Going For The Gold!
The Rio Olympics have come to an end and many of the problems predicted did not surface and those that did were relatively minor. If you are like me, you enjoyed the swimming events and the track and field. What amazed me was the number of countries that participated some I had never heard of. Tell me if you know where these countries are located: Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Amenia, Tajikistan, Palau, and Tuvalu. And why do so many of these countries have names that end in “stan”? Just wondering.
Speaking of track and field, you runners out there will understand this. Non-runners will conclude that I am a poor loser. Whatever the case, here is the story about this great runner's t-shirt. (Above) Back in 1976, fellow runner and friend Jim Addy and I decided that we had never won a race overall or placed in our age group. Solution? We established our own race and only invited people to participate that we knew we could beat! So on Father's Day in June 1976 we staged the first and only "Jim & Bills Daddies Day Do Run Run". (And yes I realize that there are no apostrophes in the title but the lack thereof saved space and money!)
Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
We invited eight slow runners all of whom received this neat shirt and ran a 10k (6.2 miles) in our Grosse Pointe neighborhood. Of course Jim and I won! We were then treated to a cake shaped like a running shoe prepared by my spouse Mary. I wrote a column about it that appeared in several running magazines. Some runners saw the column and wanted the date for the next event but we told them we only compete against slow runners and it was a onetime event. The shirt remains a classic (a very old classic!) and garners lots of inquiries and comments when I wear it to a race. So on that day in 1976, Jim and I captured the gold!
Since that momentous day in 1976, I have continued to run on a daily basis and compete in about six races every year. One of the advantages of being an old runner is that I am in the “70 and over” category for the runs. That means if I am one of the first three runners to cross the finish line, I get a medal. Since turning 73 this year, I have either won or placed in my age group! That means I have outlived my competition! Only two more races this year! Medals, here I come!
