Max Truex

Max Truex came to national fame in high school in Warsaw, Indiana when he set the national schoolboy record of 4:20.4 for the mile. He then attended Southern Cal. Truex was AAU 10K champion in 1956 and 1959. He also competed at the 1959 Pan-American Games. His sixth place finish in the 1960 Olympic 10K was one of the top American distance running performances in an era when few top US runners concentrated on distances. Truex retired following the 1963 season after several problems with toe and foot infections from a poorly treated blister. He served for four years in the Air Force in the late 1950s and later entered law school. He became a prominent trial lawyer in Los Angeles specializing in real estate litigation. Later in life he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease but fought it valiantly, including undergoing a fetal brain transplant in China, but eventually succumbed to the disease 15 years after his diagnosis.

Personal Bests: Mile – 4:06.6 (1957); 2 miles – 8:44.6 (1960); 5000 – 13:49.6 (1962); 10000 – 28:50.2 (1960).