Mind, Motion & Matter

Running, Essentially . . .

Category Archives: Role Models


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Happy Birthday to Ed Whitlock

Yes, our hometown hero Ed is 80 years old today.  Holder of multiple world records, Ed’s best training advice is simple.  He once told me, “Run as much as you can.”  and the mileage he logged while in top form bears witness to this.  His 2-3 hour daily runs in the Milton cemetery are much documented and would have put him at over 100 miles a week as an average.  Read more about Ed and his accomplishments in this Running Times INTERVIEW.

Photo of Ed from Complete Running

I once interviewed Ed for a website and found myself quoted on the internet, and most recently in a book on masters runners called Fitter For Life by Ed Mayhew .  Unfortunately, that interview is somewhere on the hard drive of an old computer.  Those who have been following this blog will know this is the 3rd or 4th time that I’ve mentioned articles stored there.  I’ve got that old computer set up on my dining room table but the operating system has disappeared so I may have to take it to a shop to access my mother lode of blog-worthy material.

In fall of 2005  I had Ed and Diane Palmason over for lunch the Friday before they were both to run the Toronto Waterfront marathon.  At the age of 46, Diane Palmason set a Canadian age-group record of 2:46:21.  When I commented to her that this time seemed even more remarkable given that she is the mother of four.  Her reply was that it wasn’t so bad because some of her kids were teens at the time.  She told me that she would get her miles in by running to and from work.  So a working mother of four  —  a high bar — no?

Ed arrived for lunch with a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine, surprising both Diane and I, but we both had a glass.  I told Ed that this was the first time in my life, I had ever had a drink before 5 p.m.  Ed loves a good bottle of wine and he loves opera and has recommended a few choice performers, performances and vintages.

Here is the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon news flash about Diane’s marathon record attempt that year.

Diane Palmason to go after W65+ marathon mark on Toronto Waterfront this Sunday

Diane PalmasonTORONTO. 20 September 2005.

Diane Palmason has confirmed that she will be joining Ed Whitlock in this Sunday’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and will be gunning for a new Canadian women’s 65+ marathon record on the flat, fast, Lakeshore course. The current mark is 3 hours 51 minutes 44 seconds.

Now a resident of Blaine, Washington, Palmason began her illustrious running career in 1976. She was one of the leading figures in Canadian marathoning, and in promoting women’s distance running in the first “running boom” of the 1980’s. Together with Kathleen Switzer, the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon, and Ken Parker of the Ottawa Lions, Palmason was instrumental in bringing the Avon Running Circuit for Women to Ottawa (then her hometown), with the Avon Women’s International Championship Marathon in 1981. Together, they were part of an international movement that culminated in the establishment of the women’s marathon in the Olympic Games, at Los Angeles in 1984.

Diane is currently holder of several Canadian Masters marathon records: 45+ (2:46:21) 55+ (3:14) and 60+ (3:16:29). In 2003, she also broke four World Records on the track—400m, 800m, 1500m, the mile, and set new Canadian marks for 100m, 200m and the marathon.

Diane will also be speaking at the Waterfront Marathon EXPO in the Metro Convention Centre, Exhibit Hall C, on Front Street, on Friday afternoon at 4:30pm. Her session is on “First Marathons”.

On the heels of this luncheon I ran 1:30:19 for the half-marathon, Diane ran 3:55:36.4 and Ed outpaced his Dutch rival Joop Ruter with a 3:02:37. This showdown was billed as the Battle of the Ageless Titans.

Good wine, good company, good times, great times!


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Guest Blogger Chung-Yee on “Celebrating 40 On My Own Terms”

I celebrated my 40th birthday by running four marathons in a month. Why? I have always been into hero worship, particularly those who have survived great feats of endurance – Magellan, Shackleton and Dean Karnazes. Although I wish to follow Karnazes’ footsteps, I was not prepared to run 50 marathons in 50 days. However, the number four has been lucky for me and running four marathons in one month seemed like a worthy challenge. I even had a name for this endeavor – Four for Forty.  The four marathons would be: the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the Toronto Marathon, the Detroit Marathon and the Niagara Marathon.

Both marathons in Toronto were excellent training runs and I was able to train for upcoming marathons in conditions that could only occur during races – high traffic water and gel stations, and dealing with ‘runners’ high’ at the beginning of races.

