Did you read last Wednesday’s post about training for Comrades with my dad? I left out the detail that my dad has chosen to run Comrades for a charity, the Wildlands Conservation Trust. As of this printing, my dad is the leading fundraiser for the whole race! As such the Comrades charity division asked him to write about his running background and why he’s running Comrades and raising money for charity. I wanted to share his story with Running On Balance readers.
My first race was a two mile high school cross country run in 1962. I continued running cross country and track (3 miles/5km) at the University of Texas. Following college I ran for fitness for several years, and then the road racing and marathon boom begin in the United States following Frank Shorter’s win at the 1972 Berlin Olympics. My first marathon was in 1978, and I began running three or four marathons each year. I ran my first ultramarathon, a 50-mile/80-km in 1981 and quickly found that I enjoyed both road and trail ultras. My personal best marathon was a 2:32 in Dallas in 1981, and I then directed the Dallas White Rock Marathon for three years in the mid-80s.
I have run marathons with all three of my brothers and in 2000, ran the Boston Marathon with my daughter, Karen, who will also be running Comrades in 2016. My most memorable race was, for a brief moment, one of my biggest running disappointments as well. I had won three ultras in a three-month period in early 1988, including a 5:42 in a 50-mile race. I wanted to go sub-20 hours at the Western States 100 miles that June and my training went well. Then the race went really well…for about 80 miles…until I had some stomach issues. In the final mile, the time was getting tight and I worked to refocus on the goal. When I reached the track with 300 meters to go, I gave it everything I had all the way through the finish. Then I heard the announcer say my name, “…with a finishing time of 20 hours and 1 second.”
The blend of fitness, health and charitable conservation is an excellent fit. We have an exceptional National Parks system in the United States and I have been fortunate to spend time in about 30 of our parks. My favorite park is Yosemite in California and my wife and I have been financial supporters for many years. The photo at the top is of Karen and me at the top of Half Dome in Yosemite in August 2009. When I learned of the Race4Charity and the ability to raise funds for the Wildlands Conservation Trust it was immediately of interest to me.
And, as a slower 69-year old with a bad hip, moving up toward the starting line was a positive benefit as well. Maybe, if I had moved just a bit closer to the starting line at Western States in 1988, that time would have read 19:59:59!
I look forward to the Comrades experience and am pleased to be able to support the Wildlands Conservation Trust.
If you’re inspired to contribute to my dad’s fundraising efforts and the spirit of ubuntu that is a hallmark of Comrades, you may visit the donation page here.
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