I recently played golf with my friend Mike, which is ironic, because Mike is the reason I run today and the irony is that golf played a major role.
Mike and I tried out as freshman for the Sabino High School golf team, (ahem), many years ago. We hacked it around, practicing on the links all summer and gave it our best shot on a hot, monsoony Tucson August afternoon. We weren’t really that good, but thought we maybe had a chance. But in our young naiveté, we missed one thing: the Sabino golf team was perennially tops in the state and had future pro Willie Wood leading the charge. Needless to say, we did not make the team. Back then, after school sports substituted for Phys Ed and we were petrified that we would have to take P.E. and shower after 3rd period. So we did what any scared 14-year-old kid would do - signed up for Cross Country, a no cut sport!
Twenty-eight years later I am reminded of this story as I ran at the Tucson City Parks Track & Field Meet at the UA open track meets. Alongside me for the mile race were two recently graduated kids from Sabino, one the state high school champ in the mile and half-mile, and the other a close runner up. After the race they were full of questions. They wanted to know times, records and how fast we were back in the day. My memory was fuzzy and I couldn’t remember much except some ugly uniforms and the golf story.
Mike and I remain friends to this day because of our love of running, respect for our cross country coach Mr. Brooks and the ability to look the other way after the other suffers a bad golf shot. We had some great teams back then, but oddly all Mike and I could remember that day were the great times we had along with our teammates. No times, no course records, just laughing and running. I hope that’s what running is for you, laughing, running and pursuing your dreams. Luckily we were able to realize ours.
I finished a distant third to my much younger Sabino brethren that night (the state champ even lapped me). But, needless to say, I'm on the team.
FYI - Mike was there for another 1st. The first time I went for a run after chemotherapy treatment for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
As a 5'1" 125lb freshman, I wasn't football material, that's for sure. I'd run with my Dad during the "Jogging" craze of the late 60s and thought I'd try cross-country. I was never very good (my best 3mi was 17:30), but I had fun and got to see some pretty places in NJ.
ReplyDeleteMy standard joke is that the reason I'm a runner is because chewing gum at the same time is not required. Good thing, otherwise I'd be sporting some serious road rash!
While I was in college, I worked 2 summers in southern Alaska and got talked into running the 4th of July Mt. Marathon race in Seward AK. Up the side of a mountain and hurtling back down!
I got back into running in my early 40s to control my weight. I have really come to enjoy the local races. A big shout-out to the folks at SAR who organize them.
Doug speaks the truth. I think the football gear weighed more than me when I was a freshman!
ReplyDeleteRunning is a sport that provides lifelong benefits, whether you run a 17:30 3-mile (very respectable BTW), or just enjoy running for pleasure, your body and mind will be the better for it.
FYI - Mt. Marathon in Seward AK:
http://www.city-data.com/picfilesv/picv8140.php
My very respectible 3 mi time was more than half a lifetime ago...
ReplyDeleteThe Mt Marathon race is the highlight of a small town 4th of July celebration. The mountain is VERY steep and the descent is every bit as steep. The first year I ran it I had no idea what I'd talked my way into. The winners (usually locals) finish in about 45mins, my best time was 58 min up and 17 back down, for a grand total of 1:15 and some change. I'd love to do it again, but I think my wife (who attempted to hike it) would seriously object to the idea.
My knees have already seriously objected to it and I wasn't even planning on running the race! Thanks for your insight Doug - will you be at the 40th Annual Saguaro National Monument Race in September? Until then, these races are fun for a few more weeks...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.azroadrunners.org/docs/09TrackFlyer.pdf
I did the Saguaro race once. Actually, the gun went off when I was in the porta-pottie (oops!). I have terrific respect for anyone that even finishes that hot and hilly course. I'm not sure I'll be in the shape I need to be for that one. I'll try to catch some of the shorter SAR races in the fall. One of my favorites is the Jim Click Run n' Roll race in early October.
