USATF Juniors: Farewell from Fresno

We are in the Fresno Airport now, getting ready to depart to Phoenix and then a redeye into Newark. It was a long, fun and successful trip. We were able to squeeze in one more fun outing this afternoon before packing up and starting the long journey home. It will be good to get back home, but it was a great trip just the same. Proud to have had four fine athletes out here.

USATF Juniors: Katie Miale 11th in racewalk

Although it was relatively early in the morning, the intense sunlight played a role in this morning’s 10,000-meter racewalk. There’s something different about the sun out here. I know that sounds odd. But it feels like the sun is about 10 feet above your head. There is no protection, and the intensity of the direct sunlight led our other athletes here to scurry to find what little shade they could during the long race. AND THEY WEREN’T RACING. Imagine what it was like, then, for our own Katie Miale, for the 25 searing laps. It was tough. Early in the race, she was in major distress. We thought she might drop out. It seemed imminent. But, as you’ll see in the race splits below, she was able to summon herself to some faster laps, especially after the 5km mark. I tried to enlist the old ultra motto of “it never always gets worse” to keep her encouraged and going around the track. She battled and persevered and got to the finish line. Nowhere near the time that she was looking for, but as was the case with all our athletes this weekend, it was more about the effort and the experience than the time and place.

USATF Junior Championship, Day 3

Sunday, June 25, 2016

Veterans Memorial Stadium

Buchanan High School, Clovis, CA

Women’s 10,000-meter racewalk

11. Katie Miale 1:04:01.82

Official race splits

2:17.191 (2:17.191)     4:32.745 (2:15.554)     6:47.341 (2:14.596)

   9:06.116 (2:18.775)    11:35.197 (2:29.081)    14:10.943 (2:35.746)

  16:46.864 (2:35.921)    19:24.267 (2:37.403)    22:02.175 (2:37.908)

  24:42.997 (2:40.822)    27:18.403 (2:35.406)    29:51.759 (2:33.356)

  32:24.787 (2:33.028)    34:58.175 (2:33.388)    37:32.712 (2:34.537)

  40:11.767 (2:39.055)    42:48.746 (2:36.979)    45:30.304 (2:41.558)

  48:12.250 (2:41.946)    50:54.481 (2:42.231)    53:38.342 (2:43.861)

  56:20.726 (2:42.384)    59:00.430 (2:39.704)  1:01:36.632 (2:36.202)

1:04:01.819 (2:25.187)

USATF Juniors: Emily Burns 12th in 3km steeplechase

The weather was a bit more of a factor on the second night of the meet, as the air temperature stood at about 93 degrees when the gun when off for Emily Burns in the 3,000-meter steeplechase race at 8:45 p.m. Emily started out at the back of the pack and moved her way through, passing several runners despite very choppy form – especially on the water jump. While this was nowhere near her best time, her race effort was above average and she represented the school well in this meet. And, she made history by becoming the first Marist woman to qualify for and compete in this event at this championship. Well done, kid.

USATF Junior Championship, Day 2

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Veterans Memorial Stadium

Buchanan High School, Clovis, CA

Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase

12 of 17. Emily Burns 11:29.81

83, 2:48 (85), 4:17 (89), 5:49 (92), 7:23 (94), 9:00 (97), 10:38 (98), 11:29.81 (49.81)

USATF Juniors: Tonight's schedule update

Next up for the Running Red Foxes here in sunny Clovis: Emily Burns in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The updated race time is now 8:45 p.m. Pacific (11:45 p.m. in the East). Again, due to heat concerns. The forecast high today is a bit warmer than Friday -- today is supposed to get up to 103 degrees. The real heat wave here arrives next week when the temperature could approach or exceed 110 degrees. For today, though, we'll try to keep everyone hydrated and cool, and hope for conditions similar to last night -- which, all things being what they are, were about as good as we could hope for. OK!

