My Running Story

My Running Story

by Fred Horan

Starting in High School, I did track briefly but got into the habit of running on my own 2 to 3 miles a few times a week. When I was first in college, my dorm was across the street from a mile long track. When I did not have an 8am class, I would run the track twice. After I dropped out of College, I started working out and running the indoor track at the YMCA. I later went back to school and inherited a very energetic border collie from my sister. There were woods with long paths behind my apartment that we would run together. That dog ran me ragged!

After college, I moved to Corning NY and started running at the Y indoor track there. I spent 2 years in Corning working at Corning Glass Works. It was a good job, but I had friends in Ithaca. I moved to Ithaca and eventually found a job at Cornell. Working at Cornell meant that I could exercise during my lunch break and would go for a run in the Cornell Botanic Gardens.  (Sometimes, instead, I would run the stairs at the Schoellkopf Stadium.)   I did this for most of the 40 years I worked at Cornell.  As I got into my late 40’s I still wanted to run every day, but my knees began to give out on me. I tried steroid injections in my knees but that only worked for about a week. I stopped running for 9 months and when I started up again, I took it easy, running only 3 days week. This worked for me until my mid-50’s when I developed progressive hip pain, eventually requiring a hip replacement when I was 60. The doctor that did the surgery told me that I could be active, that walking was OK, but I am done with running.

I am now 71and I do run occasionally with my dogs, but I mostly walk or work out at the YMCA. Running has been a way of destressing, getting better sleep, and generally taking care of my physical self. Actually, it has also been a good thing for my emotional health as well.

What is your running story?