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January 13, 2008 -
Completing my 17th marathon at the Chevron Houston Marathon |
When I spoke at a dinner attended by several hundred runners in January of 2006
just prior to the Houston Marathon, the head coach asked me how I wanted
to be introduced. I am not sure why these exact words popped into my
head, but I told her, just call me "The Over-Achieving Jogger". That seemed to resonate
with the audience that night, and I think it is a great
way to describe me as a "runner".
I
began running back in 1970 at the age of 11 primarily because running was something I
could do all by myself that was not part of a team sport. I shied away
from team sports in my youth mainly because of the embarrassment of my
size and lack of athletic ability. To say that I was not athletic was an
understatement. I was pitifully skinny and the smallest boy in my class.
I never wore shorts or short-sleeved shirts because I was embarrassed
over how bony-thin I was.
I was the kid who was always chosen last, and when choosing sides many arguments ensued over
who had to take me when I was the last one standing. Running gave me an
outlet, something to participate in, but at that time it had not reached
nearly the popularity that it enjoys today. I ran numerous cross-country
events in junior high school in 1971 and 1972, and I literally came in
last in every single one of them, yet I kept trying. I ran some but not
much from 1972-1983 because I was pursuing a dream to possibly play golf
on the PGA Tour. When I realized that was not going to happen, I
returned to running in 1983 and have continued since.
Running is my passion, yet it is something that I would not say I am
naturally gifted at, and I have had to work very hard to achieve my
goals. I always tell people that I love to run, but I'm not in danger of
winning anything. I suppose I'm somewhere between the middle and front
of the pack, not necessarily slow and definitely not what I would
consider fast. I like to tell people that at one point in the Boston
Marathon, I was within 200 yards of the Kenyans... then they fired the
starting pistol. The main thing is that I have always viewed my
shortcomings and failures as building blocks to succeed, and found ways to take
them and turn them into positives.
Running has
brought me a personal sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that I do
not believe many other sports can offer you individually. In my years of
running, I have logged more than 25,000 miles, run more than 100 races
from 5K to the marathon, and have experienced both failure and success
in my efforts. It is the failures that I believe helped me most to
improve my training over the years, and to appreciate the successes that
I had even more. In February of 1999 at the Austin Marathon, after
numerous unsuccessful attempts, I realized a life-long dream and made my
qualifying time for the 2000 Boston Marathon (by a mere 24 seconds), and was blessed to also
qualify and run it in 2001 and 2002. If you had asked me in my wildest
dreams if I would have ever qualified even once for the Boston Marathon,
I would have more than likely answered "no" without a moment of
hesitation.
Most importantly to me, running offers me a way to encourage and
motivate other people. There is no greater joy to me than to see the
look on someone's face (especially if it is their first race at that
distance) coming down the stretch to the finish line,
regardless of the distance and regardless of their ability. They have
trained and dedicated themselves to that moment, and it is an amazing
sight to behold to watch people reach their goals.
I
have been asked many times by people what my greatest running moments
are, so I thought I would share them with you here:
-
Crossing the finish line of a 15K race
with my wife, crossing the finish line of a 4 mile
race with my daughter, and watching my son finish his first
half-marathon
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Watching anyone cross the finish line of
their first race, regardless of the distance or their time
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All of the times when someone has heard
me speak or read an article I have written and told me how much it
helped them in reaching their goal.
| Interested in Robert as a speaker? For
information on scheduling Robert to speak to your running club, at an upcoming race
event, or to a business, professional organization, church,
school, youth or other group, please
click here to email your contact information (be sure
to include the date, time, and a brief description of the group
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My running history: I am 48 years old and began running in 1970 at the age of 11, ran
my first marathon in 1984, and became very serious about the sport in
1997 when I set a goal to qualify for the 2000 Boston Marathon to
coincide with the millennium and my 40th birthday on December 1, 1999. I
have logged approximately 25,000+ miles in my training, and have run in
more than 100 races from 5K to the marathon, 17 of those being
marathons, including:
My current training and race schedule:
I am presently training for the
Longhorn
Ironman 70.3 (1.2 mile swim, 56.0 mile bike and 13.1 mile run)
taking place on October 8, 2008 in Austin, Texas. My goal after that is
to complete my first full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112.0 mile bike and 26.2 mile run)
in June of 2009 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I also plan to run a few
half-marathons and marathons in that time as well, hopefully to include
the Pike's Peak Marathon in August of 2009.
(You can
read more about my current training and other miscellaneous items of
interest in my
Faithful
Soles blog)
My inspiration to create Faithful Soles:
I can attribute one incredible moment
in my life as a runner that occurred at the 2000 Boston Marathon that
has been my biggest inspiration to create FS. It is a story that I have
told in almost every motivational speech I have given since that time,
and one that I have shared with countless other runners and non-runners
alike when I felt the person needed to hear a remarkable and uplifting
story. Please read
"The Greatest
Marathoner" and share it with others. It was witnessing that moment,
along with the other important aspects of my faith and running, which
are at the heart of FS. These include...
-
My faith in God who has given me the
ability to share my message with others through my love of running
-
A running journal that I have kept for
many years (I suppose you could say I was a blogger and did not know
it)
-
Running articles that I have
written for newspapers and magazines
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Motivational talks
I have given to running clubs, business organizations, churches, schools, youth and
other groups
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The camaraderie and special bond that
runners share with each other
-
The blessing of countless stories shared
with me by other runners
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