Runweiser with Ken

Back in the olden days, each year we would take our team, Runners Forum Racing Team, to the Louisville Marathon.

I became good friends of the Race Director, Gil Clark and would always let him know where we were staying in Louisville in case he had some time and wanted to visit.

We had a master team member who loved the night life and would travel in his old RV.

If he stayed out late, he would park his RV at the finish line so when they came to set up the finish area, they would have to wake him to move the RV.

This one year, either ’79 or ’80, I received a call from Gil at 4:30 in the morning to tell me they could not wake him to move the RV.  I went to the finish line and I couldn’t get him to wake up either, so I called a wrecker and had the RV moved (yes, I paid for the wrecker!)

About 45 minutes before the start of the marathon, out came our team member, plus two very hung-over women who had no idea what was going on.  I called a taxi for them and yes, I paid for the taxi fare!  The only comment to me from the team member was, “Ken, just settle down, it’s not a big deal, I’ll run great!”

He ultimately won the 40-49 age division, I can’t remember the exact time but it was between 2:45 to 2:48.

Needless to say, in subsequent events Gil did not allow any parking in the city park where the finish line was located.

Old timers:  can you name this team member?  We will disclose his name on April 15^th.

- Ken Long

Don’t try this at home or your next race!

A funny story about the Las Vegas Marathon that I would like to share:

It was in the 1997 Las Vegas Marathon – I personally, did not have a good race that year, but I have always wondered about this guy I saw around mile 18 – I don’t know if he had a good race that year – or it might have been his best race!

This was back when the Las Vegas Marathon started in Jean, Nevada, a small town 25 miles south of Las Vegas, where there was still sagebrush and sand, and the course paralleled the freeway straight into Las Vegas and finished at the southern edge of town on the strip.  It was held in the latter part of February, and the weather could be very unpredictable in the desert – cold, dry and sunny or cold, rainy and windy.  Well, it was cold – especially at the start.  It was 28 degrees, but dry and sunny – and no wind.

If I remember correctly, the race organizers would have (in addition to the water stations where volunteers would hand you a cup of water) small aid stations strategically placed in between the water stations which had a small table at the side of the road.  There were no volunteers at these small tables, but just packets of GU.

So, at around Mile 18 as I was running by, and since I was having a “very bad day,” the runners on this part of the course were very far and few between, I see a gentleman bent over and he was putting GU all over the insides of his legs and on the underside of his upper arms (obviously he was getting chapped skin in those areas).

I stopped to tell him that he was putting GU on his skin rather than a lubricant such as Vaseline!  He just smiled and waved at me – and then I realized that he did not understand or speak English!

I still wonder to this day – if he finished and how his legs and upper arms felt!

But more importantly – if he thinks the GU is to be used on his legs and arms, he must think Vaseline is to be used for fuel – I forgot to ask him “What does Vaseline taste like?”

- Lana Henricks

This isn’t exactly a running story, but one day at the store, when fitting a young high school boy in some running shoes for cross-country, we discussed any problems he was having with feet, legs, hips, etc – the usual things you try to learn when determining what type of shoe is needed.

The young lad related that he was having some problems with the balls of his feet burning.  I brought out a couple of pairs of shoes and told him to go out to the sidewalk and I’d watch him run.  We came back into the store and as I was checking the shoe length, asked him if the new shoes helped the burning on the balls of his feet.  He said, “these shoes are great, my balls don’t burn a bit!”  I could not look up because I could tell he was horrified at what he had said and we both pretended that I didn’t hear a thing.  This is a story that I don’t think I’ll ever forget, even though it happened more than 30 years ago.

-Ruth Long

A story from Ken. . .

Many of us have been chased by a dog, but let me tell you of the time I was chased by a rooster.  Back, many, many years ago, my Mom and Dad lived in a very rural area in the south east part of  Kentucky – way back in the hills.

On one visit to them, I went out one day for a 10-mile run. Around the 6 to 7 mile mark I noticed an old farm house where there were many chickens loose in the yard.  There was also a big red rooster standing in the road giving me the once-over.

As I ran, the rooster started chasing me and attacking me with his spurs.  Blood was flying, the rooster was crowing at me and I thought I would never get him to leave my legs alone.

Finally, the farmer came out and hollered at the rooster at which time the rooster came to a complete stop and went back home to his yard full of chickens.

The farmer gave me a strange look as if to say, why would anyone be out here running around in his underwear (hi-tech running shorts) and looking like a skinny fool (I was in good shape back then).

Seeing my legs, the farmer decided he would drive me back to my parents’ house, who in turn, took me to the local doctor who fixed up my legs.

Since this episode, I eat chicken much more often than I did before.

-Ken