USATF Juniors: Men's 10km results

Yes, it was warm for a 10,000-meter race, but honestly the conditions were not a major factor on a beautiful night. The humidity was low and the sun had set and it was a nice night for distance races. Our guys competed well, finishing 20^th and 21^st out of a field of 23 runners. I’ll be honest when I say they were not physically prepared in an adequate manner for the rigors of the fast-paced, championship-style race. That’s by design, as it is June and we are in the relatively early stages of cross country base buildup. It’s the constant dilemma of having athletes compete at this meet. But again, our guys knew what they were up against, knew what they were doing out there, and they proudly represented our school. Good for them, and good for us. They walked away satisfied with their effort on this night, and eager to really ramp up their summer training in preparation for the fall 2016 XC season.

USATF Junior Championship, Day 1

Friday, June 24, 2016

Veterans Memorial Stadium

Buchanan High School, Clovis, CA

Men’s 10,000-meter run
20. Matt Baffuto 33:07.05

77, 2:31 (74), 3:45 (74), 5:00 (75)

6:15 (75), 7:30 (75), 8:46 (76), 10:03 (77)

11:20 (77), 12:39 (79), 13:58 (79), 15:17 (79)

16:37 (80), 17:57 (80), 19:19 (82), 20:39 (80)

22:00 (81), 23:22 (82), 24:46 (84), 26:09 (83)

27:34 (85), 28:57 (83), 30:21 (84), 31:43 (82)

33:07.05 (84.05)

1600m splits: 5:00, 5:03, 5:14, 5:22, 5:30, 5:34

21. Riley Hughes 33:30.75

77, 2:31 (74), 3:45 (74), 5:01 (76)

6:17 (76), 7:35 (78), 8:54 (79), 10:14 (80)

11:35 (81), 12:56 (81), 14:17 (81), 15:39 (82)

17:00 (81), 18:22 (82), 19:44 (82), 21:07 (83)

22:30 (83), 23:53 (83), 25:15 (82), 26:39 (84)

28:03 (84), 29:25 (82), 30:46 (81), 32:10 (84)

33:30.75 (80.75)

1600m splits: 5:13, 5:25, 5:28, 5:32, 5:31

USATF Juniors: Schedule change

As mentioned previously (and just Tweeted), the men's 10,000-meter run with Riley Hughes and Matt Baffuto racing tonight was pushed back to 9:25 p.m. Pacific (12:25 a.m. Saturday in the East) due to heat concerns. The forecast high today here is 98 degrees. The extra hour will allow for the sun to go down and alleviate the bright, direct sunlight. The temperature does not drop that quickly in the early evening, so the race conditions for 25 laps of hard running will still be far from ideal, but this is a smart adjustment. Our goal for the men is for them to manage the conditions to the best of their ability and to compete to the best of their ability as well. It won't be easy; it rarely is.

USATF Juniors: Side trip to Yosemite

The temperature was pushing 100 degrees, the sun was
unrelenting and there wasn't much to do, so we made the game time decision yesterday to take a side trip to Yosemite National Park, which is a little more than 60 miles away from Fresno/Clovis. What a great decision! We barely scratched the surface of this amazing place. As my friend Eric said, "Too bad Heidi wasn't there, she'd have 50 pix on Facebook." At least! Hey, there's a reason Ansel Adams made an entire photographic legacy out of the place. It's truly amazing. Words and a few photos -- and a few hours -- cannot do it justice, but at least we were able to get a small glimpse of it. OK!

USATF Juniors: Walk practice at Clovis North HS

Since Katie Miale's 10,000-meter racewalk race isn't till Sunday morning, she has plenty of time to get acclimated to the dry heat and searing sunshine. This morning, she did a 200-meter repeats workout at Clovis North High School. Fun fact! Clovis North High School's campus is larger and more sprawling than Marist College, and their athletic facilities are collegiate level for sure -- you are looking at a 9-lane track!

