I've been running for over 30 years now. Early on, I was very competitive and, as a teen, most of my closest friends were runners. The black and white photo was taken at the start of the 1978 Michigan State Universtiy versus University of Michigan men's cross country meet. I'm the one wearing the stylish shades. Contrary to appearances my teammate, Michael White, was not trying to elbow me in the nose! For me, at that time in my life, wearing the green and white while competing against our mighty maize and blue rivals represented a peak experience. I ran, by a substantial margin, the fastest 10K race of my life and still finished 16th out of 19 competitors which made the whole experience simultaneously exhilarating and humbling.

One of the things that intrigues me about involvement with leisure activity is how people view their participation over time. When my high school cross country team had a "20-year reunion" in the early 1990s, the differences in how we approached (or avoided) running struck me because we had been such a homongenous group in the early 1970s. Running remains fun for me, but I believe that I am less ego involved in the activity compared with when I was younger. "Runner's highs" are less frequent and it plays a smaller role in my social world.

Although I still view running as a lifelong avocation, I rarely compete anymore. And when I do it's usually as a mid-pack runner such as at a recent Kitchener/Waterloo Oktoberfest 5K with Sue (waving to the camera) and my good friend Ron McCarville (in the red hat). How will I feel about running 30 years hence? By the way, my relaxed demeanor notwithstanding, I was well aware of the girl just behind us wearing the "Block M" style shirt made famous by my old rivals from the University of Michigan, and made sure she didn't pass us. Some things never change!

CMOC
Last updated: 29 September 2003