How I became a Runner...

My first organized race since 1983, in 2005

Ah, the memories. I read somewhere that when you pin a race bib on, you become a runner. Above was a pic from the first organized race I ran in Austin. It was the Schlotzkey's Bun Run in 2005. I ran the "fun run" - meaning no timing chip. I crossed the line somewhere around 37 minutes by the clock. A huge race, so I like to think I started somewhere like after 5 minutes following the gun. No matter, I had a bib on. I was a runner, again. I had last ran an organized race in 1983, at the Munich Marathon (which I also ran in 1982). Both times while I was in the Army. Fond memories of agony. And cobblestones, miles of them.

But to me, I really became a runner sometime in Feb, 1978, at Fort Bliss Texas. We had started a run during basic training, our very first. Full fatigues, and those uglier-than-all-hell black boots that weighed a ton. Wearing my black plastic birth control glasses. Running on a beach was easier. Not to mention way more scenic than Ft. Piss was. The name of my drill sergeant eludes me; we never became drinking buddies after I graduated. He did not even remember who the hell I was at graduation, which is a testament to how I learned to fly under the radar. But on this run, he sure as hell noticed me. Guys were dropping out, quitting, after less than a 1/4 mile. I figured it beat the alternative, which was of course death by running. I knew when I went in I could not run a block without getting a crazy side stitch, but I neatly evaded the fear of running as the fear of starvation trumped it. 

So here I am, standing in the sand (what else in West Texas?) and this drill sergeant snarls at me (really, snarled) "Yeah, I had you pegged as a quitter Huntley". Those words somehow burned through my very soul, and I started running again. Despite his repeatedly asking just how much money my mommy paid the US Army to take me in, I finished that run. No idea how far we ran. It is a blur to me. But it changed me forever. THAT is when I became a runner. I never dropped out of a run again, not once. I challenged myself every day to make it appear as if I ran with no effort at all. I volunteered at every opportunity to run "road guard" which meant you had to sprint ahead to every road intersection and block traffic. After the entire unit - up to a full Battalion in the later days of my career - had passed, you had to sprint to catch up and get back in front. Repeat at every road, and you get in shape fast. Perverted, and glorious at the same time. Here is another dumb schmuck like I was:

Everyone loves the idiot that volunteers for this shit!

My Battery Commander in Germany was a runner, so he loved taking us on 4 mile runs at 5am. And he was the first to encourage me to run the Munich Marathon when I discovered it was going to be on the same course that Frank Shorter had run to win Gold at the 1972 Olympic marathon. That was a long way from the guy that could not run a city block! And it all started with one, forever memorable run. By the way, I have no idea how much $ it took her to get them to let me in, but I'm so grateful...