Thanks for a Real Life By Hal Higdon

The request came in November from the sports editor of my local newspaper: "I'm writing a Thanksgiving column asking local athletes what they are most thankful for. A few short sentences would do."

I considered several responses. I could express thanks for victories, championships won. I could offer thanks for good health, my ability to compete for nearly six decades. I could thank wife and family for the support allowing me to do just that. Eventually, I chose a different tack. My response:

"I'm thankful I grew up in an era before prize money, before performance-enhancing drugs, before 35,000-runner fields in marathons, when running was much simpler than it is now. Sure, I trained 100 miles a week, but somehow managed to balance work and family and not let running take over every minute of my day. If you want to succeed at the top levels of my sport today, you can't have a Real Life."

Dabbling in track

I had dabbled in track in high school, failing to break 5:00 for the mile. No athletic scholarship offers arrived, so I chose a college for its academic excellence: Carleton College, where my times winning conference championships hardly made me an Olympic contender. My peak performance came in 1964 in the Boston Marathon. Finally, I had figured out the combination of speed and endurance training that could propel me to the top. I led into the second of the four Newton hills, got passed by the eventual winner, but managed to hold on for fifth place, first American. My time was woefully slow by today's standards. To finish fifth at Boston this year would have taken a time ten minutes faster.

More than that, it would have taken total dedication, something I could hardly afford back in 1964. Without prize money and/or support from shoe companies, I had little motivation to run 24/7. Move to Boulder or Eugene to seek better training partners? Forget it! I worked a full-time job, running before and after work. I married a beautiful woman and raised three well-mannered children, balancing family activities with my running hobby--and that's all it was. This was in an era before drugs changed the face of our sport. I never was even tempted to cheat, although I like to believe that I would have resisted temptation.

I was thirty-three years old at the time of my peak performance at Boston. I know that running would remain an important part of my lifestyle as I grew older, whether or not I was winning races, or even competing in them. Then a half dozen years later, the masters movement started by David Pain drew me back into the competitive arena. But even though I sometimes trained intensively for championship events, I never let my running overwhelm what I was doing away from running.

Different and difficult choices

Younger runners today have different choices--and, in many respects, the choices are more difficult. As they graduate from college, today's top American runners see classmates accept high-salary offers from corporations, while they scrap for $500 prizes in races where the Kenyans don't show. They read about designer drugs and wonder what they need to do to become competitive to hang near the leaders into the Newton hills. Does anybody think that sleeping each night in a tent simulating high altitude might be fun?

I missed all that, and as I look back to races lost, it is without regret. Thanks for the memories--but thanks also for a Real Life.

Hal Higdon is a Senior Writer for Runner's World. This article originally appeared as a Bell Lap column on that publication's online edition.

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