Twenty seven years ago today history was made as 60 women ran a marathon for the first time in the Olympic games. I was lucky enough to be one of those women. I was 27 years old - half my life ago! While it was not my best marathon, it was an amazing experience to be a part of the Olympics. A month earlier I had carried the Olympic Torch in the relay that went through Seattle's University of Washington campus. To then see that same flame enter the Olympic Stadium and then light the cauldron for the duration of the Games made my knees go weak. Being at the Olympic village and meeting athletes from around the world was very inspiring. I got to talk to Zola Budd, the South African woman famous for running barefoot, and soon to be famous for tangling up with Mary Decker in the 3000m final. I talked to Daley Thompson who was about to win his 2nd Olympic gold medal in the decathlon, and John Tracey (Ireland) who earned a silver medal in the men's marathon a week after I ran my marathon. The Beach Boys played a concert in our village at UCLA, and the Irish women's team and I got to have breakfast with Jane Fonda after we embarrassed ourselves in her easiest level aerobics class!
One year from today an elite group of women will run their Olympic marathon in London. I always get a little emotional now when I watch the Olympic women's marathon. London will be extra special as I grew up 30 miles from the British capital.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
The Joy of Coaching!
I began running more than four decades ago and went from being a top junior runner in England to being one of the best in the world for a brief time. I have run in international competition for three different nations.. England, Ireland and USA. But I never thought I would ever coach other runners. I even went so far as to say to my coach in college that I would NEVER be a coach.
The opportunity to coach came up while I was working at Edmonds Woodway High School as a teacher's assistant monitoring an autistic boy. The track coaches knew who I was and invited me to apply for the position of distance coach of the track team. The night before my first day of practice I was a wreck. I was sure I couldn't possibly do this. So I headed to practice with my Jack Daniels.. really!! That is Jack Daniel's book on coaching. The kids seem to warm to me quickly.. must be the British accent. Even the boys who had had some success with their previous coach were willing to listen to a woman who had run faster than many of them ever would! It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of my running career. I made some wonderful friends from the kids I coached. I've gone to about five of their weddings so far, helped my favorite athlete buy a house and seen at least 2 of them become parents (not the actual birth I might add!!).
I no longer coach high school but I do have a running group that is growing in numbers. Today I experienced my favorite part of coaching.. a runner asking to do more!! Susan heard about Janet's and my workout for tomorrow and as we left our morning practice .. she said "can I have the workout too!!" I love it when people are excited to do whatever it takes to improve. Susan is an adult woman who constantly allows the child in her to come out and play. We should all be like Susan!!
I have found one of my passions in life in the "art of coaching". It really is a joy to see others get excited about fitness and running in particular.
Want to join a dedicated running group.. dedicated to enjoying running that is!? We meet at the Greenlake track in Seattle on Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. Then the fun begins.
Happy miles my friends.
The opportunity to coach came up while I was working at Edmonds Woodway High School as a teacher's assistant monitoring an autistic boy. The track coaches knew who I was and invited me to apply for the position of distance coach of the track team. The night before my first day of practice I was a wreck. I was sure I couldn't possibly do this. So I headed to practice with my Jack Daniels.. really!! That is Jack Daniel's book on coaching. The kids seem to warm to me quickly.. must be the British accent. Even the boys who had had some success with their previous coach were willing to listen to a woman who had run faster than many of them ever would! It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of my running career. I made some wonderful friends from the kids I coached. I've gone to about five of their weddings so far, helped my favorite athlete buy a house and seen at least 2 of them become parents (not the actual birth I might add!!).
I no longer coach high school but I do have a running group that is growing in numbers. Today I experienced my favorite part of coaching.. a runner asking to do more!! Susan heard about Janet's and my workout for tomorrow and as we left our morning practice .. she said "can I have the workout too!!" I love it when people are excited to do whatever it takes to improve. Susan is an adult woman who constantly allows the child in her to come out and play. We should all be like Susan!!
I have found one of my passions in life in the "art of coaching". It really is a joy to see others get excited about fitness and running in particular.
Want to join a dedicated running group.. dedicated to enjoying running that is!? We meet at the Greenlake track in Seattle on Saturday mornings at 8:30 a.m. Then the fun begins.
Happy miles my friends.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Husky Teammates
I came to Seattle in 1980 on a cross country and track scholarship at the University of Washington. I still remember my first race as a Husky. We were competing in a local cross country meet at Seward Park. I found myself leading the race on a course that was not particularly well marked and when I got to a point in the race I could hear my teammate Susan Gregg yelling from behind to "turn left there". I was amazed, as she could easily have let me run off course and taken the lead herself. I'm sure she yelled more directions from 50 yards back again. Susan and her twin Sandra proved to me that day that I had a couple of the most amazing teammates ever. During our three years of training together I came to count on them as training partners and reliable teammates on and off the field. Together with Sandra and Susan Gregg and Laurie Coston (co-owner with her twin Leslie of The KingFish Cafe on Capital Hill) we set a National record in the Distance Medley Relay. It was a tremendous experience being a collegiate athlete.
