A Season of Success, Dreams...and Disco!
“Would you like some company up here, Joel?”
I boldly uttered those words 45 years ago to my teammate as we rounded the top of the infamous "Skunk Hill", passing a lighthouse that gave us a view of the Pacific Ocean as well as an early lead in the 1978 Reedsport Invitational. I knew I'd never hold that lead. But this was the first Cross Country race of my senior year at Sutherlin High. I'd been training hard all summer. I also sensed that everyone was waiting for someone to make a move. Might as well be Joel and myself
Although fun while it lasted, we surrendered that lead a few hundred yards later. We still finished in the Top 10. For the first time ever, I led our team, placing 8th overall.
Not a bad start to the season. (And after decades of holding this painful secret, I can finally confess that I had Andy Gibb's "Everlasting Love" going through my head throughout that race. You've no idea how good it feels to finally unload that burden.)
Joel and I were expected to be two of the top runners in the league. As for our team, the top four consisted of three returning varsity runners along with the addition of our school's top sprinter. We knew we were favored to defend our league title. Unlike the previous year when winning had been a new experience, we now approached it as an expectation.
Ultimate Goal
That wasn't enough for me.
I wanted to keep running cross country when I went to college that next year. The reason was simple. Cross Country had allowed me to become an athlete. Nothing against good grades. But damn, making the honor roll held no candle to the sheer exhilaration of winning a race. Or the satisfaction at seeing the progress I made as a result of my hard work. And the pride in being able to say that I was good at something that didn't involve schoolwork.
Call it determination or call it ego. I didn't care. What I knew was that thanks to distance running, I had a confidence and pride in myself that I'd never known before.
Why in the world would I want any of that to stop?
I realized that accomplishing this would be challenging. While I'd come a long way over the previous year, I also knew that I needed to climb a few more rungs on the ladder to make it happen.
As it was, I'd been lucky to even lead our team in that first race.
A Friendship & A Rivalry
The only reason I came in ahead of Joel was that I'd been in better shape. Several seasons of cross-country and track had amply demonstrated that he was the better runner. Not lost anywhere in this was also that we were good friends. Still, as much as I valued that, it didn't mean I wouldn't try to beat Joel if I thought I could.
As it turned out, he and I ended up pushing each other. We had our best seasons with me finishing no more than two places behind him in every regular season race.
And, in a fit of cockiness, I did again ask Joel if he wanted some company when I joined him for the lead of the first Myrtle Point Invitational - a lead we didn't relinquish this time as we tied for first place. (And for this race, the song running through my head was "Boogie Oogie Oogie." Please forgive me.)
A Glimmer of Hope
Fun as those moments were, I never lost sight of my ultimate goal. We were doing well as a team. Joel and I made a pretty decent "one-two punch." I was doing everything I could to have a season that would catch the eye of some small college coach somewhere.
My hopes were stoked when I received a letter from Southern Oregon State College about running on their team. Bear in mind that the letter offered not the remotest hint of a scholarship. But that I'd even hit their radar told me that my goal was at least realistic.
Another Disaster at District
Rekindled visions of future glory aside, there remained the rather significant matter of defending our title in Oakridge. (Nifty bit of trivia. Oakridge is where they filmed the Dexter Lake Club scene in the movie "Animal House.") In a notable twist of irony, our greatest challenge came from South Umpqua, a team made up of five decent, but not great runners that finished closely together. It was the same formula we used the previous year to win District. Nonetheless, I knew that if we ran as we had all season, the title would remain ours.
Unfortunately, that's not how it went.
For the second year in a row, I had my worst race of the season when it counted most, finishing third for our team. I still distinctly recall Joel and I afterwards, sitting on a distant green, close to tears as we had been told that South Umpqua had indeed beat us.
I'd never known a misery like what I experienced in those moments. It seemed that my poor performance that day had completely shredded away every success experienced in running, revealing me as nothing more than a fraud. One who had cost his team the title they clearly deserved.
When my mother and grandfather found us a short time later, we were told that a recount had us actually tying our rivals. That meant counting the sixth man for both teams. To our incredibly good fortune, our sixth guy - a quirky junior with a fondness for cheap cigars - had prevailed over their sixth guy. That meant we won and were on our way to State again!
(I would be remiss if I failed to mention the outstanding performance from Greg Mock, our third runner who definitely picked up the ball that I dropped that day.)
Redemption at State
Despite of the “skin-of-our-teeth” good fortune, I remained in no mood for celebration. Had I run as I had every other race that season, we’d have secured that win outright. Shame at my performance and behavior afterwards fueled my workouts in preparation that week for the State Meet at Lane Community College in Eugene.
My desire at redemption paid off with me placing 38th overall, leading our team to 8th place - far better than we’d done the previous year. That outcome did much to dispel the guilt I carried from the previous meet.
I'll add that I never again "choked" in a district meet. And a year later, I ran for nearby Umpqua Community College's cross-country team. How that all happened is a story for another day.
As I bring closure to this journey down Memory Lane, let me also thank my teammates. Those were truly remarkable times, and they would not have been so without all of you!
I know that my story is not unique. If anyone has memories to share from their final cross-country season, feel free to include them in the comments below or on Facebook. And thanks for reading the post!
Good story! Having you and your friend push each other really helps. Have you set up any friendly rivalries in your recent runs? BTW, those earworms you had while running were nothing to be ashamed of. There's no way to get them out once they get lodged in.