University of Minnesota Athletics
Dan Dornfeld: The Start of the Griak
9/21/2023 12:56:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
Dornfeld has been the official starter for every Roy Griak Invitational.
By Trenten Gauthier
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
---
There are few individuals that can attest to being at every one of the 36, and soon to be 37, Roy Griak Invitationals. Minnesota's own Dan Dornfeld is one of those special few.
In an athletic world that, rightfully so, focuses its gaze on the incredible athletes at sporting events often there are not many eyes that notice one of the toughest positions in sports, the official.
Dan Dornfeld, a member of the Class of 2017 Roy Griak Hall of Fame, has taken the reigns of one of the greatest cross country races in the nation every year. Friday's 2023 competition will be Dornfeld's 37th time starting the event and his roots as an official with both the state of Minnesota and the 'U' go back to 1978.
"Even before it was known as the Griak, it was the Minnesota Invitational," Dornfeld, 72, explained. "Originally, the Griak was a much smaller competition. Maybe about eight teams."
Dornfeld ran in high school at St. Louis Park in the 1960s and attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated with an elementary education degree in 1973 and subsequently earned his Master's degree in 1976.
"I was never good enough to make that jump to college athletics," Dornfeld laughed. "But I'll be honest, the University of Minnesota was the only place that was on my college list."
"A lot of my high school teammates and I still participated in intramurals," Dornfeld recalled. "And at that time, the school hosted an intramural track meet. Our team had a young man by the name of Dave Winfield come through one year to the intramural championships. He had baseball practice with the Gophers and then came over after and he was our high jumper. So, he basically takes his shoes off, no warmups, and wins this high jump competition. It was just incredible."
Dornfeld's involvement as an official and as a starter at Minnesota began when his former coach R. Eugene 'Lefty' Wright, was looking for additional help and Dornfeld was happy to get involved in any way with athletics.
"Early on I was just a recall starter, and I was in charge of the chute at the finish line," Dornfeld said. "Today we have a nice area where the teams just come through, but at that time they would cross the finish line and we would shuffle them into different alleys, or zones. I would be out there with a swing rope and saying things like, 'Number two, go to chute three!'"
As Dornfeld's role continued to grow, and he took full responsibility as the official starter, the meet also continued to grow in popularity. After starting as just a college competition for Divisions I, II and III, high school races were added in 1994. At its peak, the Griak has seen upwards of 600 competitors in one race, with the 2023 version of the Griak featuring as many as 40 teams in one high school race.
"At the NCAA level, the starter often does not get out of the way," Dornfeld, who is a USATF Master Certified Official, said. "Officials are treated as part of the course. For me, if I am the one to start any race, the last thing I need to do is cause anyone to have a disadvantage. At that moment in time when a race starts, the danger isn't to the first wave of runners, it is the second, third and fourth wave of runners that would have to dodge or jump out of the way of someone like me and potentially fall down. After I start the Griak, I always run downhill so that I can then swing around and follow the runners to that 100-meter mark. And if someone goes down in that time frame, we fire the guns and we will start the race over again."
"My motto in this role has always been, make sure the athletes are thought of first."
Some of Dornfeld's favorite memories are of his chats with student-athletes prior to races. Dornfeld has been an official at a number of high-profile competitions including the NCAA Championships for Division II and Division III, various Big Ten Championships as well as the Sika Bram meet in Blaine, Minn., back in the 1990s where Carl Lewis and the Santa Monica Track Club competed. He also recalled Minnesota great Matthew Wilkinson, before he took the Big Ten by storm.
"When Matt was running for Carleton, at the Division III at the MIAC Championships, he was just floating through his race," Dornfeld said with a smile. "And when his time was announced, he had no idea that he had just demolished the MIAC record and catapulted him to No. 1 in the nation. And to see his reaction, and his pure excitement about what he did and what he accomplished. It is always fun to see athletes in those moments, celebrating all their hard work they have put in."
Dornfeld also fondly recalls memories with the late, great, Roy Griak.
"Before the Griak, Roy would always ride his golf cart up and down and tell people to get back. We had one situation where someone was trying to get a photo from the middle of the course near the starting area. Then suddenly, Roy stops and yells to me, 'Dornfeld, this is your race! If you want him out here, he can stay, but if not, you can get him out of here!' At that point I realized, this start area is mine. That starting area is my part of the Griak that I can run and control each and every year."
When thinking about what's next for Dornfeld, he admittedly says he hasn't thought about the end of his time as an official or his time at the Roy Griak Invitational.
"I'll be honest, I have, and I have not thought about when I'm going to stop doing this at the Griak," Dornfeld said. "My wife and I want to do some more traveling, but I don't have a number on the amount of Griak meets or the age that I am aiming to be done by."