USATF Juniors: Barefoot strides at Clovis North HS

After a 40-minute run under the blazing California sun, distance runners Riley Hughes, Matt Baffuto and Emily Burns did barefoot strides on the grass field at the Clovis North High School track. They also ran past a brush fire off in the distance. In other news! Riley and Matt's 10,000-meter race on Friday night was pushed back an hour to 9:25 p.m. local time, when it will still be around 90 degrees. But at least the sun won't be beating down.

USATF Juniors: Greetings from Gate C135

Here is our travel party for this week/weekend. We are at Newark Airport, where (surprise, surprise!) our flight is DELAYED. It wouldn't be a trip to USATF Juniors without some travel snafus. As of now, we should be OK to make our connecting flight in San Francisco to Fresno. But of course this could change. We'll get there, eventually. Nicely done!

Marist Running at Yellowstone

Thanks to David Marthy for sending along these photos of him and Gregg ("Bryan Buttigieg") from Yellowstone, where they did and saw some really neat things. Good stuff!

School's out already?

Summer has officially begun -- on the calendar, and in our house. Only our youngest son James is still bound by the shackles of the public school calendar. The older two are out of school now; how did that happen already? So what better use of a graduating 8th-grader's time than to help her Old Man with the recruit mailings, right? Here, Natalie is assisting with the addressing of envelopes to prospective student-athletes. Sammie is clearly not interested in helping in this process.

USATF Juniors: Four’s a crowd!

As has been our tradition most years, we will be traveling to the USATF Junior Championships next week. This year’s championship is in Clovis, California – near Fresno – at Veterans Memorial Stadium, Buchanan High School in Clovis. Because it is an Olympic year, the Junior Championships stand alone and are not held in conjunction with the Senior Championships, because that meet is actually the U.S. Olympic Trials.

An astute follower of our program, and former USATF Junior qualifier and participant, pointed out to me earlier in the week that this is the largest contingent of athletes (four) we have ever brought to the meet. Neat. Many years, including last year with Dietrich Mosel in Oregon, it is just one athlete. This year, we are fortunate enough to have four Marist competitors at this meet. Here is the rundown of athletes, in order of competition.

Men’s 10,000-meter run, Friday, June 24, 8:25 p.m. (Pacific time): Riley Hughes and Matt Baffuto. These two men become the 16^th and 17^th men in school history to qualify for this meet in this event.

Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, Saturday, June 25, 7:45 p.m. (Pacific time): Emily Burns. Emily becomes the first woman in school history to qualify in this event at this meet.

Women’s 10,000-meter racewalk, Sunday, June 26, 8:30 a.m. (Pacific time): Katie Miale. Katie joins teammate Kristi Licursi (2014) as the only two to qualify in this event in school history. This is Katie’s third consecutive Junior Championship, as she qualified during her final two high school seasons.

We look forward to having a nice trip out to the Fresno area, where the forecast highs each day are well over 100 degrees. So, expect some whining/weather related posts from deep in the Central Valley. But hey. It’s dry heat. 

Of mice and men

We’ve got a mouse problem at our house. This has been an on-and-off issue for the more than 20 years we have lived at our home at the end of the street, which is bordered on the west side by woods and the north side by a field of high grass, owned by a Tree Guy who disposes his old timber there. A ha! You are thinking. There’s the problem! The mice come from the woods, and from the old timber piles, and maybe from the small crack between our garage door and our driveway, or maybe through the holes in the pipes in the basement, etc. You may be right on one or all of these counts. But, here’s the thing! Who cares? My issue now is disposing of them. While I favor the “catch and release” plan, this humane approach concept is not shared in my house. But! This post is not intended as a referendum on rodent removal ethics.

Rather, this is about the assignment of blame, and the need for reason and rationality in an oftentimes irrational and random world. Random. We are so afraid to face this reality: Life is full of myriad random events and activities. Some are linked. Some have reasons for their actions. But so many times, the randomness stands alone as, well, random. And we, as rational humans, cannot grasp that and refuse to come to grips with that. We try to make sense of the senseless, all the time. This is what drives the 24-7 news cycle, talking heads, bloviating Social Media posts, and all the rest.

