On my running mind...

When my mom was visiting for my sister's wedding at the end of February, we talked about her running days- a topic I like to get on with her.

I've probably shared before, but my mom was quite the track star.

When she was in high school (in the 1960s in Tucson, Arizona), her school didn't yet have a girls' track team. But when they saw her run the mile during P.E. class, they knew they had to have her.

So they asked her to join the boys' track team. 

She joined and she was good.

She said it wasn't long before a couple of boys quit because they weren't going to be beat "by a girl."

Hahaha..

They did eventually create a girls team, so she was a bit of a woman pioneer in that aspect. :)

She ran and trained a lot.

Kind of scary, but my mom said she only weighed 98 pounds her senior year.

She is 5'7".

She said she did not try to be that skinny. She was adopted into her uncle's family (at age 5... she lost both of her parents at that age which is another story for another day and very tragic/traumatizing) and there were 10 kids altogether so they were not allowed to just eat whatever they wanted. She said she had a good breakfast (her grandmother lived with them and cooked for them), every day had a bag of chips and an apple for lunch, and a normal dinner. But they weren't allowed to have seconds of anything except vegetables. Anyway, I just can't believe she was that skinny. No wonder she was so fast!

She practiced every day after school. She was very fond of her coach. (When we were growing up, she took us to the track and the running trails at the park and taught us the running techniques that her coach had taught her). 

In high school and college, she competed in national competitions and against women from all over the world. She once beat a woman who was the national champion from her country (somewhere in Europe, I can't remember which country). She said she had no idea that woman was a national champion and that she was neck and neck with her for most of the race. She was glad she didn't know who she was, because she said she's sure she would have given up. But to her, she was just another competitor and she was going to beat her! And she did.

My mom said her greatest running moment was when she broke the 5 minute mile. I know everybody and their dog beats the 5 minute mile these days, but back then it was a bigger deal, especially for a girl! She was a little disappointed though that it was the first mile of a 2-mile race, so it never got recorded.

One other story of note that I always remember hearing as a kid was a time when a girlfriend of hers on the track team got the idea that they should tie their next race. My mom was much faster than her, but I guess for the sake of friendship she agreed to do it. She stayed with her friend the whole race, and right at the finish line, her "friend" stuck her elbow in front of my mom and pushed ahead to beat her. What a little...!! My mom said her coach was very angry at my mom for agreeing to do that.

The best part though? They took a picture of the finish and my mom has a nice, big crystal clear 8x10 (black and white of course) :) of the girl doing her nasty trick. Busted! Everybody knew what she had done.

And lastly, my mom participated in the Olympic trials for the 1968 Summer Olympics. They didn't yet have her event. I believe my mom's event was the 2 miler and they only had the mile or something like that. So she was out of her league in that race. She didn't make it to the Olympics, but she said being in the trials was an unforgettable experience.

My mom has had a very difficult life in so many ways, and I love that she had this shining moment in her life to hold onto.

*****

The other thing I keep thinking about is a high school track invitational in St. George that Justin supervised last month. A boy from their school ran a 4-something mile and didn't even place. He was like 8th place or something. Can you even believe that?? I couldn't. I really think it was 4:36. Just crazy.

Anyway... just some things I've been thinking about lately and wanted to record!
 That's all. :)