Monthly Archives: July 2022

50 Years of Running: Making impressions

The first thing I wanted to do upon arriving in Illinois as a twelve-year-old kid was to get signed up to play baseball that summer. My folks lined me up with a team in the 8-12 year old league, which … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Becoming a Midwestern boy

As our family drove west through Ohio and Indiana toward our new home in Illinois, the land flattened out and the trees disappeared into distant blue clumps dotting the horizon. I’d been to Chicago once as a small child, but … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: It’s about time I raced again, and what fun!

Standing in the sand at the beach next to Bang’s Lake in Wauconda, I felt one small tremor of nerves. Then I remembered that these days competition is more about the experience than the result. I swung my arms a … Continue reading

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50 years of running: Saying goodbyes and taking on a new life

As the school year wore down in 1970, the time for our family to move to Illinois soon arrived. My father moved out to Illinois after taking a job with an electronics company in rural Geneva. He lived in an … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running and the will to win at any cost

When we lose at something it can feel like a small death. But when we accept losing because it is part of life or even embrace losing as a means to move beyond our present circumstance, that is smiling back at death. It’s hard to admit, but that’s a lesson most of us have to learn time and again. It certainly was the case with my distance running career, where a win one week was no guarantee of a win the next. As the saying goes, you’re only as good as your last victory.
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50 Years of Running: Formative youth experiences

By the time I reached sixth grade, I’d earned a reputation as one of the better athletes in the grade. I recall being invited to a basketball clinic at the high school where the coaches took a first look at … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Competition’s Son and the power of a right arm

Nothing mattered more to me in elementary school than the playground. After sitting inside the classroom for a couple hours, we’d be released to go outside the do the things we loved. We played kickball on the macadam behind Willow … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Competition’s Son, Part 7

It’s a bit hard to describe just how competitive I became at an extremely young age. The drive to keep up with my brothers was one motivator. The desire to prove myself to friends was another. Every moment that I … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Competition’s Son, Part 6

Navigating childhood is a wandering path of growing friendships, responding to parental influence, and engaging in varying degrees of imagination. My best memories of childhood all center around playing in the yard of our Pennsylvania home. For starters, there were … Continue reading

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