Olympic legend Billy Mills to speak ahead of 62nd Jack Road Race in September

BROOKINGS — For 60 years, American distance runners have dreamed of repeating the Olympic 10K victory that Billy Mills notched in 1964.

As the XXXIII Olympiad takes place in Paris, Mills remains the only U.S. champion in the history of the longest track event. To mark the anniversary , Mills has written a children’s book — “Wings of an Eagle” — and the native South Dakotan will be in Brookings Sept. 20-21 as part of the South Dakota Festival of Books and the annual Jack 15 road race.

Mills will hand out medals to finishers of the Prairie Striders event, which was first run the year before Mills’ Olympic triumph; speak to runners and the general public the night before the race; and then speak on Saturday afternoon as part of the Festival of Books — organized by the South Dakota Humanities Council.

“Having an Olympic legend and South Dakota hero speak the night before our race will make the 62nd running of the Jack 15 an historic year," Co-Jack 15 director Dave Graves said. "There's not many runners who can say they were handed their finisher’s medal by an Olympic champion, much less one as iconic as Billy Mills. The Prairie Striders Running Club and the Jack 15 are greatly indebted to the South Dakota Humanities Council for making it possible for Mills to join us.”

Each September the humanities council, with corporate and philanthropic support, brings in dozens of writers in a wide array of subject areas to the South Dakota Festival of Books.

Mills, who is well known as a motivational speaker, has taken his first crack at writing a children’s book with “Wings of an Eagle.” He wrote about being an orphan on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation. Before his father was called to the ancestors, he told Billy how to conquer his suffering:

“You have broken wings, son. You have to dig deeper, below the anger, the hurt, the self-pity. The pursuit of a dream will heal you.”

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Mills dug beyond poverty, racism and severe health challenges and raced toward the goal of becoming an Olympic athlete, inspired by his indigenous ancestors who stood strong when the odds were against them. Though at times he felt like his wings were clipped — a lone bird falling from the sky — he adapted and overcame, finally earning his place at the 1964 Olympics.

Mills will talk at the South Dakota Art Museum auditorium at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. No admission will be charged, and the event is open to Jack 15 participants as well as the general public. The time and location for Mills’ Saturday afternoon talk hasn’t been finalized.

In addition to the Jack 15 road race, there will be a free kids run at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 21. There will also be a drawing for copies of Mill’s “Wings of an Eagle.”

“Wings of an Eagle” is illustrated by S.D. Nelson, a noted Lakota artist of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose art works are included in the collections of the South Dakota Art Museum. Copies of the book are available for purchase at the art museum store.

For information on registering for the Jack 15, go to prairiestriders.net/ jack-15.html .

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Olympic legend Billy Mills to speak ahead of 62nd Jack Road Race in September