Friday, October 08, 2010

DEAR OLD DAD

If you’ve ever read my bio it basically reiterates what I wrote yesterday; "I'm a runner at heart. I followed my dad out the door when I was 10 and have been at it ever since."

As I was digging through all my old stuff, I found a bunch of photos of my dad running that I thought would be fun to share.

1981 - age 41



1986 - age 46

1991 - age 51

1997 - age 57

1968 - age 28


Just kidding, of course that last photo is Steve in a Speedo wearing his famous “bowl full of sunshine” shorts. Little did he know that my dad actually started the trend of wearing yellow short-shorts. And if you look close enough, you’ll see that my dad was wearing black socks before it was ever cool – long before any NBA player ever started wearing them.

While I don’t think my dad is wearing the same pair of yellow shorts in all of those photos, I wouldn’t doubt that it’s the same pair in 1991 and 1997. Those 2 photos crack me up because he has on the same shorts, same socks, same shoes and he even has a tissue on the right side of his shorts in both photos.

I don’t know if he’s raced since 1997, but at 70, he still gets out every other day whether he needs to or not.

I definitely have him to “blame” for getting me wrapped up in this crazy sport. I still have the card my parents gave me after my Ironman and his note is today’s QOD.

Quote of the Day;

“You have truly raised the bar with your recent Ironman efforts. It must be inspiring to you and help you better deal with all of life’s endeavors. I think of you starting out on your marathon after the swim and bike and find it difficult to imagine going that distance. I see that in a much different way now after seeing the efforts of you and your fellow participants. It is inspiring.” – Ed Austin

6 comments:

Bill said...

Love It!!

Thomas said...

Great stuff.
Is the tissue the same in 1991 and 1997 as well?

SteveQ said...

That comment at the end was the best part. That's more encouragement and pride than my father showed me in a lifetime.

Beth said...

Well, that was really funny to see Steve's picture. That was a great post about your dad. I love that you have pictures of him at different ages. Thanks for sharing!

Jean said...

A wonderful post, Chad! The quote from your Dad is fantastic. Love it!

mizuno said...

Love the quote from your dad! Your post is very inspiring! :)