The Beauty of the State Meet

Where Will Running Take You?

Look at that photo! As a self-confessed lover of bright lights and big cities and tall buildings, I must say, I'm jealous! That's Carissa Bowman on the left along with her Biola University cross country teammates at the top of the John Hancock building in Chicago. It was a fun, extra excursion the team took after competing at the NAIA Cross Country Nationals held just north of Chicago in Kenosha Wisconsin.

Marv Alvarez talks about how "running discovers us." It's true. Few kids get into cross country "to become a runner." Usually it's to get in shape for another sport, or to be with their friends. But for many, somewhere along the way, running discovers them. Carissa was no different. She came out five years ago to get in shape for soccer and discovered that she had talent in running. Surprise! Since then, she's traveled all over the country and the state to compete, has seen places and people she'd never have otherwise. What a treat! Running discovered her and has given her experiences unimaginable before.

And she's not alone. Our cross country program has been a lot of places over the years; Alabama, San Diego, Mammoth Lakes, Fresno, San Francisco to name a few. I remember driving into San Francisco with a group a number of years ago, and one of the boys in my car had never been there before. As soon as the famed city came into view, he said from the back seat, "Whoaaaa!" That young man would later use his running to land him acceptance at Houghton College in New York. Nestled near Niagara Falls, he lived for four years in a part of the country that he would never have otherwise, had it not been for running. Two other alums are running and competing in Virginia. Their talent, in part, got them there.

So where will running take you? Keep at it. Don't give up. You just might find yourself looking down on the bright lights of a big city you never thought imaginable. If you don't believe me, just ask Carissa.

Getting what you need, not what you want

I'm a big fan of Ryan Hall, America's top marathoner, and record holder of both the marathon and half marathon distances. Maybe it's because he's a local product, (Big Bear HS, class of '02), but mostly it's because he's got a great perspective on life and running.

Check out what I found online from his journal. You can read the unedited version here. It was posted just a few weeks ago, after he had some time to digest his Olympic "disappointment" -- he finished in 10th in the marathon, a race he and many others thought he could win.

I've highlighted some parts that really caught me. Here it is: (it's lengthy, but read it all!)

"As crazy as the summer and fall have been it has been exactly what the doctor ordered. After the Olympics I was fighting a bit of a post-Olympic letdown. I had invested so much into that one race and I wanted so badly to make everyone proud, to honor all that they had invested in me. I felt like August 24 was my moment to shine, and it was. Yet from day one of my training it was like I was butting my head against a wall.

The very first day back after taking a break from the London Marathon (last April) I ... had to hobble through a run as my patella tendons on both legs were badly inflamed. It was a problem that plagued me for my entire Olympic buildup and even in the race itself. .... I really poured myself into my workouts, yet they never improved to the level I had previously been able to get to.

Maybe this was precisely my problem—that I was trying too hard. There is something interesting about paradoxes in life. ...one must lose one’s life to gain it, there are paradoxes everywhere and running is no exception. From the moment I ran through the tunnel into the Olympic stadium I knew that the Olympics wasn’t everything I wanted but it was everything I needed.

I had dreamt of winning for so long but by losing I would develop a whole lot of character and my running career would have a lot different direction compared to if I had won. I could see it being somewhat difficult to stay motivated after accomplishing something as big as winning a gold medal. I am not sure but I would think there have been plenty of athletes whose careers took a turn for the worse after winning it all.

... This reality (that placing 10th was perhaps just what the doctor ordered) didn’t keep me from being disappointed at the time. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that if the Olympics had gone how I wanted them to it would have been bad for me in the long run and even in my day to day life. There is something very healthy about not having everything we want, ... a lot of joy can come from not getting everything we want.

Let me explain. After the Olympics what I needed to get "back on the horse" was not hard training or time at home thinking, what I needed was inspiration. I needed inspiration that I could hear, touch, and see. So on my birthday, October 14, I unwrapped a most timely present: a trip to Zambia to go and see for myself the faces that Sara and I had been working alongside Team World Vision to bring clean water to. I must admit that going to Zambia I had a lot of preconceived notions of what the people and the country would be like. I knew it was one of the poorest countries in the world so I expected to see a lot of heartache and devastation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Describing my trip to Zambia can easily be summed up with two words: community and joy.

On weekends like the ING New York City Marathon I am reminded that we do have events that bring the nation and even whole world together, when everyone is united to conquer something bigger than they could do on their own, which is exactly what the people in Zambia do on a daily basis, only their giant is not 26.2 miles of pavement, rather it is shelter, food, disease, and most urgently, clean water. So in an effort to start combating the problem this year Sara (his wife) and I got involved with Team World Vision which tries to bring clean water to some villages in Zambia filled with people who desperately need it.