I can only hope that what I brought to the Huskies in the early 80's was as memorable an experience for my teammates and Husky fans.
In my three years as a Husky I set numerous field, meet and school records. I left with five school records on the books in all distances from the 1500 to the marathon. In the 30 years since I ran as a Husky only one of my school records have been broken. One day (maybe) all of those records will be broken, but I can still remember winning my one and only National Championship in the 3000 meters in Austin in 1981, and being the first collegiate woman to run 3000 meters under 9 minutes.
As a mother, I was proud of my daughter making it to play collegiate soccer at my rival Washington State Cougars. For both of us, being a collegiate athlete really made our college experiences more fun mostly because of the teammates we were surrounded with.
So if you are out an about in Seattle this weekend and come across a rowdy group of beautiful girls, they're probably my daughter and her Cougar soccer teammates!!
Go Huskies!! Go Cougs!
I can only hope that what I brought to the Huskies in the early 80's was as memorable an experience for my teammates and Husky fans.
In my three years as a Husky I set numerous field, meet and school records. I left with five school records on the books in all distances from the 1500 to the marathon. In the 30 years since I ran as a Husky only one of my school records have been broken. One day (maybe) all of those records will be broken, but I can still remember winning my one and only National Championship in the 3000 meters in Austin in 1981, and being the first collegiate woman to run 3000 meters under 9 minutes.
As a mother, I was proud of my daughter making it to play collegiate soccer at my rival Washington State Cougars. For both of us, being a collegiate athlete really made our college experiences more fun mostly because of the teammates we were surrounded with.
So if you are out an about in Seattle this weekend and come across a rowdy group of beautiful girls, they're probably my daughter and her Cougar soccer teammates!!
Go Huskies!! Go Cougs!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Rock n' Roll
The Rock n' Roll series takes over Seattle this weekend. Caitlin and the Nuun team sold a truck load of Nuun at the Expo yesterday. I ran by the Expo on my lunchtime run and the place was swamped. I said "hello" to Sally at Oiselle, and to Caitlin of course! Running expos are a great place to meet lots of new and old friends (yeah, most of my friends are old). It's also a great place to see what's new in running.. shoes, clothes, food, drinks, healthcare.
But as my friend Peter (yep, he's old) says.. All Rock n' Roll is music, but not all music is Rock n' Roll. And yes, all marathons are 26.2 miles... don't you love it when you tell someone you ran a marathon and they say 26.2 miles? Yep. My friend Janet has run a marathon in every state. When she tells people that (not very often - she's shy), they say, "what even Alaska?" Yes, Alaska has been a state for a while!
Meeting Janet was a turning point in my life. I had just run my first marathon in 6 years; Janet had just run her 100th marathon in the 50th state (yes, there are 50 states!). While Janet is not very fast (yet) she is an inspiration to be around. I am now on my quest to run a marathon in every state. Sixteen done and 34 to go, if my math is right! Janet will complete the states for a 2nd time as I do my first round (only round). Can't think of a more fun person to go with to so many marathons.
This is the third Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon and half marathon.. remember to run your own race and if you don't like the band, keep running, there's another one up the road! Good luck to you all out there.
But as my friend Peter (yep, he's old) says.. All Rock n' Roll is music, but not all music is Rock n' Roll. And yes, all marathons are 26.2 miles... don't you love it when you tell someone you ran a marathon and they say 26.2 miles? Yep. My friend Janet has run a marathon in every state. When she tells people that (not very often - she's shy), they say, "what even Alaska?" Yes, Alaska has been a state for a while!
Meeting Janet was a turning point in my life. I had just run my first marathon in 6 years; Janet had just run her 100th marathon in the 50th state (yes, there are 50 states!). While Janet is not very fast (yet) she is an inspiration to be around. I am now on my quest to run a marathon in every state. Sixteen done and 34 to go, if my math is right! Janet will complete the states for a 2nd time as I do my first round (only round). Can't think of a more fun person to go with to so many marathons.
This is the third Seattle Rock n' Roll marathon and half marathon.. remember to run your own race and if you don't like the band, keep running, there's another one up the road! Good luck to you all out there.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Being an "athlete"!
