Me, the Runner, Part 1

Today was the Boston Marathon. So that seems like a good time to pick back up my topical autobiographies.

I have always been a runner. When I was a baby my dad, also a runner, would push me on runs and races in the stroller. Back then they didn’t have the fancy jogging strollers we have now and I’ve been told that he and I wore out several strollers with all the miles we did. I don’t have any memory of those runs, but I’ve seen the pictures.

As with many Utah running events, competitors included everyone from very young youngsters to grandparents. There was even one report of a runner who pushed a baby buggy around the whole course.
“Lindsey Races to Easy 10,000-Meter Win,” Salt Lake Tribune, September 14, 1980

I ran my first race at 3. It was the Brigham Street Mile. My dad ran the whole thing holding my hand and my mom ran the whole thing from the side cheering for me. As the youngest runner in the race I remember being interviewed and they asked me how fast I was going to run. I replied, “Fast.” This photo was published in the newspaper.

There were 250 runners competing to set their personal best mile times and, for at least one runner, the event was especially memorable.
Kent Giles ran the distance alongside his daughter Lisa. While there are many father-daughter running combinations on Utah’s roads these days, Kent will probably always remember the sight of 3 1/2 year old Lisa crossing the finish line in the Brigham Street Mile.
“Padilla Clocks 3:44.11 Mile,” Salt Lake Tribune, May 16, 1982

I did some Turkey Trots and other short races with my dad over the years. In the summers he’d wake me up in the morning and we’d go run a few miles and then I’d go back to bed (I’m not a morning person) and he’d go to work. I really enjoyed that special time I had with my dad and that running was a special thing that he and I shared.

Part 2: Junior High Track & Field