Always a runner…

The brain doesn’t forget those memorable runs. Maybe that’s what keeps us still running after all these years. Back in the days when our weekly goal to accumulate a certain number, be it 50 or 100 miles, we did a lot of running. There was a lot of garbage miles accumulated.

Usually, our schedule dictated where we ran. Working, we usually ran near work at lunchtime and somewhere between work and home for our afternoon run. Traveling was trickier. The changing/showering part was challenging. Out and back was the easiest to compute. Alongside busy roads, down crowded sidewalks, or even laps around hotel parking lots, whatever it took, we got it in. Vacations were always more pleasant. Morning runs got us acclimated to our surroundings, and ready to start a pleasant day sightseeing with the family. Occasionally they weren’t so idyllic, as in one trip to Disneyland. I ran out and back down Harbor Blvd. Seven miles of stoplights and concrete, not too scenic, but I got in the miles. Then there are those that stick in my mind forever. Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, and Carmel highlight these memories.

These days, my weekly goal no longer matters. Most vacations are usually run-less. A recent trip to Carmel had me driving a seven mile run I used to run so frequently. It bordered the ocean for most of the run. Just driving the course brought back memories. The sights, sounds, smells triggered how the run felt. I can capture it even now in my mind. There is no reason I can’t recapture this. I know the run will be a lot slower, and may take a bit more effort, but I’ll have no regrets. Like seeing an old friend, I know I’ll see them again, and I’m glad.

How many of us have had this dream? A house in the woods where we could take off from our front door and run for miles through the sights, sounds, and smells of nature. The trail routes would be unlimited; hills, flats, meadow loops, shade, pine needles…and the list goes on. The only sounds are the wind through the trees, the pitter-patter of our running flats, and the squawks and chirps of the birds.

Quentin Cassidy had the pleasure of having two cabins while training for his two big races. The cabin sat back off the road in the dripping trees like a part of the forest itself, earthy brown, and plain, with a skin of cedar shakes, Yep, that’s for me. I like the North Carolina one a little better than the Florida cabin, but they both sounded ideal.

Of course in my dream, I’d still be running 50 plus miles a week, even at age 60. Every so often, I’d come down from the hills to race before heading back up to my mountain oasis.

The closest I’ve gotten to this vision were vacations to Yosemite National Park when I was in my 30’s. For a week or so, my family would rent a cabin in the valley. I’d be up at dawn exploring the vast network of trails, then out again at dusk for a few more idyllic miles. Occasionally, we stay in Wawona on the southern end of the park. There was a loop that circled the golf course, but back far enough to be secluded. At dawn, and also at dusk the golfers would be gone; their spots taken by dozens of deer grazing. For a week or two, I was Quentin Cassidy, although quite a bit slower, and not nearly as successful. That didn’t matter, I had my cabin, and my mountain trails. Time stood still.

Reality set in. I’m not retired in my cabin. I’m not running 50 mile weeks. I also didn’t envision having to be restricted to running with a partner after having a heart attack.

Thanks to John L. Parker, I am reliving my cabin fantasy once again in “Again to Carthage.” John’s writing puts us right there in the hills, running through the seasons, thankful we are “always a runner.”

Since last month, the term “always a runner” began to seem like it should be “sometimes a runner.”  The comeback is just around the corner, but the avenue to get there will be a bit different.

We all have set backs.  Injuries, personal obligations, and sickness all put us out of commission for a bit.  The comeback though is usually the same.  We start off slow, and gradually get back to our old routines, old workouts, old running trails.  This time it’s a bit different and I’m very anxious about how it will play out.

You see, last month, I had a heart attack.  Everyone asks “how did this happen?  You are in such good shape.” Well I’m wondering too, along with my doctor.  The heart attack was mild.  The follow-up tests all showed healthy veins, arteries, and values. Blood pressure was good, although a bit low. No stint was needed.  The treadmill test got me up to max heart rate with no signs of irregularities.  So’ I’m healthy.

The doctor says I am fine.  I can run in a month, BUT…carry nitroglycerin, and (here’s the hard part), don’t run by yourself.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do like running with other runners, but I also cherish the time I have running alone.  I’m sure you all know the joy. Since I have become fairly non-competitive (a nicer word for slower), I usually run the trails at my own pace, where and whenever I’d like.  That’s gone.

