Day 163 - High School Cross Country

My blog is coming to a close, so I guess it's time to start "reflecting".

Lately I've thinking back to how I first started running 22 years ago. My memory isn't great, but for whatever reason I have very clear memories of my days on the high school cross country team, and my coach, Mr. Morrison.

I remember he cornered some of my friends and I in a hallway after school one night when rain had forced us off the tennis courts. He started talking about how we should join the cross country team. I zoned out half way through his speech because for some reason my mind had concluded that it was exactly what I was searching for.

Before the first week of running was done I had gone up to Mr. Morrison and asked if I should be running in the mornings as well as during regular practice. I think he was a bit surprised - and not too sure how to respond. He told me it would be fine as a wake up in the morning but he didn't seem so enthusiastic. I never did start running twice a day.

I have clear memories of spending days in beautiful crisp fall weather, waiting around for our races (and not having to be in school) and then giving it all to climb those steep dirt paths. There was one at Kelso, with a heavy root sticking out of the ground that was tough to get up. There was another course where we ran up a ski hill.After the races we would always be talking about the those uphill climbs.

There was one race that first year of cross country that Mr. Morrison couldn't make, but before we left he pulled me aside and told me that I could beat the school's top junior racer (who was also a year older). I passed him early on in the race and he couldn't keep pace. I crossed the finish line far ahead of him. For me it was a big deal. It seemed at the time that people were consoling the other racer and were hesitant to fully congratulate me - but it probably wasn't really how it happened. Anyway, Mr. Morrison came to the site near the end of the day and congratulated me - it was so great and he looked genuinely happy for me.

He taught me some great running advice - "when you start to slow down, speed up"... which seemed to work for me. I remember the race and my thought process when I first used that strategy. He also gave me great advice when the school tried to limit the number of sports students were allowed to participate in and thanks to his encouragement I didn't have to choose between tennis and track.

I also remember in my last year of high school, driving up in Mr. Morrison's car with three other runners and a conversation started as to who would have the best chance at running a marathon. I was easily the worst cross country runner of the group, but Mr. Morrison picked me.

Several years ago (several years after high school) I had a temp job at a school where Mr. Morrison's wife worked. I bought a thank-you card, wrote a note and asked his wife to pass it along to him. Even though I had never had him as a teacher in high school he had a huge impact on me during those years.

And in a couple of days I'll be running my first marathon.