Four For Forty!

At the Detroit Marathon race expo, I told Dick Beardsley about my Four for Forty challenge.  Beardsley, along with running legend Alberto Salazar, participated in one of the greatest duels in marathon history – the 1982 Boston marathon – where they battled stride for stride for more than two hours with Salazar edging out at the end. This remarkable race was chronicled by John Brant’s book titled, Duel in the Sun. When I bought the book, Dick Beardsley personalized a message on the front cover.  He called me “The Marathon Queen”. That short message brought a huge smile to my face!

The Detroit Marathon was the closest to the spirit of a 40th birthday celebration. The start was preceded by best wishes from celebrities including Haile Gebrsehassie. Gee, what a treat! Even the world record holder wanted to be partake in my birthday celebration! My finishing time in Detroit was a spiritual sign that I was meant to pursue this challenge – achieving my personal best marathon time of 4 hours and 40 minutes during my Four for Forty challenge!

The Niagara marathon had its own set of “memorable moments”. How can I forget getting a police escort to the start line and having cups of water handed to me by bikers in Halloween costumes! But I received a remarkable gift during my run from Buffalo to Niagara Falls – a consciousness that I was becoming more confident in myself to pursue ambitious challenges that I had always dreamed of.

With each step, I was starting to believe that I always had the resources – aptitude and attitude – to pursue ambitious dreams, whether they be summiting majestic peaks, paddling temperamental coastlines or cooking a home-cooked meal. What this Four for Forty challenge made me realized was that with proper planning and risk management, I could follow the footsteps of my heroes, or even create my own footsteps. I can now take this trust in myself and use it to pursue other ambitious dreams on my life’s must-do list. When I crossed the finish line in the Niagara marathon, I felt blessed as I had become one of the heroes I always wanted to emulate.

So what did I get for my 40th birthday? Not a Porsche or a surprise party, not even new athletic gear.  I did get four marathon finisher’s medals, and a realization that I have become my own hero.


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Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer

Since football is in the air, I thought to recall the book Instant Reply which I read when I was 13.  I have never been a football fan and just found out two minutes ago that that the Green Bay Packers are contesting the Super Bowl this year when my husband called me upstairs to view the half-time show.   I was however an avid baseball and hockey fan and loved (and still love) to read biographies and autobiographies.

Around this time I was a weekly volunteer at the local library and I began to read my way through the biography section, which included, Fire Wagon Hockey:The Story of the Montreal Canadiens, biographies of Sandy Koufax, Roger Crozier and Bobby Hull, and Ball Four a controversial book which came to be “considered one of the most important sports books ever written.” according to Wikipedia.  Other bios I remember reading then were of Ghandi, Martin Luther, Madame Curie, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Louis Pasteur & Joan of Arc.  This reading predilection fits with my Meyers-Briggs, people-person personality type.

Here is a description of Instant Replay from Amazon.com

“In 1967, when Jerry Kramer was a thirty-one-year-old Green Bay Packers offensive lineman, in his tenth year with the team, he decided to keep a diary of the season. “Perhaps, by setting down my daily thoughts and observations,” he wrote, “I’ll be able to understand precisely what it is that draws me back to professional football.” Little did Kramer know that the 1967 season would be one of the most remarkable in the history of pro football, culminating with the legendary championship game against Dallas now known as the “Ice Bowl,” in which Kramer would play a central role . Washington Post’s Jonathan Yardley, calls it “to this day, the best inside account of pro football, indeed the best book ever written about that sport and that league.”

This groundbreaking look inside the world of professional football is one of the first books ever to take readers into the locker room and reveal the inner workings of a professional sports franchise. He also offers a rare and insightful view of the team’s storied leader, Coach Vince Lombardi.

Bringing the book back into print for the first time in more than a decade, this new edition of Instant Replay retains the classic look of the original and includes a foreword by Jonathan Yardley and additional rarely seen photos from the celebrated “Lombardi era.”

Gee, this sounds compelling (well for a sports book at least) maybe I should reread and perhaps this is a good Valentine’s gift for a football fan?   As for runner biographies, I would recommend Running with the Legends:  Training and Racing Insights from 21 Great Runners by Michael Sandrock, the book is as described and will not disappoint.  Complete with sample training schedules, the most important insight gained will be that there is no formula.  This panorama of athletic experience will convince you that, once you have a solid understanding of the basic physiology of training, trusting your own instincts, is what it is all about.  Your own way, also involves the self-knowledge to determine psychological fit with workout types. More generally applied, self-knowledge will also enable you to determine what sport or fitness activity suits your physiological and psychological profile.

