If you get to be in your middle to upper fifties I hope you arrive at the “Better Place” that I have. You will undoubtedly encounter all sorts of people along the way. The wisdom of age helps me reflect on how I would have done things just a little differently with some of them. It also helps illuminate what I have done personally that could have used a little tweaking. Bottom line is I hope, like me, you have No Regrets.
I’ll guarantee this though, If you choose to be a leader among men, it will be the more difficult path. You’ll be hounded by nut jobs, critics, grievers, complainers, and the worst of the lot, liars. Sometimes all rolled into utterly charming packages. Comes with the territory and you’d better be thick skinned enough to handle it. Or get another job.
Its all worth it. Because for every one of those listed above there will be many more that will benefit by and fondly remember your efforts. On this throwback Thursday I reflect on the lives I’ve touched and deem it Real and Good. Comfortable in my own skin, confident that my last 30 years of service has been well received by the vast majority.
And as you well know, I ain’t done yet!
I’ll admit that the last 10 years have been my biggest challenge. And man, especially the last 5, whew! But when I look at the current state of affairs, vis-a-vis long distance running in Nebraska, I can take solace that it wasn’t all for naught.
I returned to my old dojo yesterday. The vivid orange marks that I adorned Omaha’s favorite training mecca with for a decade all but faded- appropriately so. But still burning brightly in my mind. I knew exactly where each 1/4 mile mark was, could have made the loop with my eyes closed. But it was not the same. A little colder, and the orange now replaced with sphincter tinted hues, arrows and marks that make no sense juxtaposed to the former precise and exact measurements I laid out. Where Excellence once held sway, now forgotten in a shuffler’s paradise. Time marches on, the way of the world, and all that.
But there are many that will remember, much like me today.
Part of our 2008 World Championships Half Marathon team. Rod Koborsi, moi, Jill Swope, Alan Steinfeld, Jason Lehmkuhle, and Kristin Nicolini en route to the Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was my last USA Team Leader trip. October 12, 2008, gone but never forgotten.
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