Vale Frank Green -- Memories
Memories of Frank Green
6 January 1940 - 16 September 2009
The genesis of the Customs Joggers occurred at the Fishers Ghost Fun Run at Campbelltown in about 1974. Shortly before that, Garry Hand, as Personnel Officer at Sydney Customs, had met a young Irishman off the boat who had been recruited to bolster the Customs IT area. At the time of the Fishers Ghost, Frank Green was largely an unknown quantity apparently with little running experience but a reputation as an elite bike rider. He travelled down with us to Campbelltown for the run.
In those days most of us were happy if we finished the course without stopping so we were astounded when Frank ran with the leaders and was just out kicked in the last 400
metres to finish fourth. It was a very hot day and Frank spent the next couple of hours in the recovery tent suffering from heat exhaustion. This only added to the mystique.
As we surfed the fun running wave through the 70's and early 80's Frank continued to show what could be achieved and contributed to many team triumphs. A notable one
was when he combined with Garry and Danny Dawes to win the Veterans Teams category in the City to Surf – notable because the Tallay running shop organisation ran multiple seeded teams drawn from all the best runners in Sydney. Frank's bike experience came to the fore on another occasion when the same three won the veteran's category in the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon. While there was much argument over who would swim and who would run, the bike leg was never in doubt and taking over far behind the leaders after the swim leg he put the team sufficiently close to the lead that the run leg was a formality.
When the Customs Joggers morphed into the Weston Creek Athletic Club, Frank continued to impress with his ability and determination. He was a member of many successful Weston Creek teams and was as hard as nails. He was a great contributor to Redbacks' success both on the road and was equally competitive on the track. He was always happy to travel to represent the Club around NSW and competed with
credit at the Wagga Marathon more than once.
Frank was also a wonderful club member, often being the first to volunteer. In the early days of the Weston Creek Fun Run we prided ourselves in announcing the winners of all
categories at the presentation after the run. While the outright winners were easily identify, the winners of the many team categories required just the sort of mental gymnastic ability that Frank possessed. He would put
his head down while numbers and placings were fed to him at an alarming rate. We always had the answers in time and never registered a mistake.
As a veteran runner he still holds an Australian Record and three ACT Records all set in 1985. His Australian Record is for the M45 one hour run (17,259m) and his other two ACT Records are for M45 3000m (9.07.4) and 5000m (15.44.5).
From a - Life Member Weston Creek Athletics - also a former
Customs employee
6 January 1940 - 16 September 2009
The genesis of the Customs Joggers occurred at the Fishers Ghost Fun Run at Campbelltown in about 1974. Shortly before that, Garry Hand, as Personnel Officer at Sydney Customs, had met a young Irishman off the boat who had been recruited to bolster the Customs IT area. At the time of the Fishers Ghost, Frank Green was largely an unknown quantity apparently with little running experience but a reputation as an elite bike rider. He travelled down with us to Campbelltown for the run.
In those days most of us were happy if we finished the course without stopping so we were astounded when Frank ran with the leaders and was just out kicked in the last 400
metres to finish fourth. It was a very hot day and Frank spent the next couple of hours in the recovery tent suffering from heat exhaustion. This only added to the mystique.
As we surfed the fun running wave through the 70's and early 80's Frank continued to show what could be achieved and contributed to many team triumphs. A notable one
was when he combined with Garry and Danny Dawes to win the Veterans Teams category in the City to Surf – notable because the Tallay running shop organisation ran multiple seeded teams drawn from all the best runners in Sydney. Frank's bike experience came to the fore on another occasion when the same three won the veteran's category in the Sri Chinmoy Triathlon. While there was much argument over who would swim and who would run, the bike leg was never in doubt and taking over far behind the leaders after the swim leg he put the team sufficiently close to the lead that the run leg was a formality.
When the Customs Joggers morphed into the Weston Creek Athletic Club, Frank continued to impress with his ability and determination. He was a member of many successful Weston Creek teams and was as hard as nails. He was a great contributor to Redbacks' success both on the road and was equally competitive on the track. He was always happy to travel to represent the Club around NSW and competed with
credit at the Wagga Marathon more than once.
Frank was also a wonderful club member, often being the first to volunteer. In the early days of the Weston Creek Fun Run we prided ourselves in announcing the winners of all
categories at the presentation after the run. While the outright winners were easily identify, the winners of the many team categories required just the sort of mental gymnastic ability that Frank possessed. He would put
his head down while numbers and placings were fed to him at an alarming rate. We always had the answers in time and never registered a mistake.
As a veteran runner he still holds an Australian Record and three ACT Records all set in 1985. His Australian Record is for the M45 one hour run (17,259m) and his other two ACT Records are for M45 3000m (9.07.4) and 5000m (15.44.5).
From a - Life Member Weston Creek Athletics - also a former
Customs employee
posted by Friar at Wednesday, September 23, 2009
2 Comments:
That's sad Doug. He was a great runner and team man for the Creek and Customs.
I sooned learned of Frank's achievements when I commenced working and running with Customs.
He had by then reverted to cycling only and was up with the best veteran cyclists.
He had one of the best and extremely efficient cycling style I have seen and I imagine it was the same when running.
I always found him unassuming, friendly and a gentleman.
Jim Tucker
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