As for my love of biographies, these days I’m more likely to be reading about writers and political figures although I did enjoy Lance Armstrong’s, Every Second Counts a few years ago.  At the moment I’m reading a short biography of Lord Byron written by Edna O’Brien.  More out of interest in the biographer, than the subject.  Edna O’Brien has written an excellent biography of James Joyce which both my husband and I read after a trip to Ireland.

A couple of all-time favourites are  Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela and Maggie Siggon’s, Louis Riel, A Life of Revolution.

“There is properly no history; only biography” Ralph Waldo Emerson


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S’no Excuse

Snow, snow, snow . . . will this storm materialize as predicted?  I thought this might be a good time to list the different indoor venues where I have done long runs when poor conditions prevailed.  In days of yore, treadmills were not available at fitness facilities, so most runners slogged it out on the roads.  I’ve always been finicky about poor footing due to chronic ankle troubles stemming from having severely sprained my ankle at age 13 on a trampoline.  Consequently, I’m usually the first to head indoors to find relief from slipping and sliding outdoors.

,

Emil Zapotek

The Old Central YMCA on College Street

This track was 26.5 laps to the mile.

I once ran 18 miles on this track, a total of 4955.5 laps in the early-eighties.  David Suzuki used to be a regular on this teeny track.

Former Central YMCA on College Street

The West End YMCA

15.5 laps to the mile.

I ran a full marathon, 26.2 miles here in the mid-eighties, a total of 380 laps.

Hart House Track at the University of Toronto

About 11.3 laps to the mile

I’ve run 12 miles on this track.  Although it is bigger than the old Central YMCA track the banking is horrible and I would not recommend doing a long run here.

The Athletic Centre at the University of Toronto

8 laps to the mile

About 6-7 years ago I ran 23 miles on the outside track and ran by time rather than counting laps.  Who says we don’t get smarter with age.

The York University Track

8 laps to the mile

I’ve run a number of track races on the indoor track, which has excellent banking and run on the outer warm-up track before and after workouts or races.  I’ve never done a long run there but I imagine it would be fairly entertaining with all the high-performance activity on the inside track.  My husband and I used to see the infamous Ben Johnson work out on the sprint lanes.

The Eaton Centre

One New Years Day in the eighties I ran a few miles here, having started outside during a snowstorm, I ducked inside and logged some miles in the mall.

Treadmill

The most miles I’ve run on a treadmill is 18 miles which I did a few years back.

If you think this sounds crazy consider this, legendary marathoner Emil Zapotek’s solution to training in harsh weather.  Zapotek would fill his bathtub with water and then his laundry and run in place for hours.  Zapotek is remembered for winning triple gold in the 5K, 10K and marathon at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

So really, IS snow an excuse for not running?


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Legs in Motion, A Legend

Following my post about weight training, a reader asked for recommended reading. I was reminded of this groundbreaking book from the early 80’s by Gayle Olinekova which inspired me to begin my weight training routine. Gayle was ahead of her time in that she incorporated weight training into her marathon training schedule. This former Torontonian ran world-class marathon times and yet felt a little embarrassed about her very muscular legs, which did not fit the typical marathon runner mold or the prevailing feminine ideal. Eventually, she was discovered by Sports Illustrated and covered in an article called The Greatest Legs to Ever Stride the Earth.

Photo by Helmut Newton

Sadly, Gayle died in 2003 at the age of 50.  Gayle’s book Go For It! was written at a time when books on athletics written by women were almost non-existent. It may be out-of-print but available used.

Go for it!

I can claim a shared experience, as she was at one time a member of the Toronto Olympic Club which I belonged to for a few years. From wanting to hide her legs to inclusion in Helmut Newton’s “Strong Women: A Portfolio of California’s Super Athletes” Gayle can be given credit for blazing a trail.  Here is part of an obituary from the Los Angeles Times.

Gayle Olinekova, a marathon runner and fitness guru whose chiseled, muscular legs helped change cultural views about beauty in female athletes in the 1980s, has died. She was 50.