I think I’ve referenced before one of my favorite books of all time, called “The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives.” This is written by physicist Leonard Mlodinow. As a math/science guy, one of his functions is to provide order and meaning to things through math and science. But, as he points out in his book (which is far more complex than to be summarized here by a dimwitted track coach in a simple blog post), sometimes math, science – and everything else – fails to explain why things are.

I thought of this as the mice ran wild in our house last night. “We’ve got a BIG problem, we better call an exterminator or something,’’ my oldest son exclaimed in exasperation. Fun fact! He hates and fears mice. My daughter scurried to her room, cowering with the dog for safety. Good luck with that. My youngest son yawned and offered this bit of wisdom: “Mice are cool. So what?” And then he reverted to watching our favorite pitcher (Bartolo Colon of the Mets). “We leave too much food and too many clothing lying around,’’ my beautiful wife surmised. Highly accurate statement! However, is this the REASON for our scampering friends, who somehow elude our barking and excitable hound dog Sammie? Possibly, but probably not. The woods. The slight crack between the driveway and our garage door. The field in the back. The pipes. All more plausible theories. How about this one? We live in a rural area. We have mice in our house. A lot of them this year. It happens. We deal with it. And then, we do our best to cope with and deal with the next, most likely random, thing with which to deal. OK! 

Walkway races: Marathon results

It was a joyful weekend for marathon winner Katie Messina. She was in a great mood – BEFORE the race, on Saturday night and Sunday! So much for pre-race jitters for your first marathon, kid. We were so thrilled to see her smiling from ear to ear and making her marathon debut in her home away from home on the banks of the Hudson River. Love this photo taken by Marist Sports Information staffer Harrison Baker: Katie being greeted by Bianca after the race. You can see the pure joy exuded in this picture. Welcome home, Katie. Come back anytime.

Marathon results and notes

--David Swift (Marist Running Alum/Middle Aged Machines) 3:09:46, 11^th overall, third in 40-49

--Katie Messina (Marist Running Alum) 3:14:00, first overall

--Kara Lightowler (Marist Running Alum) 3:27:22, first in 19-29

--John Mckee (Middle Aged Machines) 3:34:18, third in 50-59

--Kent Rinehart (Marist Alum, Dean of Admission at Marist) 3:52:08

Walkway races: Half marathon results

Great day for several women in our program: Recent graduate Christine Coughlin was third overall in her half-marathon debut (1:29:05). Rising senior and XC captain Bianca Luparello (1:31:31) was fourth overall and first in her age group, and this clearly shows she’s ready for a breakthrough senior year. Marist Running Alum Dayna McLaughlin had a great race 1:35:14, second in the 19-29. Marist Running Alum Kelley Gould had a tough day but her superior fitness level still enabled her to get third in the 19-29 (1:38:34). And recent grad Lizzy Peper (1:39:39) had a strong PR effort.

Our men (current and former) dominated the top finishers and the age-group awards. However, if it weren’t for that pesky Sammy (Sam I Am) Heraghty, Marist Running would have had a clean sweep of the top spots in the half marathon. This may have been cause for consternation somewhere, but not here! We watched Sam grow up at the Spackenkill track under the watchful eye of Mr. Bucket and with behind-the-scenes guidance from Hild. Now a rising junior at Geneseo, Sam has developed into a solid long-distance runner, the type of hard-working kid that has inhabited our program through the years at Marist. And so with him taking the top spot in the half marathon in 1:16:57, wearing his trademark bandana, he nudged by the Running Red Army of alums and current team members behind him. Sam was wearing the colors of the Middle Aged Machines (a misnomer for the college-aged kid) and he did the MAMs proud. He trains with those men (of which Bucket is a member) and they were thrilled to see one of their own take the top spot. Nicely done, Sammy!

Many other results here, but a personal highlight was hanging out with Lurch (“Todd Coulson”) for much of the day on Sunday. Lurch graduated from here 20 years ago, but he is aging better than most of us and remains loyal to his Foxes.

