In 1969 I was an overweight,
out-of-shape, two pack a day smoker who could barely put one foot in front of
another without getting winded. I was a Navy submarine sailor who did little
other than eat, sleep, drink coffee, smoke, read in my bunk, and stand my
watches. Worse, food on submarines in those days was plentiful and very good.
But
then I heard William Talman, the actor who played prosecutor Hamilton Burger on
the Perry Mason television show, tell the world in an anti smoking television
ad that he was dying of lung cancer. He pleaded, “If you don’t smoke, don’t
start, and if you do, quit.” This was five years after the Surgeon General’s report
on the dangers of smoking. After the report I had tried from time to time to
quit but had failed; but when I heard Talman I turned to my wife, also a heavy
smoker, and asked, “How many more people have to tell us?” Talman died a few
weeks later.
After
hearing Talman I threw away my cigarettes, replacing them in my shirt pocket
with chewing gum and a list of people who had died of smoking related disease;
prominent on the list were Talman and the great Nat “King” Cole. Every time I
reached into my shirt pocket for a smoke I found the list and the gum. I would
read the list and then tear off a small bit of gum. After about a year I no
longer needed the list or the gum.
In
addition to quitting smoking, I started to run around my neighborhood in the
evenings after work, or when I was at sea and visiting another port, around the
streets of that port. For the next four years I ran all over the world, from Plymouth,
England, to Barcelona,
Spain, to the banks of
the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.
In 1970 I was transferred to the destroyer Joseph
P. Kennedy, Jr. and was able to run at sea in good weather around the main
deck topside. It was a short run but I did many laps. One evening as we steamed north of the Arctic Circle, the
ship’s Executive Officer saw me running in the gray Arctic dusk and after that
called me “The Arctic Flash.”
From
1969 until 2007 when plantar fasciitis put me on an exercise bicycle, I ran continuously.
After leaving the Navy in 1973 I ran in many 10K fun runs at various places.
The most enjoyable race I ever joined was the annual Charlie’s Surplus ten mile
run through the streets of Worcester, Massachusetts.
That was a festive occasion, with the race route closed to traffic and the
streets lined several feet deep with cheering people. As in other such races,
families and loved ones assembled at the finish line to welcome and
congratulate finishers.
All
of this came to my mind on Monday,
April 15, 2013, after the terror bombing during the Boston
Marathon. Probably the most important of all long distance races, the Boston
Marathon gathers runners from everywhere. Many recreational runners train for Boston
and the fortunate ones who qualify follow the world class runners who usually
finish in less than two and a half hours. The rest take from three and a half
to four hours. But it is a high honor
and a great feeling to finish Boston.
I have never done a Marathon but I know from my Worcester
experience what it’s like to run in a festive atmosphere.
I
was and continue to be deeply saddened by the events of April 15, 2013, because some of the nicest people
I have ever known I met at fun runs. At one time I belonged to runners’ clubs
in one place or another and would often join 10K or longer fun runs on
weekends. The camaraderie among runners before and after the races was an
experience I will never forget.
We
should pray for those who suffered on April 15 and celebrate long distance
runners everywhere.
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