One heartwarming (no pun intended) fact is that I have had so many friends and acquaintances telling me that they’d run with me. I guess I can look at this as just another chapter to my lifetime of being always a runner. 

The logs are tucked away in a box. File folders for every year. The logs, race results, newspaper clippings…they’re all there, albeit a little musty and dusty these days. I still keep a log today, although I no longer tally a year end total. That ended when I no longer topped 1,000 miles a year. The old logs though, they were the relics most fun to peruse.

At first, they were basic calendar entries with the mileage written in. The goal seemed to be to have no zeros. Double digits were preferable. Even though I knew the importance of rest days, I could see streaks when I was feeling good and put in stretches of double digit days. The drawback of these old logs was that I couldn’t determine if they were two-a-day, or single runs. Usually, weekends were single runs with weekdays consisting of two runs, one at lunch and the other after work. 3,000 miles equated to a good year.

Around the middle 80’s, I started using the Jim Fixx Running Log. Finally, I could see where I ran, and (a big mistake) how fast I ran. This probably helped gain some PRs, but eventually, I’m sure this practice led to some chronic injuries that follow me today. You know how it goes, “last week, I ran this course in an hour flat, today I’m feeling good and going for 59,” even though I put in a hard run the day before…and so it goes. Easy days were good in theory, but only happened because of minor injuries, or other commitments squeezing out the day’s run.

Still, it was much fun pouring over the old logs. It is nice to know I was able to run some decent times, and put in a good amount of mileage. That’s where the fun stops. Comparing these logs with logs from today, it appears to be two completely different runners had filled them out; same person yes, but in a sense, two very different runners. As in regarding history, it’s good to know where we’ve been so we can not make the same mistakes, and plan better where we’re going. Remember, today’s logs are tomorrow’s history. Run smart. You’ll be checking back someday.

Happy trails.

The t-shirt had a simple design. In the middle was a vibrant, ripe orange. Above it was the word Florida. That’s it. I wore this shirt until it had holes the size of the orange itself. It got pretty ratty, but I continued to wear it. It was the logo of the Florida Track Club. No, I wasn’t a member. For those unaware, the Florida Track Club in the early 70’s consisted of Jeff Galloway, Frank Shorter, Jack Bacheler, Barry Brown, Bryon Dyce, John Parker…and the list went on. They were like the Super Bowl champs of the running world.

Guess it was kind of like someone wearing a 49er jersey. Do they play for the team? No, but I’m sure they are fans who feel good just wearing the jersey. In the Florida shirt, I felt faster. Feeling faster, I probably was. I’m sure the thousands of miles I put in wearing the shirt helped a bit.

A few years ago, I looked up the FTC online. They had shirts for sale so I put my order in. When the shirt arrived, I was disappointed. It was a very nice shirt; high quality material, very classy, but not what I was expecting. The orange was still there. Florida is above, but now in a bright blue, with the words Track Club under the orange. The shirt identifies its members well, where the old shirt could have been some t-shirt your aunt picked up on a vacation to Florida. That was the appeal for me. It was subtle. Those in the know knew the significance. The shirts may be been commonplace around the southeastern US, but in the fields around Davis, or in the hills of Antioch, California, mine was the only one around.

The actor playing Frank Shorter in the movie Without Limits, or was it Prefontaine, wore the new shirt: the one with Track Club under the orange. Just that little slip lost a lot of the authenticity of the movie for me.

I’m sure we all have had our favorite running t-shirts, but because of wear or a little outgrowing on our part, they are no longer wearable. Guess we’ll just have to keep running and sooner or later, we’ll have a new favorite shirt that we’ll sooner or later wear out or outgrow.

In trying to learn everything I could about running, I subscribed to every running magazine published in the 1970’s. I didn’t throw any away; at least not until the end of the 80’s. The garage was getting pretty cluttered. The magazines had to go. I made copies of interesting articles, and I did keep about 10 oldies. These days, I read them and toss them. Occasionally, I will copy a good article, but after 30+ years of running, there is only so many ways you can reword, or recycle concepts and training tips. Tips on training to run a five hour marathon don’t interest me.

