The returning runner…
Act 42 – Running is fun (otherwise you are doing it wrong)
The pack of Patrick Henry High School’s track team sped around the Lake Murray perimeter road with all the energy of teenage boys. I caught up to the laughing and jeering mob – led by Paul Becklund and Thom Hunt and made some inane but perfectly normal comment about the weather or something. Paul responded with, “Hey! Did you hear Gookin? I thought I heard him, but I don’t see him!”. Thom chimed in with, “Oh...he must have turned sideways and disappeared.” So it went, a never-ending series of one-liners, digs, cheap shots, even an occasional elbow to the ribs. I was sore. Not from the elbows but from the never-ending attempt to run at a blazing pace while also laughing the whole way. The abs got a workout! Oh, and we mixed it up too – with an occasional streak (it was the 70s, ok??), TPing of the coach’s house, or willfully misinterpreting the coach’s direction (a favorite was to start out running backwards when the coach told us to run the loop backwards). Oh, another good prank was to yank a teammate’s shorts down to his ankles while stopped at a traffic light. Nothing was off-limits – a team member’s last name, form, appearance, whatever…We were flawlessly politically incorrect while at the same time perfectly non-discriminatory. Everyone got something.
If running isn’t fun, you are doing it wrong. Change something to make it fun:
· If you must run alone, pick a route with better scenery (perhaps mix it up with flat-out spectacular scenery if you can – the Sierras, the Coast etc).
· Run with buddies. There are times when you are working hard but most of the time you should be able to joke around while running. Find someone who can laugh at things – including themselves. Crack jokes about anything and everything. Of course, the absolute best is when you can crack a really good dig while doing a hard hill repeat and then pass your buddy who is keeled over with laughter…
· Okay, it isn’t 1975 anymore so probably not a good idea to streak (and you probably can’t outrun the cops anymore either) but “play” with running. Decide to sprint to some landmark, race the dog, pass a mountain biker on the uphill, change speed just for the heck of it, splash through the water without worrying about getting the shoes wet, play with banking on the turns. God gave you a body to do some fun things – take it out for a spin!
“Those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Get out there and soar! But do try not to faint…
Photo: June, 2025 – Patrick Henry HS teammate and lifelong friend Don Ferriolo having some running fun recreating the original Olympic 196-meter dash with son Daniel (12) at the original Olympic site in Olympia, Greece (Don got his butt kicked).