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“The Sugar Blues”

According to some mental health experts, Monday, January 17th was the most depressing day of the year. Mainly due to the arrival of bills in the mailbox and gloomy weather. In addition, by this time, many will have abandoned New Years resolutions, short of the 21 days that it supposedly takes for good habits to take hold.

I don’t usually make New Years resolutions as I find that September is the month when I feel most upbeat about tackling new projects.  It must be all those years of mom-hood that have me stuck in the school-year cycle. Today however I feel the need to resolve to reduce my sugar intake for the rest of the year.

The reason for this belated resolution is that I have not quite recovered from the holiday season sugar overload and I’m hooked, with the energy lapses and subtle mood swings to show for it.  Some have called refined sugar consumption, “Death by installments.”  I read and was influenced by the book Sugar Blues in the late-seventies and this coincided with my return to regular exercise after a five year lapse. The results of these two important lifestyle changes were that my energy level became very consistent and stable through the day. Mid-afternoon sleepiness and drowsiness after meals can be avoided by reducing the refined sugar in our diet, and foods ranking high on the glycemic index.

Here is an enthusiastic review of the Sugar Blues by a more recent reader:

A true health classic! February 3, 2000
Reviewer: A reader from New York City
I’m sugar-free ever since reading “Sugar Blues.” I was sluggish, moody, hungry, etc. I remembered that John Lennon mentioned Dufty’s book in an interview once. So I bought it at the local health food store. He starts off with his own sugar hell and redemption and then delves into the whole history of the cane. Very interesting, health-wise and also politically. . . When I tell people I’m sugar-free they usually scoff, saying sugar’s not that bad for you, why give it up completely. Well, now I wake up clear and I get through the afternoon w/o any flagging of energy. At various times of the day I’ll feel some energy racing through my body. (A great feeling; keeps me motivated.) Now I need less food on my plate, and my hypoglycemia has all but disappeared. (Think about THAT one, folks.) Never eat “refined sucrose” again! It can be done! Sky’s the limit! Thank you, William Dufty!

Sugar Blues by William Duffy

Apparently, John Lennon used to regularly give away copies of Sugar Blues. Well I’m a believer in “baby steps” so here is what I did today to lessen my sugar intake, I had a non-sweet latte, at LIT, foregoing the usual triple-venti-whole-milk-vanilla latte and I skipped a sweet treat. Once I’m back to minimal sugar consumption, a sweet treat can be enjoyed every now and then without ill effect and it will be truly a treat rather than the satisfaction of an unhealthy craving.

I won’t delve into the more serious issues related to blood sugar levels such as Diabetes for which my knowledge is limited to first-year Biology and Nutritional Food Science but one starting point might be this link to The Canadian Diabetes Association.

LIT Latte Art

Here is a great quote from Jack Lalanne, the Godfather of Fitness who passed away recently at the age of 96.

Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen put them together and you have a kingdom.

Just say NO, to sugar!


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“The Strenuous Life Tastes Better”

I’ve added a link to my blog to a website honouring the late George Sheehan, the voice of the first running boom that began in the late-seventies. He wrote regularly for Runner’s World and captured the imagination of the many, who took up running during this first wave of enthusiasm for long distance running. His writing was a blend of pithy running one-liners like, “Don’t be concerned if running or exercise will add years to your life, be concerned with adding life to your years.” woven with an unrelenting stream of philosophical quotes to illustrate the best of the running experience. A William James quote “The strenuous life tastes better.” was one of his favourites.

A favourite quote of mine came out of his constant reminder to listen to your body because, “We are an experiment of one.” Some have said that the first running boom was driven by type “A” overachievers, a mischaracterization, when one considers George Sheehan’s place as the most influential voice of that first boom.  His premiere work, Running and Being was a New York Times bestseller.

Find out more about George Sheehan by visiting www.georgesheehan.com a website created by his children to preserve the legacy of his contribution to the sport.

From the moment you become a spectator, everything is downhill.