I never thought I was athletic as a little girl. Growing up in England, girls played Netball or Field Hockey. I never made the school Netball team and got hit in the face with a hockey stick! We would have "Field Day" in elementary school (called Primary School in England). I was quite good in the Sack Race (a preview of things to come! Yes, I know what you're thinking.. not that sack race!!), but excelled in the high jump. Thinking I would be a high jumper I went along to our local athletic club where they took one look at me and laughed. Oh just kidding.. they said.. distance runner: maybe had something to do with being 5' 4" and about 95 lbs at age 13.
I found my sport. Running didn't require much coordination, but a desire to push myself and a good set of lungs. My little sister, Monica (more about her another time) won her first race, so the pressure for me to do well in my first race was huge. It was a one-mile cross country race after just one week of training. I pushed myself so hard I thought my lungs would explode. I passed a girl with about 100 yards to go.. she yelled at me "you can't" .. at least that's what I thought she said!! I finished 3rd, and became an "athlete".
To this day I never listen to anyone who tells me I can't do something. I just go out and show them I can!
Do you remember your first race? I would love to hear about it!
Happy miles my friends..
I found my sport. Running didn't require much coordination, but a desire to push myself and a good set of lungs. My little sister, Monica (more about her another time) won her first race, so the pressure for me to do well in my first race was huge. It was a one-mile cross country race after just one week of training. I pushed myself so hard I thought my lungs would explode. I passed a girl with about 100 yards to go.. she yelled at me "you can't" .. at least that's what I thought she said!! I finished 3rd, and became an "athlete".
To this day I never listen to anyone who tells me I can't do something. I just go out and show them I can!
Do you remember your first race? I would love to hear about it!
Happy miles my friends..
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Tina's First Marathon
Sunday, June 5th my long time friend Tina Gall ran her first marathon. She finished 5th woman in 3.31.58! A very respectable first effort. She told me today she's already thinking about running another one. What is it about the marathon that we (at least most of us) can't do just one?
I ran my first marathon almost 29 years ago. And I got slower every time after that! I never thought I'd run a marathon for "fun". Come on, what's fun about running 26 miles.. without stopping?
I'll tell you what's fun.. being with great friends before and after; making new friends along the way; achieving things most people think they can't do; overcoming your fears.
My second marathon was The World Championships in Helsinki in 1983. A Russian woman named Raisa Smeknova placed 2nd that day (I was 7th). I saw Raisa in Tokyo for the Tokyo Women's marathon 3 months later. We became friends, even though neither of us spoke the others language. Running was our common bond.. we knew each others pain and joy.
What is your favorite memory of your first marathon?
Enjoy your journey.. happy running!
I ran my first marathon almost 29 years ago. And I got slower every time after that! I never thought I'd run a marathon for "fun". Come on, what's fun about running 26 miles.. without stopping?
I'll tell you what's fun.. being with great friends before and after; making new friends along the way; achieving things most people think they can't do; overcoming your fears.
My second marathon was The World Championships in Helsinki in 1983. A Russian woman named Raisa Smeknova placed 2nd that day (I was 7th). I saw Raisa in Tokyo for the Tokyo Women's marathon 3 months later. We became friends, even though neither of us spoke the others language. Running was our common bond.. we knew each others pain and joy.
What is your favorite memory of your first marathon?
Enjoy your journey.. happy running!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Welcome!
Writing a blog is the last thing I ever thought I'd do. But with a suggestion from Kim Williams at Nuun to my daughter Caitlin Bonney, it's happening!! So, thank-you to Kim for the suggestion and big hugs to Caitlin for starting it up so fast!
I've been a runner since I was 13 years old, and as Caitlin pointed out I'm now 54! So that's a lot of miles on this body.. of course you'd never know it.. or maybe you would, because I look about the same as I did at 13, but with a few laugh lines on my face!
I started running at age 13, all because my little sis won her first race and got her picture in the local paper.. competitive genes.. yes!!
I feel I've come full-circle with my running. I started out as a competitive run .. oh wait.. I'm still competitive (just not as fast!).. I've always loved to run mainly because I didn't have the coordination for other sports. But what I get most joy out of now is inspiring others to run and to find the joy in just running.
Stay tuned for more stories of my 4 decades of running!
Happy miles!!
I've been a runner since I was 13 years old, and as Caitlin pointed out I'm now 54! So that's a lot of miles on this body.. of course you'd never know it.. or maybe you would, because I look about the same as I did at 13, but with a few laugh lines on my face!
I started running at age 13, all because my little sis won her first race and got her picture in the local paper.. competitive genes.. yes!!
I feel I've come full-circle with my running. I started out as a competitive run .. oh wait.. I'm still competitive (just not as fast!).. I've always loved to run mainly because I didn't have the coordination for other sports. But what I get most joy out of now is inspiring others to run and to find the joy in just running.
Stay tuned for more stories of my 4 decades of running!
Happy miles!!
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