In 1978 I decided to become a runner. I was 26-27 at that time. I began running a mile or so out from my apartment in Forestville, Maryland then running back. As I was able, I added distance to that run in half-mile increments on the outbound route. That would add a mile to my run. By late 1979 I was able to run 5 miles in about 30 minutes or so. In 1980 I moved from the Washington, DC area to the Oklahoma City area. By this time my Dad had taken up running. He could not run the distance at my speed, but he could run all day. He ran marathons.
We belonged to the Oklahoma City Running Club. We ran in club races or special races like the Oklahoma Governor’s Cup. I would run the medium distance race and my Dad would run the marathon. I remember very well the day my Dad ran his first marathon. We drove to Enid, Oklahoma to spend the night at my Aunt and Uncle’s house then run our races the next day. His race started at 7am and mine at 8am. My race was a 10K while his was the marathon. I ran my race, got my trophy, (a granite paper weight) went to my Aunt’s house to take a shower, put on street clothes, and then returned to the place where the race was being held. I found that my Dad’s race was still not complete. No one had finished yet as I checked with the official starter.