District Track Meet
1978

All of us in life go through tough and defeating experiences which may help us to better ourselves.  I was very fortunate to have loving parents who through example and word taught me well.  They supported me in the tough times and they have been there to share in the joys of life. My first great disappointment in life was setting a goal to be one of the best half milers in the country.  What eventually happened haunted me at times for ten years until I got closure from what I have found in life to be a constant which I call points of destiny.  

My High School years were different than most kids as I went to an all boys school.   We were taught high morals and a spirit of honesty and fair play.  We did have mixers with other all girls schools but I didn't go to many of them.  I didn't learn about dating until college where I was four years behind everyone.   I graduated when I was seventeen and didn't turn 18 until entering college.  All my friends were at least a year older than me.  In sports competition, a year in physical development was an edge in competition that others had over me.

My senior year I was ranked in the top 20 in the state in the half mile.  The months leading up to the District Track meet, I got up and made it to school around 6:45am to run 3 to 4 miles before class.  After school was regular practice.  Each Saturday was a track meet somewhere in and around Houston.  

In the beginning of the Track season I was a miler and switched to half mile in mid season.  The discipline of the mile gave me the ability to run the half mile at incredible speed.  My first lap around the track was usually around 54 seconds which was only 3 seconds off winning times for the 1/4 mile.  My style was known as a rabbit where my second lap tapered off to finish around the 2 minute mark.  In 1978 this was a time that would win most races anywhere in the country.

To jump back four years, for a moment, I went to Marion High School in 9th grade where I of course ran Track.  Mr. Gillespie was our Track Coach.  I like him and he called me during the summer before I switched schools for Cross Country summer training to find out I was leaving Marion.  He tried to talk me out of it and over the years I often saw him at Track meets where he always made a point to say hello.

During the 1970s Strake Jesuit was our chief, spirited rival like Texas A&M is with University of Texas.  Strake was known to have some of the best runners in country.  Several of their milers and half milers where All Americans.  Strake was also known for dirty tactics such as boxing in the lead runner and spiking (steel spikes on cinder tracks in those days) the runner in front of them.   Boxing is very similar to what bicycle teams do to eliminate a rival at the end of a race to pull ahead.

At the District Track meet I was the only one of my team's half milers who could compete against Strakes runners.   We had not competed against them in a Track Meet since I was a miler and they had blew out my teams half milers on our last competition.  When the starter's pistol went off, I immediately took the lead and ran a 53 second first lap with Strakes runners a few steps behind me.  About half way through the last lap, one of Strake's runners came along side of me and made a burst of speed to jump in front of me and immediately slowed down.  Simultaneously, another strake runner came along side of me and slowed down for a moment.  The last Strake runner then ran around the three of us.  The event happened so quickly and with the deceleration in speed, I almost jumped off to the inside of the track.  To compensate for not going off the track, I lost momentary speed.  I remember thinking I should spike these guys for doing this illegal move (which I didn't)!  The remaining 15 to 20 seconds of the race, Strake's runners blocked me out from passing them.  I came in 4th place which disqualified me from going to the State Finals. 

At the finish line, Coach Gillespie from Marion High School jumped over the spectator stands where many people were booing.  Coach Gillespie ran up to the umpires yelling that all 3 of the Strake runners should be disqualified!  My Coach Scwartzback went up with Gillespie but was strangely silent.  Coach Martinez from Strake Jesuit came up half way into Coach Gillespie's complaints to start yelling also.  Nothing was done by the umpires, not even a team write up.   

My team later went on to win the State Track meet.  I refused to go the State meet, as one of the team captains.  Coach Scwartzback took away my Captain's Star from my Letterman's Jacket as a result of me not going.   For the next 10 years, I thought if I ever see one of the guys from Strake who did this then they would regret it.    Little did I know that I would meet one of them again.

When I was 28 years old I was working for a small contract consulting company when one day unbeknownst to me, we hired one of the runners, David.  When I ran into him, I didn't at first recognize him and he didn't remember me.  (If you have read some of my other life stories, you know that I have become a Born Again Christian by this time so I wasn't going to doing anything violent.)  While getting to know each other, I finally recognized him and began to ask him about the race that day.   We talked about it for a while and in the most sincere language he apologized.  Not that all of us need to have people who have hurt or cheat us apologize, but it was a great moment for me.  This event gave me healing over what I felt had been stolen.