I think I’m getting a little soft and that’s ok. Spent a decade and a half hard as nails, necessary for construction. Those now pounded home, structure solid, character lines and all.
Time is ameliorating me though.
Not the passing of tick and tock
Not hands on face of clock
Not monthly turn of calendar page
What then tempers this sage
Years and years and a couple more
Nearly twenty, that’s the score
I’ve made peace with running in Nebraska. I spent the earliest oughts dismayed and disgruntled, mid to late oughts as revolutionary. Now in these teens my program has come of age, my house is built. USATF Nebraska, withstood the delivered promise of “all hell.” I could easily sit back on my laurels. But no.
What then keeps me in the game? Here’s some things.
Thing one: New Talent. Jackie Freeman. Nicole Norris. Coralie Ehlers. Tristan Nelson. Grant Wintheiser. Jay Welp. Bree Adams, Brandon Wissing, Drew Prescott. These athletes that I work closest with through coaching and advocacy.
Thing two: Our ultra corps that I have no idea how to train. Doing things I never imagined. Going to lengths that only El Jefe can consult and describe.
Thing three: The prospect of youth. The certainty that I can develop talent, Sam, Jackson, Noah, Cilas.
Thing four. And as it turns out, the most important. The athletes, the friends I’ve made. Those that have grown with, challenged, educated and supported me. And most poignant, those that didn’t understand that now do.
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