Marty McGowan for sharing this vintage team photo, with Coach Olson in the back row wearing a shirt and tie – as Marty said, he was probably arriving right from his job at IBM. Marty wrote in an email about his old coach: “Len’s time at Marist wasn’t so much a part-time job, it was a labor of love. His way to influence the next generation coming up.” This photo of the 1971 XC team features Coach Olson, along with the following names, from left to right, provided by Marty: Bob Nelson, Pete Rock, Jay Doyle, Don Gillespie, assistant coach Bob Gisel. Bottom row: John Petraglia, Bob Salomone, Marty McGowan (nice glasses!) and Pat Stevens. Thanks again, Marty. I’m trying to cobble together a list of all the track/cross country coaches in the program’s history; if I can piece that together, I’ll share it at some point. The men’s program dates back to 1963, so I think there was just one coach prior to Len; the women’s program was started in 1985, when I was still a student at Marist, and women’s track only began in 1991 – when Phil Kelly and I started working together – so that history will be much easier to put together, because I’ve lived it! Anyway, again, here’s the link to Len’s obituary. His legacy within our program is secure.