April 19th, Tuesday, 9:30 p.m
“I wanna to go where everybody knows my name.”
Today there was a dual meet at Liberty High School. I took the opportunity to drop over and say hello to my Liberty friends, coaches and athletes. I wound up as a volunteer timer at the finish line for the afternoon. It was very enjoyable. Since I left coaching at Hillsborough 3 years ago I have missed being involved in the high school track world during the spring and the fall. Last fall I volunteered as an assistant coach for the Liberty High School cross country boys team. The coaches and athletes were very accepting of me and treated me with great respect and deference. I have continued to be in touch with the team this spring. Those afternoons, when I stop by at practice or at a dual competition, always improve my attitude. For an old track coach and competitor there is nothing like an afternoon in the sun on the track watching talented athletes compete. Since I know these guys now, it is even more fun because I have someone to root for and interact with at a meet. I am looking forward to another exciting cross country season come September.
Experts in the field of aging tell us constantly that one of the key elements to aging in a healthy fashion is to stay involved. This is particularly true of staying involved with people of all ages. Volunteering at a local high school is an absolutely wonderful way to be involved in something that you find enjoyable and stay interactive with people of every generation . I don’t believe the benefits of such interaction can be overstated. So, to all my + 70 Runner friends I make one more suggestion;
STAY in the Game! Engage in your passion and share your wisdom.
STATS –
I-MAD – 3
WEIGHT – 153#
A.M. HR – 51
SLEEP — 8.5 HOURS
Workout – lots of moving around for 3 hours at the track meet this afternoon. No real workout. Still determined that a day off is in the best interest of safety because of sore foot.
Coach, how did you get to Hillsborough from North? How long did you coach there?
Coach Murphy started calling me after I retired to ask me for advice about training his distance runners. Eventually he asked me if I would come and join his staff in 2003. We had some pretty good teams won sectionals for the second in group 4 when the Skyland conference couple times. In 2008 I coached the number 1 800 meter run in New Jersey who won the meet of Champions in 150.14. His name was Jason Walton. Jason unfortunately died after his junior year in a tragic accident. One of the saddest moments of my coaching career for sure. I coached at Hillsborough until about 2011 and then volunteered for a while when I moved to Jackson. Today I get many calls from Costa Rica to talk about a training and running and that’s my connection with Hillsborough. Last year I began volunteering at the local Jackson high school called Jackson Liberty. I’ve worked with the cross country team and will again in September.
I’m sorry to hear about Jason. Surely another significant piece of your life’s puzzle. I am glad that he shared the joy of victory under your tutelage–never underestimate that significance to him, the part you played! I watched his MOC race online, he flew on that opposite stretch. Looks like he just dug in for the pass and let it all go!
I never saw anybody with Jason’s explosion in the 800 meters. Not even Tillman.
Coach Refi called me, but Murphy was working there too.