My niece is training to run her first marathon. Sarah's dad, my oldest brother was concerned about his daughters heavy mileage training in a recent phone call. Her training reminded him that I used to run competitive marathons in the 70's and 80's. Although now I walk and backpack miles; the conversation about marathoning reminded me of my first marathon in the spring of 1968 when I was a college Senior at Ottawa (Kansas) University and on the track team.
So I pulled an old scrape book of newspaper clipping and there I am!
(5th runner from the right)
It was the 3rd Annual Humbolt, Kansas marathon. I was not in any kind of shape (mentally and/or physically) to handle the 26.2 mile, straight out and back course in rural Kansas. As the photo shows, the popularity of running a marathon was in it's infancy back then. It was my slowest and one of the most boring marathons of the 18 that I would to run over the next few decades. There were more cows and grass watching us run by then, compared to the cheering crowds on Beacon Avenue when finishing multiple runnings of the Boston Marathon years later on in the mid 70's ... and with much better results!
It was the 3rd Annual Humbolt, Kansas marathon. I was not in any kind of shape (mentally and/or physically) to handle the 26.2 mile, straight out and back course in rural Kansas. As the photo shows, the popularity of running a marathon was in it's infancy back then. It was my slowest and one of the most boring marathons of the 18 that I would to run over the next few decades. There were more cows and grass watching us run by then, compared to the cheering crowds on Beacon Avenue when finishing multiple runnings of the Boston Marathon years later on in the mid 70's ... and with much better results!
The 'marathon' I remember was our 'hike' in the high peaks before you went to India. 25 mile total... 5(?) of the high peaks,going for 6 (Gothics)when the thunderstorm put an end to peak bagging and just a 10 mile run back to the car. We were younger, but I was seriously dragging that day... while you seemed to be bouncing over the rocks with ease.
ReplyDeleteI do remember that it was an exilerating "killer" trek and that if we had not done it together, I would not have done the trek by myself.
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