After our first run in Zambia I was convinced that the trip was already worth it. Children ran alongside of us laughing and smiling for miles and miles as we ran along the main road going through town. The people were contagiously joyful. I could not help but to have my spirits return from the post-Olympic letdown. I will never forget the looks in the kids’ faces. I see them now when I am doing abs or zoning in on a hard run and I feel their joy in my steps. It is important for me to know that I am not just running for me but there are people all over the world who are urging me on. I may be helping in some small way to bring them clean water but they are helping me to run with joy, purpose and passion.

The other image from Africa that is burned into my head is being on the starting line of a 15K road race that this small village put on for us as a way of showing their appreciation for all our efforts and seeing 150 pairs of feet ranging from barefoot, to flip-flops to knee-high plastic farming boots. I ran the entire race in 90 degree temperatures on black pavement straight up hill next to two guys: one that had a pair of flip flops on and the other was running barefoot. I realized then that I have no idea what it means to be tough. What was really cool was seeing the boreholes that had already been dug in the community along our running route. We were way out in the sticks yet kids could fill their buckets from the clean water from the boreholes whenever they needed. While I was there I learned that a community with clean water increases the life expectancy of its members from 34 to 56. The 12 years of extra life means that more children can grow up with their parents still around.

Water is so essential to us as elite runners that if we miss one of eight bottles along the course filled with just 8 oz of fluid it could mean the difference between victory and defeat, so it is neat to give something that is so essential for us to something that is so much more essential for them. I will never look at water the same way.

Africa opened up my eyes to a lot of things. Most of all it showed me what it looks like to not have everything you want but to have everything you need. They had each other and they had joy and that seemed to suffice for them even if all that was served was one meal of shima and beans and some clean water. I have been inspired to look at my own life and decide what things I really need and have realized that this is enough for me.

I remember when I was young not having some things that I really wanted but I always had everything I needed. It made me really appreciate the things I did have.

... I have to step back from my Olympic experience and think, sure I am disappointed to not have my best stuff on that day, but I should be overwhelmingly thankful that I was privileged enough to be there. Sometimes life’s events aren’t everything we dreamt of, but I think if we step back, maybe look at life through someone else’s eyes, we will probably realize that although the shattered dream wasn’t everything we hoped for, just maybe it was everything we needed."

More Photo Phun

Some fun images taken at CIF Prelims last Saturday...

What More Can a Coach Ask For?

It was truly a bittersweet day, Saturday was. I was so happy for the girls, proud of the challenges they overcame to not just qualify, but also to run so well as a team in the process. But my heart was saddened for our boys; I so wanted them to have the "reward" of CIF Finals.

I wanted that for them because they have made such a tremendous transformation in the last 12 months. This team of 2008, save a couple of graduated seniors last Spring, is the same group that finished 13th in '07 in their Prelim heat. I've coached long enough to have seen every conceivable reaction to poor results; everything from tears and heartbreak to smirks and nonchalance. Sometimes the kids go home with goals "to improve next year" only to see those goals evaporate by Christmas.

Such was not the case with this team. They got determined. They got motivated. And they got to work.

We've preached for years the value of off-season training and the absolute need to take track (viewed by many as their "second sport") seriously. It's all part of making a great cross country season. Well, for the first time really, a nucleus of guys starting taking such admonitions to heart.

They began in November of 2007 at Orange Terrace Park, running countless circuits in the dark and cold of winter. They ran a half-marathon in January. They came into track IN SHAPE (what a concept!) and had a great track season. I kept telling them back in March, "enjoy this now, but even better things are coming next Fall."

Well the "better things" wasn't a spot on the Finals line, though they came right up to the doorstep of it. Instead, the team will have to settle for the intrinsic reward of knowing they are sooooo much better than they used to be. As I looked at a bunch of disappointed faces in the twilight of last Saturday, I saw a group that walked out of Mt.SAC a year ago not even close to being "there." Understandably, "we almost made it this year" were hollow words. But in contrast to 2007, "we almost made it" is an incredible statement.

It's disappointing for sure to not yet be "there", but I take great comfort in knowing that this group did everything they could do -- for one full calendar year -- to be in a position to get to the Big Dance. Though they came up short, they are so far beyond where they once were.

And ultimately in life, that's all that really counts. We cannot control what our opponents do, we can only control what we do. And as much as it was in their power, this group of guys controlled their efforts, their miles, their races, their workouts, their team chemistry to make the moment possible.

What more can a coach ask for? Nothing. (But he can still wish for another week of racing!)

Halloween Run

Team Sparta makes their grand entrance:



The reaction as "Sparta" enters the stadium...









Jimi and the Jester


Beauties...


And the beast...


What will you do for a Milky Way bar?



Bzzzzz...