Half marathon results and notes

--Billy Posch (Marist Running Alum) 1:17:30, second overall

--Steven Morrison (rising junior, XC/track) 1:18:56, third overall

--Nick Webster (Marist Running Alum) 1:19:36, fourth overall, first in 19-29

--Mark Valentino (Marist Running Alum) 1:19:36, fifth overall, second in 19-29

--Dietrich Mosel (rising junior, XC/track) 1:20:08, sixth overall, third in 19-29

--Palmer Weimann (rising sophomore, XC/track) 1:21:14, seventh overall, fourth in 19-29

--Patrick Hickey (rising junior, XC/track) 1:22:37, eighth overall, fifth in 19-29

--Kyle Hannafin (Marist Running Alum) 1:23:40, ninth overall, sixth in 19-29

--Dan Hillman (rising sophomore, XC/track) 1:24:55, tenth overall, seventh in 19-29

--Christine Coughlin (Marist Running Alum) 1:29:05, third overall

--Will Duggan (rising junior, XC/track) 1:30:09

--Bianca Luparello (rising senior, XC captain) 1:31:31, fourth overall, first in 19-29

--Michel Joseph (Middle Aged Machines) 1:33:03, second in 40-49

--Billy Hild (Marist Running Alum) 1:34:27, 27^th overall

--Anthony Ferreri (Marist alum) 1:34:55, third in 50-59

--Dayna McLaughlin (Marist Running Alum) 1:35:14, second in 19-29

--Todd Coulson (Marist Running Alum) 1:36:12, third in 40-49

--Neil Grencer (Middle Aged Machines) 1:36:50, fourth in 40-49

--Kelley Gould (Marist Running Alum) 1:38:34, third in 19-29

--Kieran Stack (Iona College alum, parent of incoming XC freshman) 1:38:34, fourth in 50-54

--Lizzy Peper (Marist Running Alum) 1:39:39, sixth in 19-29

--Kim Bartlett (Marist Running Alum) 1:52:43

--Bernice Patten (Marist Running Alum) 1:57:54

--Elizabeth Edwards (Marist Running Alum) 2:06:06

--Aarti (Kapoor) Comstock (Marist Running Alum) 2:06:40

--Alli Kline (Marist Running Alum) 2:14:29

--John Peper (Lizzy’s dad) 2:19:24

--Susan Grencer (Neil’s wife, cancer survivor, first half marathon) 2:37:43

Walkway races: 5km results

My concern with posting results on this blog is that I will leave someone out. So here goes, with three posts on the three races, the first of them from the 5km. Complete results are at walkwaymarathon.org

5k results and notes

--Steven Rizzo (rising junior, XC/track) 15:52, first overall, defending champion

--Stefan Morton (rising senior, XC track captain) 16:21, second overall

--Mike Slinskey (friend of the program) 17:10, third overall

--Brian Halling (friend of the program, FDR HS head coach) 17:54, fourth overall

--David Osterhoudt (Middle Aged Machines) 18:47, eighth overall

--Alex Cuesta (Marist Running Alum; assistant coach) 19:15, 10^th overall, third in 20-29

--Emily Ferreri (Tony’s daughter, Catherine’s sister) 20:52, second overall

--Saad Baig (rising senior, XC/track captain) 21:47, 26^th overall

--Zach Toner (rising senior, XC/track) 21:47, 27^th overall
--Jordan Casey (rising sophomore, XC/track) 22:04, third overall

--Shea Bohan (rising sophomore, XC/track) 22:04, first in 15-18
--Connor Dodge (Marist Running Alum, sprinter) 22:14, ninth in 19-29

--Catherine Ferreri (Marist Running Alum) 24:32, fifth in 19-29

--Danielle Asaro (Marist Running Alum, record-setting sprinter) 30:49

--Carol Hild (Hild’s mom) 34:34

Walkway races: Trending

Heard around the McCann Center this morning: Apparently, the Walkway Marathon races and Marist’s participation in them was a hot trend on Social Media. According to one person with knowledge of these statistics, one of the hashtags (presumably #WalkwayMarathon) was trending fourth in the world on Social Media (presumably Twitter) on Sunday. Of course! I’m too lazy to corroborate this as factual information, and I’m sure somebody will want to prove me wrong on this fact. As I like to say with such factoids: That, and $1.30, will get me a cup of coffee at Stewart’s. However, for the Important People Who Care About Such Statistics, this is and was a Big Deal. And as a result, we are well pleased.

