I'm Tim Rickel and I'm a Runner

That's how I introduced myself in chapel at WGM last Tuesday. I took that phrase from a feature in each "Runner's World" issue that comes to our house which features different celebrities or corporate personalities and their story about running.

I've been thinking about my running and how it applies to what we are doing at WGM. So, I am going to dedicate several posts to talking about this facet of my life. In case you don't believe I'm a runner, I present the following picture as evidence. It is my bib number from this year's 500 Festival 5K run in Indianapolis. And a copy of "Runner's World" which I will refer to in my story of how I became a runner.

Chapter One - My running history

Running didn't come naturally to me. My earliest memory of running comes from age five when I ran into my neighbor's barn and my head connected with a piece of farm equipment that was right at eye level. After I came to I realized you can get hurt running.

Then in third grade we had a race in the gym at recess. I beat everyone sprinting, even the fastest girl. It was a short-lived moment of glory. When we picked teams for kickball I was still one of the last ones chosen! Athletics were never my strong point. Especially after I got glasses in fifth grade!

In high school my good friend, Terry, convinced me to run with him at 7 a.m. in order to get in better shape. We both lived within a few blocks of the high school track. Well, that lasted about a week. As we pounded around the track; me trying to keep stride with his longer legs, I decided I could be still sleeping rather than feeling out of breath this early in the morning.

My next run in with running, (pardon the pun), was in college gym class when we had to run an 11 minute mile to get a passing grade. As I ran the final two tenths of a mile, feeling completely like I was going to die, I decided I would never again voluntarily run unless it involved lots of money or really good food. And I held to that until 2003. But that's for the next post.

My sisters Beth and Becky and me in college