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| Running and finishing the 1985 Capitol Classic 5K in Boise, Idaho. |
Through the world of Facebook and Twitter, we are treated to long lost photos of college parties (some of which should be forgotten permanently), bad elementary school portraits and even glimpses of Olympian Kara Goucher in her youth, complete with curly hair and large 80s style glasses.
Throwback Thursdays give us pause to think about the past, relieve the memories and reflect on where we have been, perhaps on where we are going. As I have continued to pursue this lifelong passion, I have strolled back into the recesses of my memory, remembering how I started as a runner and how it has been engrained in my being most of my life.
My life as a runner began nearly 30 years ago as a fourth grader at Valley View Elementary in Boise, Idaho. Little did I know that my early introduction would lead to a lifelong passion.
In 1985 in the Boise School District, it was up to classroom teachers to teach their own physical education classes (an unfortunate foreshadowing of years to come in the teaching profession). My teacher, Virginia Thompson, was a product of the first running boom and likely the first person I knew who was a regular runner. So that spring, Mrs. Thompson introduced us to running as fitness as opposed to something we did at recess, moving from one part of the playground to the other.
(It is worth noting that Mrs. Thompson was quite the renaissance woman. In addition to being a master teacher, she was a proud mother and the author of a number of Christian self-help books. In many ways an incredible human being.)
I had previous introductions to running before Boise. While living in Medford, Oregon, I was entranced by the annual Pear Blossom Run, whose out-and-back course went right by school (by the end of high school, I would compete in the 10-mile Pear four times). The year before, I was hooked on watching the Olympic Games on television, and most notably by the track and field events.
But it was Mrs. Thompson that introduced me (and other students) to running as sport, pleasure and fun. Our running lessons would take us on laps around the school field, building up slowly. The eventual goal was run continuously for 30 minutes, which resulted in the first award I ever received in my running career: A handwritten certificate celebrating the achievement.
That introduction led its way to my first races. The Boise area took the lead in providing running opportunities for kids. The Capitol Classic provided a one-mile course through the heart of Boise's downtown, from the train depot up above downtown, down Capitol Blvd., to the steps of the state capitol. Every child received a shirt and a finisher's medal. I still have both.
We lived in Boise for only two years, but those years provided the foundation for a lifelong passion. I ran in two Capitol Classics and the Harrison Classic (another one-mile kid's run in another part of town) and took part in my first 5k race as part of the annual Barber to Boise races.
Those races led to participation in elementary and junior high school track after moving to Klamath Falls, to high school and college cross country and track and to today.
All three events still exist. The Capitol Classic and the Harrison Classic, through the sponsorship of Saint Alphonsus Medical Center and the Treasure Valley YMCA, respectively, continue to create new generations of runners in a setting where it is not about times, but the experience. Barber to Boise endures as an annual staple of the Boise running schedule.
So to Mrs. Thompson, who took special care to work with a high-strung fourth grader in 1985 who had just escaped exile in Utah, you did many things to influence my life positively. But the most important thing you may have done was instill in me a love for running.
Thank you.
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