So it was great fun the other day when I was rummaging through the garage and found my small stack of 70’s and 80’s running mags. I picked up the top one and started reading page after page. I probably sat there for an hour, amidst the tools, Christmas decoration boxes, and storage bins. The articles brought back memories of a different time. Boy, have times changed…and then again, they haven’t that much. There are days when I’m out running, that it feels as good as it ever did. Sure, we’re a bit slower, but the afterglow is still the same.

The first magazine I poured through was the March 1971 edition of Runner’s World. Jack Bacheler and Frank Shorter were on the cover. The black and white magazine sold for 75 cents. Where were the models on the cover? No guys flaunting their six pack abs. No women in some fake running pose. Just two guys, covered in mud, duking it out on a cross country course. Both were wearing their Florida Track Club singlets.

The lead article was an interview of Frank and Jack. They talked about their training, the possibilities of making the 72 Olympics, and training to be the best they could be. This was especially interesting as I had just met Frank Shorter about a week before. He came to speak at my workplace, and talked a bit about his history, and about his current work with the US Anti-Doping Agency.

The writers read like a runner’s Hall of Fame. There were articles by Percy Cerutty, Ted Corbitt, Fred Grace, Hal Higdon, George Sheehan, Joe Henderson and Skip Stolley. An interesting note is that Hal Higdon is still listed as a Contributing Editor of Runner’s World today.

There were only a handful of ads, unlike today’s with ads on just about every other page. Most were ads for either running shoes, or running stores. There were ads for Blue Ribbon Sports selling Tiger shoes, The Running Shop in Larkspur selling Reebok, Specialty Sports in Houston, Road King shoes, and Lydiard Road Racer shoes.

An article titled Cross Country’s varied elite listed interesting profiles on Steve Prefontaine, Donal Walsh, and Don Kardong.

A race announcement caught my attention. It was for the Salt City Marathon in Syracuse, NY. What caught my eye was a line that read: Everyone Welcome (including WOMEN). I forgot how much the 70’s were still in the dark ages.

There were no hints on how to get faster and stronger with less work. The gist of the stories was that you needed to run more to get better; simple as that. George Sheehan threw in medical advice mixed with good old common sense.

Hal Higdon wrote about turning 40 and his thoughts on Master’s running. Like all of us, it’s nice to know Hal still is, and will be, always a runner.

Where can you buy a decent pair of running shorts these days? Specialty running stores and Road Runner Sports probably have them. But what if you don’t live near a RRS or specialty store, and don’t want to buy online? What’s your choice? Chain sporting goods stores, forget it. Department stores, good luck! Seems like everyone has gone NBA these days.

How does anyone run in shorts down to their knees? Compression shorts I can see, but the baggy, long basketball type? It seems like it would be like running in a skirt. Doesn’t that baggy material rub? Who hasn’t had a good case of crotch-burn, from just regular running shorts. It seems like anyone wearing these long babies are just asking for it. What about running fast in these things? You’re not terribly aerodynamic. How about summer time, aren’t they hot? Most runners have nice looking legs. Who sees them?

So is it style over function? If so, guess I’ll pass this style up. But then I’m sure the style-police would never have approved of some of my running shorts from the 70’s and 80’s. Remember those short Dolphin shorts with the green vertical stripes. I saw a picture of Frank Shorter with them, so I had to have them. Then there were all the bright day-glow colors…yellow and oranges, if I remember right. Others were not much longer than Speedos. The v-notch split shorts were interesting. A windy day and your butt would feel a cool breeze.

So I guess I’ll just have to wait this style out until runners can look and feel like runners again. Hopefully, my old running shorts will hold up until then.

I have spent the last 12 years coaching cross country, and a little track and field. Seven years was at the collegiate level, and five was at the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) level. Guess I’m ready for the high school level any time now.

High school is the most exciting level; at least to me. It has the greatest number of participants. There is electricity in the air. It has great fans (usually the family and friends of the runners). The cross country courses are varied, challenging, and also usually spectator friendly. It gets me so charged; I want to jump in the race. Here’s where we have a problem. I’ve been out of high school for over 40 years. Times I once ran, which would have been competitive today, are no longer possible. My body surely couldn’t accept the challenge, but my brain is hollering, “get in there!” Guess my brain hasn’t looked in the mirror recently.