George Sheehan

Books by George Sheehan

* Dr. Sheehan on Running (1975)
* Dr. George Sheehan’s Medical Advice for Runners (1978)
* Running & Being: The Total Experience (1978)
*This Running Life (1980)
* How to Feel Great Twenty Four Hours a Day (1983)
* Dr. Sheehan on Fitness (1983)
* Personal Best: The Foremost Philosopher of Fitness Shares Techniques and Tactics for Success and Self-Liberation (1989)
* George Sheehan on Running to Win : How to Achieve the Physical, Mental & Spiritual Victories of Running (1992)
* Going the Distance: One Man’s Journey to the End of His Life (1996)


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Fatuma Roba, Olympic Marathon Gold for Ethiopia

Today I lunched with a friend who is helping my husband and I organize a gala for a sponsorship program for AIDS-HIV orphans in Ethiopia. The program is supported mainly by volunteers, here in Canada is run by People to People Aid Organization, Canada Inc. . Thus I thought it would be timely to profile one of Ethiopia’s finest runners, Fatuma Roba who was the mother of five children when she won the Olympic gold medal.

FATUMA ROBA Biography (click here for link to website where I found this article)

Born in 1973 and raised in the village of Cokeji in Ethiopia’s mountainous southern region—also home to internationally known 10K champion Derartu Tulu—Roba was one of seven children born to a farming couple who raised and herded cattle. Like most children growing up in rural Africa, if she wanted to go somewhere, the quickest way to get there was to run. The daily run to and from her school—much of it going up and down hills—trained the young Roba in the art of sprinting. As a child her hero was 1960 and 1964 Olympic marathon champion Abebe Bikila, a fellow Ethiopian. After completing school, the five-foot-five-inch Roba decided to train to become a police officer after her performance at a national cross-country championship caught the attention of members of the Adis Ababa prison police athletic team.

Fatuma Roba, Fluid Grace

Roba first gained an international profile in 1990 when at age 18 she placed fourth in the 3,000 meter and 10K competition during the African Championships. Three years later she decided to attempt the 26.2-mile marathon distance in her home town of Addis Ababa, and had reached a personal best time of 2 hours 35 minutes 25 seconds by 1995. Roba continued to reduce her marathon time throughout the spring of 1996, helped along by the coaching of Yilma Berta. To train to excel at the 26.2-mile marathon distance, the 22-year-old Roba logged an average of 125 miles a week, most of it at high altitude, thereby forcing her body to use its resources of oxygen efficiently. She ran and won two marathons early in 1996, the first in January at Marakech and the second in Rome, Italy, two months later.

When Roba joined the field of the 1996 Olympic women’s marathon in Atlanta, Georgia, in July of 1996, she was ranked only 29th among the elite women athletes assembled there. Surprising almost all onlookers of that years’ Summer Games, she managed consistent five-minute miles, gained the lead by mile 13, and left behind Japanese runner Yuko Arimori, who had won the silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At mile 19 timers clocked her race pace at 5:21; relaxed and alert, Roba waved as she passed, the crowds cheering on the first woman in the pack. She went on to cross the line in 2:26:05, her lead a remarkable two minutes. “This is not only a special thing for me but also for my country and all African women,” Roba was quoted as commenting by Amanda Mays in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Ethiopian women are coming up in the marathon. This was the breakthrough and now we are ready to challenge the others.”

Roba’s success in Atlanta was balanced by an equally notable performance in 1997 at the 101st Boston Marathon. She gained and held an easy lead by mile 20 to win in 2:26:23. The first African woman ever to win the historic Boston race, Roba bested an elite field that included defending champion Uta Pippig, Japan’s Junko Asari, and South African runners Colleen de Reuck and Elana Meyer. “She ran with the same smooth stride and placid, dispassionate look on her face that she carried through the Olympic race,” reported Runnersworld.com. “Race commentator (and fellow Olympic marathon champion) Frank Shorter called her ‘The most relaxed-looking runner I have ever seen.'” Roba’s performance at the World Championship Marathon held in Athens, Greece, the following fall was a disappointment when she was forced to leave the course after being injured.

One for Ethiopia!

In 1999 the 25-year-old Roba took her third straight win at Boston, her time a personal best of 2:23:25 that set a new women’s overall course record. She won the silver at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:27:05, but at the World Championships in Seville, Spain she finished a disappointing fourth. Roba’s winning streak at Boston ended in 2000, when she fell to third, barely losing the Boston gold to Kenyan runner Catherine Ndereba in one of the closest finishes in Boston Marathon history. Like Seville, the summer heat in Sydney, Australia proved hot enough to stall Roba, who finished a disappointing ninth at September 2000’s Sydney Olympics with a time of 2:27:38.

