Who Is That Old Jogger?
Despite
driving west with the setting summer sun glaring through my filthy windshield,
I was still able to make a distinction. The jogger heading toward me was no
young man. His long locks and blue bandana did little to mask his gray beard,
and his pace was hardly that of a young marathon runner.
Because of
the heat and humidity, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Who is this old, burned
out hippie, jogging in this hot weather?”
Well before
I spotted his earphones and size 13 running shoes, I become aware of his gait.
It was faintly familiar to me. It was
then that I realized he was a former runner of mine when I coached high school
track, so I pulled my Jeep off the road and stopped to chat.
I blushed with embarrassment, my cheeks easily
outshining his, as I quickly did the math.
This old, gray, over-the-hill jogger was eight years younger than I. And
when I discovered how far he had been running, I realized the distance was way
greater than anything I could cover.
“Dan
Conley?” I asked – hoping I wasn’t having a senior moment myself.
As we
extended arms to shake sweaty hands, he replied with a grin, “Yep, that’s
me.”
“I’m impressed,
buddy,” I admitted. “I surely couldn’t
run like this when I was your age, especially on a day like today.” We immediately started to recollect and exchange
memories from the mid 1970’s. We also reaffirmed our beliefs that track and
field and training have come a long way in recent decades.
A Unique Athletic Species
Dan and his
high school teammates not only represented a different era of time but they
were also part of a unique and special breed.
There were no local “all-weather” track surfaces at that time and
running shoes were a far cry from the top-notch, high-tech variety of
today. I remember ordering the cheapest
white, trimmed in black, uniforms that I could find. No logo appeared on the uniform tops or on
the all-gray sweat suits. In fact, I
nicknamed our track team the “gray grub worms” because they were so drab.
The track at
the time was said to be a cinder track
but in reality, it was composed of gravel and the composition varied in depth
and density. The straight-aways were as
hard as concrete and the turns, as deep and as soft as desert sand. Weeds thrived too – it was more of an
obstacle course than a track.
Still,
perhaps because of personal determination and work ethic, those runners of that
time can proudly boast of some very noteworthy performances.
1978 Northern Bedford County High School 2 Mile Relay - 1st Place, District 5 & School Record.
Left to Right; Sam Evans, Dan Conley, Marty Diehl and Steve Dodson
8:26.5
Dan was the grandfather of the foursome that held the 2-Mile Relay record for the school (Northern Bedford) at the time. Sam Evans, Marty Diehl and Steve Dodson were the underclassmen members of the quartet. Despite those deplorable training conditions, shabby uniforms and antiquated equipment, they ran a very respectable 8:26.5 (converted to metric) in 1978 and qualified for the PIAA State Championships that year.
A year
later, underclassman Todd Klotz joined that relay team and a new metric system
of measurement was introduced. Along
with the new classification (the 3200 Meter Relay), a new school record was set
at 8:26.06 in 1979. That record still stands today, albeit barely. ***
1979 Northern Bedford County High School 3200 Meter Relay - 1st Place District 5 & new School Record. 8:26.06
Front Left to Right; Todd Klotz and Sam Evans, Back Left to Right; Marty Diehl and Steve Dodson
An Individual Effort
I’ll carry
those recollections and relay records with me till the day I die, but a
memorable individual performance remains with me today, too. When I brought it
to Dan’s attention, I wasn’t surprised that he remembered it as well as I
did.
Dan was
running the 2-Mile Run in a triangular meet and wasn’t having a particularly
great day. It was the last meet of his senior year before districts. He was far
behind the leader, possibly in fourth or fifth place with only a lap to go.
I got in his ear big time as he hit the second straight
stretch on lap seven. “Is this how you want to remember your last meet, your
senior year? Suck it up and go for it!”
Like an angry bull being teased with a red cloak, he snapped
out of his dismal pace and - you guessed it - he passed all the competitors on
lap eight and won going away.
Too tired to comment, he just smiled as he crossed the finish
line. His face spoke volumes, indicating he was elated to end his home track
meet appearances on such a positive note.
After chatting for a while, I left Dan to continue his evening
run. I also departed with the impression that today, Dan approaches his work,
his family, his health and his training pretty much the same way he ran in 1978. He is a competitor, plain and simple, and his
attitude in life is admirable.
It was a pleasure reminiscing with him.
***Editor’s notes: According to present Northern Bedford Head
Track Coach Jeff Batzel, the most recent 3200 M Relay team came very close to
that old record. The 2013 relay team
posted an 8:26.20 this past spring. I wish the returnees well with their efforts
to break it next year. And…
Yes, I still remember someone from those two old relay teams
placing after-shave lotion or shaving foam in my jock strap during the state
track meets. I was an avid runner myself
at the time, and I will always remember the burn I got from my morning run.
Dan Conley and Marty Diehl, head to head in the Mile Run - 1978
Chuck Gironda, Track Starter in background
Steve Dodson and Dan Conley, head to head in the 2-Mile Run - 1978
Northern Bedford 2-Mile Relay, School Record and District 5, First Place Finishers
Left to Right; Dan Conley, Sam Evans, Steve Dodson and Marty Diehl