I’m enthused for another reason also. Watching race after race, and coaching college runners, I notice high school cross country runners are really decent kids. They have determination; they respect their team mates, their competitors, and their coaches. They respect their bodies. They seem like nice kids…and they’re smart. The cross country teams usually have the best GPA of all the athletic teams. Hopefully, they’ll always keep the spark, and embrace the gift.

Thinking about high school cross country and track, the San Ramon Valley High School distance runners, from Danville, CA come to mind. They seem to have a large and talented squad every year since the 60’s. Their top ten track listing includes Roy Kissin and Mike Dayton from the 70’s, and Scott Bauhs, from not too long ago. Every year, the Wolves come up with boys and girls who put in some outstanding performances. The tradition is there, and every year, their runners step up and fill the shoes to carry on the tradition. The Wolves are just one example of outstanding cross country and track programs throughout the country. Check out your local school’s track or cross country schedule and head out to watch the competition. See one meet and you’ll be hooked. If you’re in need of a little motivation for your own running, watch the kids run. You’ll be out putting in the miles soon after.

In 1983, I had the privilege of participating in the filming of the movie On the Edge. Although I spent four days as an extra, I made it onscreen for just about two seconds. I was a bit disappointed, but that’s show business. The experience is still memorable 25 years later.

I saw an add for runners to be movie extras, and I called the number. They gave me directions to where the filming would take place the following Saturday.

My first day on the set was for the filming of the start of the Cielo Sea race; a fictional 14 mile race from Mill Valley, CA over the top of Mt. Tamilpias to Stinson Beach. So many familiar local runners were there, as well as a handful of local media celebrities, and a few Hollywood stars, namely Bruce Dern and John Marley. As you hear about movie making, there was a lot of standing around. Scenes were shot from every conceivable angle. Finally, it was my turn. As the race had a handicapped start, I was in the 30 – 35 age-group. Gary Bjorklund was the star in our group. He was very nice to talk to and had some interesting stories. The start was actually filmed a few times. We ran about 800 yards each time, but as I recall, the starts were faster than you would expect for a 14 mile mountain race. I was on the front line so I assumed I would be a sure bet to get on film. The camera man panned down the front line, and I looked determined to race 14 miles.

The next day’s filming was at the finish line in Stinson Beach. The extras ran through the finish line, looking like we actually just completed a grueling run. We were misted with spray, and had mud flung on us to give us a realistic look. The ending of the movie was given away as we saw the five or six star runners tie for the finish at the end of the movie.

A few days later, I got a call that they were filming on the stairs in Mill Valley. They filmed different groups so there was a lot of waiting again. A very filling and tasty lunch was provided. Wouldn’t you guess, our group was up right after lunch. Nothing like steak, pasta salad, etc. and running a set of Dipsea stairs five or six times. I had registered for the San Francisco Marathon, which was the next day. I had good intentions, but on marathon morning, I felt the effects of the stairs, so I wrote the marathon off for that year.

My last filming day was filmed on the mountain. We were trucked halfway up and ran various segments of the trails while camera people filmed from the trails, and from helicopters. While going down a particularly rocky patch, my toe hit a rock sticking up and I took a dive head first. My palms, and knees had huge gashes, and that was the end of my On the Edge experience. I was patched up by the first aid crew. The worst part was that my fall didn’t even get filmed.

The we waited…and waited…and waited. Three or four years later, On the Edge made it to the theaters. You better not have blinked because it was only in a few theaters, then it was gone; gone until the VCR edition came out. Now the DVD edition is out and has a great behind the scenes extra section with narrative by Rob Nilsson, the director and writer.

In the hour and a half or so of the movie, I made it on screen for about two seconds on the stairs section. The starting line panning shot was close-up, but it stopped on the guy right next to me. One more guy and I’d be in the scene. Oh well. Even the finish with everyone dripping with fake sweat and mud was cut.

Still through my disappointment, I think On the Edge is the best running movie made. The running scenes were realistic, although Wes Holman’s personal life is a bit hard for runners to relate to. Even so, I give it thumbs up. For those who vote for Without Limits, that movie does tell Pre’s story well, but you never see Pre training. His race scenes, except for the actual Olympic 5000 film, show Pre winning every race by about ten yards, then a huge pack of ten or twenty runners clumped together. But then, I guess five or six runner finishing in a tie is a stretch too. See On the Edge to form your own opinion. A word of warning, watching On the Edge may cause you to sign-up for this year’s Dipsea race.