Ready to hit the road

Those familiar with the name Laszlo Tabori might know him as the third man to break the four-minute mile, or the athlete who competed in the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics.

A successful athlete and coach, Tabori is internationally known for his exploits on the running track.

However, many residents of Burbank and surrounding areas have enjoyed a much more personal relationship with the man.

In 1973, he formed the San Fernando Valley Track Club, which was run for years out of Burroughs High. He has also owned and operated Laszlo Tabori Sports, a small athletic shoe store on Olive Avenue, for 14 years.

Unbeknownst to many, Tabori has given back to the community with a gracious heart and unrelenting desire to help athletes. It is not uncommon for Tabori to wave the fee for his track club and train an individual for free. He has also been known to give away running shoes or sell a pair at a discounted rate for individuals who cannot afford to buy them.

Two years ago, Tabori gave away a free pair of shoes to every boys’ and girls’ divisional cross-country winner of the Bellarmine-Griffith Park Invitational.

“He has offered to train any high school athletes from Burroughs, Burbank, Bell-Jeff and Providence for free,” said Mickey DePalo, who has known Tabori for almost 25 years. “He has a heart of gold and he has given so much over the years.”

DePalo, who has worked for the Burbank Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department for nearly 30 years, has trained with Tabori. DePalo is a member of the Legacy Runners, having competed in every one of the 22 Los Angeles Marathons.

“I definitely run better when I am training with Laszlo,” DePalo said. “He is a great coach and I feel lucky to have been able to train under him.”

Sadly, Tabori, 76, is closing up his shop and giving up running his track club. In an effort to free up some of his time and relax a little, Tabori is vacating his shop at the end of the month.

“I travel sometimes, and when I get back I have a lot of catching up to do with the shop,” said Tabori, who speaks with a thick Hungarian accent. “It gets a little too much for me sometimes.

“When I was much younger and much more enthusiastic, and my kids were small, I had to work harder. But now my kids have been grown up I don’t have to work so hard any more.”

Tabori often travels to various international running events and celebrations each year.

Jim Couch has known Tabori for many years, and has even trained with the coach. Couch said Tabori’s experience in running has been an asset to thousands of athletes over the years.

“Laszlo has a keen eye for spotting talent and an ability to get the very best out of the athletes he trains,” said Couch, a former longtime coach, athletic director and current teacher at Bell-Jeff.

“He has given so much to the community, training athletes of all ages.”

Grace Fogg Miranda is a member of Tabori’s track club and has trained with the coach for more than a decade. She said what she learned has been invaluable as an athlete.

“I had been running all of my life, and I had suffered my share of injuries,” she said. “But when I started to train with Laszlo, I didn’t get a lot of those injuries. He taught me the correct way to run and the proper form to use. He helped me tremendously, and frankly, I even got faster.

“But everything started with the right pair of shoes, and Laszlo knows about shoes.”

At Tabori’s shop, running enthusiasts received a specialized, hands-on service that is just not found in most of the oversized athletic shoe stores. He painstakingly took the time to analyze each individual athlete, in order to fit him or her with a shoe that would accommodate their running style and training regimen.

“Someone once asked me ’How do you know what kind of shoes to fit a person?’ And I told them that I have my own computer,” Tabori said, pointing to his face. My computer is my eyes.

“When a person walks through my door, the first thing I see is their shoes. Then I move from the ankles to the body, and I measure what kind of body that foot carries. That’s what gives me the idea what kind of shoes to give them.”

It is that caring service that many in the community will obviously miss when Tabori closes his doors later this month.

Success as an athlete and coach is something Tabori has enjoyed throughout his life.

Competing for his native Hungary, his biggest accomplishment as an athlete came on May 28, 1955 when he became the third man to break the four-minute mile. In a meet in London, Tabori ran the mile in 3 minutes, 59 seconds.

Prospering under the direction of the great Hungarian Coach Mihaly Igloi, 1955 was a memorable year for Hungary, as runners from the country held eight world records in distances from 1,000 meters to the 6,000-meter relay. Tabori contributed a leg on the 6,000-meter relay team that ran 3:40.8 on Sept. 6 to tie the world record.

He also took part in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Tabori finished fourth in the 1,500 — just out of medal contention — in 3:42.4, as the top eight runners in the race finished within two seconds of gold medalist Ron Delany of Ireland.

Tabori also finished sixth in the Olympic 5,000 in 14:09.8.

It was a tough period for Tabori and his Hungarian teammates, many of whom competed with heavy hearts. The athletes decided to take part in the Games despite turbulent times at home.

Soviet forces had invaded the country and the Hungarian people revolted against the Communist government. The Soviets responded by rolling tanks through the streets of Budapest, as bullets flew throughout the city.

The Hungarian Olympians saw their trip to Australia as more of a flight to safety than an athletic celebration. Following the Games, 38 Hungarian athletes did not return to their homeland. Tabori and some of his teammates settled in the United States.

Tabori continued to run in the U.S. He held the world record of 3:40.8 in the 1,500 up until 1960. He is a member of the Hungarian Hall of Fame.

Following his competitive days, Tabori has enjoyed a long career as a coach.

In 1978, he won the New York Road Runners’ Club Award for his outstanding contribution to women’s distance running.

Two of Tabori’s proteges are Jacqueline Hansen, winner of the Boston and Western Hemisphere marathons, and Miki Gorman, who won marathons in New York, Boston and the Western Hemisphere race. Another runner, Leal-Ann Reinhart, became the 1978 National Marathon champion under Tabori’s tutelage.

He also coached at L.A. Valley College, before founding the San Fernando Valley Track Club.

In 1979, Tabori was given the prestigious Paavo Nurmi Award for coach of the year by Runners World magazine.

His L.A. Valley team won three state championships and held the national junior college record for the 10,000 distance medley and the four-mile relay.

“I had some very good runners over the years,” said Tabori, who resides in Culver City. “I was happy to be able to help him.”

Although he will be cutting back on some of his activities, Tabori will by no means be taking it easy. He is an assistant coach at USC, where he trains the team’s middle-distance runners.

“I really enjoy coaching those young guys,” Tabori said. “I get so excited when they run [well] and they are improving. That keeps me going.”

Looking back at his tenure in Burbank, Tabori said he has enjoyed his stay.

“This is a great town, and I’ve met some very good people,” he said. “I plan to stay in touch with most of those people.”

Undoubtedly, many of those people are grateful for a man who not only helped them improve as athletes, but cared deeply for them as individuals.

That’s what the name Laszlo Tabori has come to stand for.