On a more relevant note, in the old-school meaning of “trending,” an informal polling of former and current team members leads me to believe that this event will be trending positively among both groups. As in: Our participation will continue to grow. That’s the goal, anyway. Everyone involved from the Marist Running Family had a great weekend – no matter the race outcomes, which were mostly pretty strong. My Fancy Alumni Reception in the historic Cornell Boathouse never really materialized. But as the aforementioned “person with knowledge of these statistics” said, if we just rename it the “Marist Track/XC Alumni Hospitality Area,” that would be more appropriate. Yeah. I like that. Besides! It gave you all a convenient and private place to use the facilities pre- and post-race. Right? Right. 

Walkway races: Katie wins!

The sheer, boundless joy of marathon winner Katie Messina is evident in these photos. We are so proud of her, taking top honors in her marathon debut, running a solid 3:14:00 on a less-than-ideal day. Katie has a great future at these long distances.

Please give me some time to sort out the final results and posting them here. I will try to be as inclusive as possible.

It was a great day for the Walkway races, the local running community and the Marist Running family. To one and all: NICELY DONE!

Walkway races: You go, girl!

Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club member Lori Decker was at the top of the hill near the finish line, imploring runners to sprint to the finish. If you ran in the race, you know what I mean. She was great!

Walkway races: Lurch!

One of the highlights of the day was seeing and hanging out with Lurch ("Todd Coulson") before, during and after the races. Lurch graduated Marist 20 years ago and remains a loyal alum and dear friend. He is shown here after his solid half marathon, with his two young daughters. Nicely done, Lurch!

Walkway races: Goofy start photo

This one went viral on Twitter, for obvious reasons ...

Walkway races: At the starting line

A few shots of the Marist-dominated starting line of the half marathon and full marathon.

Walkway races: How to start the day ...

... at 4:30 a.m., at Stewart's, getting a box of coffee to go along with the other food and drink for our alumni/team area in the historic Cornell Boathouse on the Marist College riverfront. Don't worry. There was none remaining by the end of the morning.

Walkway races: Another view from the expo

Poaching the following photo from Marist Athletics' Twitter feed (I'm sure they won't MIND). Some of the boys at the Expo, picking up their bib numbers. From left: Rizzo, Deet, Hickey, Tino. Rizzo is the defending 5k champion and will be running that. The other guys are running in the half marathon. Neat!

Walkway races: View from the expo

Thanks to my good pal, the Selfie King, Krys "StalwartDog" Wasielewski for sending me this photo from today's pre-race Expo at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. He stopped by the Advocare booth and saw Chuck. We look forward to a fun weekend. Will post results and photos as we can. OK!

Walkway races: See you Sunday!

We are looking forward to a strong turnout of team members and alumni for Sunday's races. The excitement is building in the local running community for this second annual event. Because the races start and finish at the Hudson River on the Marist College campus, we as a Marist community are pretty pumped for this race. Folks across campus were pressing me for a number in terms of participation from the Marist Running family. I estimated around 75, and this has become the narrative in several press releases. After reviewing the final entry list for all three races, it appears we will be just a little short of that number. By my count, we should have between 60 and 65 alums or current team members entered in the race. That's still a great showing. We kindly ask that all affiliated with Marist Running wear something Marist -- loud and proud. We will be gathering at the Cornell Boathouse for an informal reception after the races finish -- see me or Coach Chuck for a "fancy wristband" to get in there -- and please stick around for photos. We look forward to having a nice turnout, no matter the final number. OK!

