Most AREC members know my whole sordid running history – my younger sister Riva ran Cross Country and Track in high school and college… and I got inspired to run a marathon (after failing to run ¼ mile with her at Mile 26 of Big Sur Marathon) in 1996. The part that most people don’t know about is what the rest of my family does, running-wise.
My youngest sister, Marisa, also ran in high school, partially because Riva did it, but she did discus and shotput for Track & Field, probably to avoid running altogether. She didn’t do sports in College. My mother did basketball in high school, and bowling in college. My father rowed for UC Berkeley in the 50s and also rowed at the 1956 Olympic Trials.
My family members support our running (give us encouragement, view our races, etc.), but participating doesn’t really happen.
As my parents get older, I try the “do-a-small-race-and-win-a-medal” strategy, but that never seems to work. However, two years ago, Riva convinced my dad to participate in a father-daughter race in Dallas, and they won their division (their combined age was 104, and the next oldest was 82!), though my dad pulled his hamstring doing it, having run for the first time in over 50 years!
My parents have aged better than most, and it is definitely because they keep physically fit. My mom does stretches and weight training when she is in Dallas, and both my parents walk 3-5 miles every day as well as take Tai Chi classes.
It was a surprise, however, that just before Thanksgiving, my parents called to see if I had registered for the Piedmont Turkey Trot, an annual event to raise money for my alma mater’s Cross Country teams (Women were 17th at State last weekend.). Of course I had. Last year, I ran the race and then did 25 miles of Piedmont Streets (think Signal Hill steepness) for an additional training run. I run the Piedmont race every time I am in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving and it was my first 5K (back when I wasn’t athletic) in 1985 (when it was the Piedmont Feet Meet fundraiser for the Middle School).
The reason for calling was that Mom, Dad and Marisa had decided to “compete” as well. I was excited, because going to a race with friends is a much better time. I always enjoy the Turkey Trot (because I usually see old high school friends), but this was special.
A few years back, the Turkey Trot had been a pretty small race, but this year, there were at least 1000 people, so I wasn’t going to get an award (especially with 10-year age groups). I thought, at least, my dad will get an award, but the top age group was 50+. Grr!
I ran my race, then chatted for 20 minutes with friends, and then went to the three mile mark to look for my family. They came walking in at about 51 minutes (started late, had a nice conversation, etc.). It really made my Thanksgiving Day run more special because I shared with my whole family! (I wonder if they would do the 50 miler with me next weekend…)