KGEZ Radio

I was interviewed this morning on KGEZ here in Kalispell.  Last month I was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame and it was a bigger deal than I thought and I was hoping the hullabaloo was over after I gave an interview to the city newspaper but then I got the call to come talk to Mike Hodges.  It wasn't that difficult since I've told the same stories for years now, but hearing my voice, pregnant pauses and all, was pretty excruciating.  Yes, I do sound like I've sustained brain trauma, but I appreciate everyone saying I sounded fine.

After hearing myself I realized that I speak similar to the way I walk; slow, and deliberate.  On foot I'm always extra careful to pick the shortest distance between here, and there, and talking live on the radio I had to choose my words carefully too.  I tend to ramble, and it can be hard for me to reach the point I had started towards, and I didn't want to do that to a station kind enough to talk to a mature track athlete who just happens to still hold a record after many years.

The record I still hold is the 400 meter hurdles and for a while I thought I held it for so long because Oregon, in my mind, was always a distance school; think Prefontaine, Salazar or Warren. When I left I held records in the long jump, 100 meter hurdles, and the 400 meter hurdles.  My long jump record was the 1st to be broken, and I don't think I had been gone very long. It was understandable, a Pac 10 (that's what it was when I ran) long jumper really should jump at least 20 feet, and I never broke that barrier.

The 2nd record to go was the 100 meter hurdle mark, and it was broken by the winning NCAA pentathlete  (or maybe she only placed in the top three.)  I thought was justifiable too, as I was never a national champion, or even close, for that matter.

That leaves the 400 meter hurdle mark of 57.0 something.  It still stands, after many years.  I'm not sure how many because I forgot the last time I set it, and I don't feel like looking it up again.  It's a strange event, for sure.  And I was fast in that race because I could hurdle well.  I was an OK 100 meter hurdler, and I never quit running them, and continued focusing on my hurdle technique.  I ran an OK open 400 meters too, but only ran it consistently in the mile relay.  My best was 54 something, The difference in times, between my open 400 time, and 400 hurdles was closer than most.

So that's why I got inducted.  I hold a record I've held for longer than most are held.

The radio show focuses on local athletics; coaches talk about game play and they choose a high school athlete of the week. My interview mimicked my HOF acceptance speech, as I talked about how I got to Oregon, and I now coach at Kalispell Middle School.  I was able to say a lot of my hurdlers are distance runners because I also coach cross country. That makes me laugh.

You should giggle as much as possible, it makes life easier.