Crew view

My daughter Natalie has just completed her first season as a member of the rowing (crew) team at FDR High School. She's still in eighth grade, and already she has participated in three sports on the varsity level -- swimming (fall), bowling (winter), crew (spring). Of course, being the Goofy Dad in the Tube Socks, I am proud of all her pursuits. Above, the novice (8th-grade) team took a final plunge in the murky Hudson River on Monday afternoon. To the left, Natalie strikes a contemplative pose after a recent race. Of course, my compass is dialed to track, but I must say that there are many similarities between crew and track in terms of camaraderie and family support. We like the view from the shore, and here's to a few more years with the rowers.

Omar on the Left Coast

Our boy Omar Perez is spending the summer in California, doing all sorts of environmental/trail stuff out there. We'll have him fill us in completely on the adventure in the fall. I think this photo was taken in Santa Cruz, a funky coast town that Justin Harris and I visited way back in 2002, when he qualified for the USATF Junior Championships at Stanford. Speaking of which! We have four athletes traveling to California in two weeks for the Juniors (more on that in future posts?). Anyway! We miss Omar. Aside from being a loyal and dedicated team member for four years and 12 full seasons (including a senior season as team captain), we were so accustomed to seeing him around the McCann Center during the summer months as part of Randy's Crew. So, it's odd not having Omar around. Even though he graduated a few weeks ago, he'll be back for a fifth year of track eligibility, and we couldn't be happier with this. Be safe out there, Omar!

Grilling season

This rather questionable photo was sent to me via text from our good friend Mike The Bus Driver, who has apparently discovered a new way to "grill and chill" this summer. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on the originality of this setup. Knowing Mike, he might load this into the bottom of one of our busses and fire this baby up while we are running at a track meet. Happy summer.

The greatest

The old, Italian barber had trembling hands. He was in his mid to late 80s, and he was cutting my hair. This was about 25 years ago. His barbershop – now owned and operated by his son, my current barber – was adorned with old photos of boxers and baseball players. But the old barber, he was all about boxing. All he ever talked about was the great Rocky Marciano, with a few sprinklings in there about Rocky Graziano, Primo Carnera, Jake LaMotta. Italian boxing legends, every one of them.

The old barber’s son, at the time a young barber, told the old man that I was a sportswriter. “A sportswriter, huh,’’ the old man sniffed. “OK, son, who was the best boxer who ever lived?” Reflexively, without even thinking, I blurted out: “Muhammad Ali.” The old barber, hands trembling, holding sharp scissors, stopped cutting my hair. He had a serious look on his face as he stared into the mirror at me. I’m thinking, “Oh s—t, I’m in trouble here. You’re Italian, you idiot! Why couldn’t you mention one of the Italians? He’s wielding sharp objects!” Then, the old, Italian barber, he breaks into a smile, pats me on a shoulder and says: “You’re right, son. Ali was the greatest who ever lived.”

I woke up this morning to the news of Muhammad Ali’s death. For the past 30 years, he has been a sympathetic and inspirational figure – a “secular saint,” the New York Times wrote. That belies a very complicated early life. Very complicated. But as a child of the 1970s, when the heavyweight boxing division was big news, there was no character bigger than Muhammad Ali. His epic battles with Frazier and Foreman were pure blood sport. The savage beatings that he dished out and received left him a frail and trembling man in his older years. A 15-round bout with Chuck Wepner, known as the “Bayonne Bleeder,” was the impetus for the series of “Rocky” movies; those who know me realize I love those old movies.

And so today, we lose the man who called himself the “Greatest of All Time.” In his prime, in the 1960s and 1970s, he was a man who was larger than life. For those in my age category, he was a huge character in our youth, in our formative years. When historical figures like Muhammad Ali die, a little part of that youth goes will it and we realize the relentless march of time. The greatest is gone. There will never be another like him.