"I just respect this program and all the coaches that have come through here over the years," Dornfeld added. "I bleed Maroon and Gold. It is like a big family here. It really is."
Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
---
There are few individuals that can attest to being at every one of the 36, and soon to be 37, Roy Griak Invitationals. Minnesota's own Dan Dornfeld is one of those special few.
In an athletic world that, rightfully so, focuses its gaze on the incredible athletes at sporting events often there are not many eyes that notice one of the toughest positions in sports, the official.
Dan Dornfeld, a member of the Class of 2017 Roy Griak Hall of Fame, has taken the reigns of one of the greatest cross country races in the nation every year. Friday's 2023 competition will be Dornfeld's 37th time starting the event and his roots as an official with both the state of Minnesota and the 'U' go back to 1978.
"Even before it was known as the Griak, it was the Minnesota Invitational," Dornfeld, 72, explained. "Originally, the Griak was a much smaller competition. Maybe about eight teams."
Dornfeld ran in high school at St. Louis Park in the 1960s and attended the University of Minnesota where he graduated with an elementary education degree in 1973 and subsequently earned his Master's degree in 1976.
"I was never good enough to make that jump to college athletics," Dornfeld laughed. "But I'll be honest, the University of Minnesota was the only place that was on my college list."
"A lot of my high school teammates and I still participated in intramurals," Dornfeld recalled. "And at that time, the school hosted an intramural track meet. Our team had a young man by the name of Dave Winfield come through one year to the intramural championships. He had baseball practice with the Gophers and then came over after and he was our high jumper. So, he basically takes his shoes off, no warmups, and wins this high jump competition. It was just incredible."
Dornfeld's involvement as an official and as a starter at Minnesota began when his former coach R. Eugene 'Lefty' Wright, was looking for additional help and Dornfeld was happy to get involved in any way with athletics.
"Early on I was just a recall starter, and I was in charge of the chute at the finish line," Dornfeld said. "Today we have a nice area where the teams just come through, but at that time they would cross the finish line and we would shuffle them into different alleys, or zones. I would be out there with a swing rope and saying things like, 'Number two, go to chute three!'"
As Dornfeld's role continued to grow, and he took full responsibility as the official starter, the meet also continued to grow in popularity. After starting as just a college competition for Divisions I, II and III, high school races were added in 1994. At its peak, the Griak has seen upwards of 600 competitors in one race, with the 2023 version of the Griak featuring as many as 40 teams in one high school race.
"At the NCAA level, the starter often does not get out of the way," Dornfeld, who is a USATF Master Certified Official, said. "Officials are treated as part of the course. For me, if I am the one to start any race, the last thing I need to do is cause anyone to have a disadvantage. At that moment in time when a race starts, the danger isn't to the first wave of runners, it is the second, third and fourth wave of runners that would have to dodge or jump out of the way of someone like me and potentially fall down. After I start the Griak, I always run downhill so that I can then swing around and follow the runners to that 100-meter mark. And if someone goes down in that time frame, we fire the guns and we will start the race over again."
"My motto in this role has always been, make sure the athletes are thought of first."
Some of Dornfeld's favorite memories are of his chats with student-athletes prior to races. Dornfeld has been an official at a number of high-profile competitions including the NCAA Championships for Division II and Division III, various Big Ten Championships as well as the Sika Bram meet in Blaine, Minn., back in the 1990s where Carl Lewis and the Santa Monica Track Club competed. He also recalled Minnesota great Matthew Wilkinson, before he took the Big Ten by storm.
"When Matt was running for Carleton, at the Division III at the MIAC Championships, he was just floating through his race," Dornfeld said with a smile. "And when his time was announced, he had no idea that he had just demolished the MIAC record and catapulted him to No. 1 in the nation. And to see his reaction, and his pure excitement about what he did and what he accomplished. It is always fun to see athletes in those moments, celebrating all their hard work they have put in."
Dornfeld also fondly recalls memories with the late, great, Roy Griak.
"Before the Griak, Roy would always ride his golf cart up and down and tell people to get back. We had one situation where someone was trying to get a photo from the middle of the course near the starting area. Then suddenly, Roy stops and yells to me, 'Dornfeld, this is your race! If you want him out here, he can stay, but if not, you can get him out of here!' At that point I realized, this start area is mine. That starting area is my part of the Griak that I can run and control each and every year."
When thinking about what's next for Dornfeld, he admittedly says he hasn't thought about the end of his time as an official or his time at the Roy Griak Invitational.
"I'll be honest, I have, and I have not thought about when I'm going to stop doing this at the Griak," Dornfeld said. "My wife and I want to do some more traveling, but I don't have a number on the amount of Griak meets or the age that I am aiming to be done by."
"I just respect this program and all the coaches that have come through here over the years," Dornfeld added. "I bleed Maroon and Gold. It is like a big family here. It really is."
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