The Season That Changed My Life

We don't always realize the actual significance of certain events until after they've taken place. That was certainly the case forty-five years ago this fall when I participated in my junior year of Cross Country at Sutherlin High School. That season unquestionably changed my life - although I had absolutely no idea about it at the time.

After a summer spent bucking hay bales onto flatbed trucks under a scotching sun, returning to school sounded just fine to me. As for cross country, about the only thought in my mind was that it would at least add another pin to my letterman jacket. I had no clue that I'd be part of the most successful athletic team at our high school in nearly a decade.

It wasn't until we won the Siletz Invitational in late September that we had any inkling that we might actually be "good." Looking back, I’m not sure why we were even there. It took place way, way up the Oregon coast against a group of schools we'd never faced before. But, hey, we won and brought home what would be only the second trophy for our new high school. (Long story short - SHS lost all its trophies in a fire that burned down the school four years earlier.)

With Styx’s “Light Up” emanating from a cassette player in the back of the bus on the long drive home, for the first time, I thought about running as more than something I did for a few weeks in the fall and spring. I was our team's number four guy. Two seniors were ahead of me along with one sophomore (the younger brother of one of the seniors). Did that make me the top distance runner in my class? I really couldn't wrap my head around that. Not when I'd grown up being the last guy picked for dodgeball, baseball or any team sport. My father had been athletic. Was it possible I had actually some talent? And what about our team? Could we ever do something like this again?

We could and did. Our success did not stop with that one meet. To our amazement, we acquired more wins and more hardware in the coming weeks. While our impressive girls team benefitted from one outstanding runner who would typically win her races, our strength stemmed solely from our depth. No superstars. But five good runners who could finish in a pack somewhere in the top twenty to thirty.

We realized that our continued success depended on each of us. We also found that our friendships with one another deepened as the season progressed. We spent more time together outside of practice and meets.

Being part of success at this level was all new territory for me. Maybe being the number four runner didn't appear all that impressive to someone on the outside looking in. But I took considerable pride in it. Being as close as I was to our top three runners, each race required me to be at my best. I didn't care how I fared against the fourth person on other teams. Or their third. As far as I was concerned, my competition was whomever I saw in front of me.

I also continued wondering what my times would have been like had I run more over the summer. In turn, those thoughts nudged my mind towards the future. Two of the runners ahead of me on our team were seniors. How much could I improve next year if I trained harder?

Of course, I still had the most important weeks of this remarkable season to complete. We'd gained the attention of the county newspaper who interviewed us just before the District meet. That turned out to be a mixed blessing. The silence permeating our bus ride there underscored the apprehension growing within us. Unfortunately, it also manifested itself in several of our performances. I had a disappointing race - placing fifth on our team. But our depth still paid off. Rough day or not, we ended it as champions of the Sky-Em Conference.

Even better, our victory qualified us for the State meet the following Saturday in Eugene. For me, that meant the opportunity to compete in a race that I would never have imagined being a part of. Even better, this would be a chance to atone for what I considered a letdown of my teammates.

Practice that following week felt almost surreal. With the other fall seasons now over, we had the track and locker room entirely to ourselves. The almost eerie stillness of those early November afternoons provided additional motivation. There were no guarantees that I'd ever have be in a race like this again. I planned to make the most of it.

My determination paid off with me finishing the State meet as our number two runner, placing 50th overall. Regrettably, we didn't do as well as a team, coming in at 14th overall - and well behind our league rivals whom we'd beat the week before.

That race cemented what I'd been slowly realizing over the past several weeks. If I was going to accomplish anything beyond middle of the pack in the State meet, I would need to make a greater commitment to running. With that in mind, an off-season of training granted me an undefeated start to the next Track season. One year later, I was back at the State Cross Country Meet, leading our team to 8th place overall. Two years later, I was the number three runner for the Men’s Cross-Country team at Umpqua Community College. Five years later, I was once again the fourth runner on very talented team - this time at Western Oregon State College.

The best part of my long journey with distance running has been the amazing people I've met and known. Teachers. Coaches. Classmates. And friends who remain so to this day. The work ethic and discipline from running benefitted my professional life, helping me maintain jobs that taken me from Salem to Las Vegas to Rapid City to Madison to Des Moines.

All that I've been through with running stems back to that incredible season in the fall of 1977. I know that I would not be the person I am today without those remarkable experiences. It would also be remiss of me not to acknowledge everyone in the delightful picture at the top of this blog. It's also with great sadness to know that not everyone in that picture is with us today. But should anyone in that picture read this, have no doubt that you had an impact on my life that season and I am grateful for it.

What about everyone else? Feel free to share any of your experiences either in the comments below or on Facebook.