ReplyDeleteI ran in high school many moons ago.. because.. if i went home early, it meant fixing fences and windmills, cleaning up horse poopies and other assorted chores at my dads ranch. i stopped after i graduated had children etc. in 1990 i had a son. jeremy was a running boy from the begining, never crawled, didnt start walkin he started running. he ran until the day he died last march 21, 2009. always asking questions. answers to his unending "why"'s were only followed by more "why"s. it got a bit nerve wracking so i learned that if i asked him to run around the yard, i would get a rest from the questions. he would run past the front door and ask "again?" and he would run laps around the yard for as long as i kept telling him "yes". that was at age 2. we never took walks. i always ran after him to make sure he wouldnt run into the streets. he exelled at all sports in our small highschool especially cross country, track and wrestling. he was always a little guy, having been born at 31 weeks but a might one at that. he had a growth spurt the summer of his freshman year and finally caught up to his schoolmates. regardless, he had already develped his love of running. was it love or was it something he just had to do. i dont know. i was the ever faithfull fan. someitmes i was the only one parent at meets but i was there for him. if i was late he would continually text or call to see where i was at. the last goal he set was to run a 100 mile race. he was going to start training after the regular cross country season at Gateway community college , where he ran cross country for the geckos. he set this goal after winning his age group yet again at the Bisbee 1000 stair climb in ocotber of 2008. Jeremy died March 21, 2009. he was unable to reach his last goal although he did run the stair climb route the day he died. he ran this course jsut for fun most days, other days he ran to the mule mountain towers ( a gruesome uphill run). 7 months after his death, the bisbee 1000 came up again. with absolutely no training ( i always boasted that i only run when scared or angry) , i decided to run the stair climb in his honor. my husband and i scraped up enough money for the entry fee that morning. our 16 yr old daughter had died the new years before so we had to pay for 2 funerals in less than 3 months and our finances were stretched to the max. i ran the entire course. that started me running again. ive found that running eases the pain of losing my son a little bit. i run with his ipod, jsut as he did and imagine what he was thinking. by no means do i run as much or as well as he did but running clears my mind and allows me to somewhat function for the rest of the day. on days i dont run for whatever reason i find myself in the claws of depression. ive decided i have to run every day for the sake of sanity. i havent run in any oranized races yet , i race against myself. hopefuly i will have the guts to run in my sons memorial race thsi year. the Jeremy Heiss Memorial Mule Mountains Tower Race will be on May 1st 2010. start at 8 AM registration at 7:30. the race begins above the mule mountain tunnel that goes into bisbee from hwy 80. it is approximaltely a 10 K but there will be a shorter race/walk TBD at later. Thunder MountainRunning club and Seabhs is sponsoring the race. proceeds will go to a memorial scholarship fund in Jeremys name. wish me luck
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I cant even imagine the pain of losing two children in such a short period of time, and at such an early age as Jaysmomma has. My heart goes out to you. I lost my only son, Willi when he was 23, and at the time I thought that my world had no real meaning left.
ReplyDeleteBut Willi and I were nothing special in this world. It happens every day to thousands and we just have to regroup and carry on with our own lives the best way we can, with the memories that we have of our loved ones. We were lucky to have them the short time that they were here with us.
As far as running goes, I ran in competition for about 8 years, 4 in high school, 2 in community college, and 2 in AAU and all-comers meets.
My 1st year in high school was the 880 yard run, which was fun, if you liked to barf after every race, so I switched to the 1oo and 220 yard dashes, where I did reasonably well, considering.
I found that anyone that runs over 400 meters in competition these days is a masochist, and you can take that to the bank.
The 100 meter dash scores just as many points as does the 26 mile, 285 yard marathon, but without all the blisters. Get it?
Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba
Jaysmomma - thank you for sharing your story, your loss truly breaks my heart. Running if nothing else, is therapeutic. I'm happy you are able to keep Jeremy's memory alive though running and racing. Send me the details as they get closer, I manage the SAR Facebook Page and would be glad to share the details to our members.
ReplyDeleteFerraribubba – I’m sorry for your loss as well. I too was fortunate to compete into the college level. And like you, I always fought getting ‘moved’ up in distance like my fellow teammates. So it was the 800 and 1500 for me. I thought I was doing pretty good until I lost by 30 meters to a miler from England on his ‘easy’ day (he did make England’s Olympic Team tho). Ouch. That was when I knew that my career would be as an ex-runner…I now run for fun and the friends.
ReplyDeleteA fellow Sabino graduate!
ReplyDelete