Like her hero Abebe Bikila, Roba has become a role model for African runners, women runners in particular. Her own younger sister, Sennaito Tekru, has followed in her path, and has embarked on a course as a competitive marathon runner. With her grace and seemingly effortless performances, Roba has broken the barrier for African women with her triumphs at both the Olympic Games and the Boston Marathon. Despite her disappointment in Sydney, she has continued to rank among elite women marathoners, handily winning the San Diego Marathon in 2001 with a time of 2:27:22.


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No Excuses

The most lame excuse I’ve recently heard for not exercising is “I can’t afford a personal trainer”.  One of the appealing aspects of staying fit is that it is something that money can’t buy.  Walking and running are the most accessible forms of exercise and all it takes is a pair of comfortable shoes. One of the reasons African runners are able to realize their potential in the sport is that running does not require expensive equipment, gyms and pools or a horse.  The simplicity and accessibility of running makes it the MOST competitive sport in the world.

Zola Budd Running Barefoot in Olympic 3000 Meter Race

A friend once referred to certain sports as “country club” sports, the Modern Pentathlon and equestrian sports for example.  With all due respect to those who participate and excel in these sports and those outside the typical demographic for that sport, the global talent pool which running draws from exceeds that of any sport by a country club mile.

Most everyone in the world has at one time in their lives run a race be it formal or informal, school races or racing to catch a bus or to catch or escape from playmates.

When a girl, our family paid regular visits to relatives in a neighbouring suburb.  Their home was on a crescent and our route there, had us drive to the top of the crescent and loop back around a bend near a walking path connected to an earlier part of our route.  I would have my dad let me off near this shortcut and I would run furiously towards my cousin’s home hoping to arrive before the car.  I always won!  Thinking about this now, I never gave thought at the time as to whether my dad purposely let me win.  I will have to ask him about the legitimacy of this unbeaten streak.

Maria Mutola, 800 Meter Runner, Amazing Woman

Maria Mutola, perhaps the most successful female runner in history was “discovered” running barefoot while playing soccer in Mozamique, one of the poorest countries in the world.  An Olympic gold medalist, she is the only athlete to have successfully earned the $1,000,000 Golden League prize for consecutive wins in this series and upon retirement returned to her first love, soccer.  You can read an interesting account of this running heroine in the Guardian article Maria Mutola still leads from front – but in South African football.

All this to say, if you are convinced that you will improve your quality of life both mentally and physically, by adopting the habit of regular exercise, I advise you to just get out there and “Do It!” or as this more recent Nike ad says, “No Excuses!”


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Another kind of adventure

Just over three weeks ago, I made a post about an outing with two friends, well Friend 2, the expectant mom gave birth to the adorable Henry 2 1/2 weeks ago.  She has a blog which you can click on here, called Frugal and Fit and no surprise, the pace of her posts has slowed a lot.

One rule of thumb for getting things done with a newborn is to expect that anything that used to take one day, will now take a week.  The meaning of busy and tired are dramatically redefined.  Best wishes to the happy but tired parents!  And welcome to the world, Henry.

The beautiful, and sometimes inconsolable Henry!

In our household, the 2  1/2 week mark was when my husband began to panic, thinking that I might never get back to running.  Or perhaps, thinking that a nice run was all I needed to perk up a bit.  He insisted that I go for a run with the stern directive that he was kicking me out of the house and locking the door for 45 minutes.  That would have been early January and I can still remember the weird spacey sensation of running in the cold, weighed down by an otherworldly fatigue.

I ran erratically after that, until week six.  I was elated to discover that the Central YMCA had a childcare service, not too common at that time, and those places with childcare generally did not accept infants until at least 6 months.

So I was there on my son’s 6 week  birthday, ready to produce his birth certificate.  I was there every weekday, arriving dressed to run and skipping a shower as I only felt comfortable leaving him for 30 minutes.  These 30 minute runs took place on the tiny indoor track as parents were not allowed to leave the building and there were no treadmills at the YMCA back then.

I had my son a couple of months after turning 32.  The age at which my mom had the youngest in our family of six kids.  When I have the time to give justice to the story, I’d like to write about how my mom passed along her love of sports to all her kids.

Thank you mom!

My mom at age 32 with the last of her six children, my baby sister