anonymous donors
We all know about anonymous organ donors or anonymous philanthropic donations, but what about those people who donate hope without knowing it? In my life as a runner, so many people have kept me going, have inspired me to try and try again (through what they said or did) even though they didn’t know it. My high school coach was the first person to plant a mantra in my head: “Its yours if you want it, Joanie.” Coach McAfee could never know how many times I would use his words in work-outs or races to eek out another few seconds or to make a final. Next, there was a fellow Carolina runner and one-time boyfriend, Jim Cooper, who phoned me out of the blue after I had “given up running” post-collegeiately at the wisdom-less age of 23. He said, simply, “You are too good to quit” and then went on to write work-outs for me to get back in racing shape. I wonder if he knows how much his selfless phone call changed my life. Then came my British coach, Harry Wilson, who coached me long-distance (before the interenet made this easy) and wrote this hand-scribbled note at the bottom of a three-week training plan after I finished last in the 10,000m final at the 1988 Olympic Trials: “Be disappointed, but not discouraged.” Did he know I would say that to myself over and over until I finally DID make the Olympic team 8 years later? Does the great runner/coach/friend Chris Fox know that I chanted a quote of his for the entire year of 1995 as I tried to make the World team: “This thing I can do.”? Probably not. You see, that’s the thing about anonymous donors. They share the spirit of their lives and their love of track & field without expecting anything in return.
4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
You’re both lucky to have such influences in your life, and lucky that you’re wise enough to recognize their value. But I’m mostly just here to say that I found your blog last week - I’m surprised I didn’t know about it sooner - and I enjoyed reading the archives. I’m looking forward to reading more. Thanks for sharing!
Comment by Alison — 4/11/2005 @ 1:03 pm
Thanks, Alison. Actually, I could easily list a dozen more anonymous donors in my life, but I am told a good blog should only be one paragraph long! Your name sounds familiar. Have we ever crossed running paths?
-joan
Comment by Joan — 4/11/2005 @ 5:15 pm
No, you don’t know me, I’m just a fan. People who recognize my name usually do so because of my work. I run the fast-women.com and mensracing.com web sites for New York Road Runners, a running geek’s dream job.
Comment by Alison — 4/12/2005 @ 5:47 pm
[...] A while back I wrote about anonymous donors … and then, later - in my Ask the Expert section, I sent out a “message in a bottle” for Charles Foster of Clemson University. So, this morning when I opened my inbox I couldn’t believe it … there was Coach Foster, himself, posting a comment: Comments » Joan, I can’t believe that you are still using that info, and sharing it with your fans and readers. I’ve always believed in this concept, and I am still impressed that it meant this much to you. Most people have listened to my statements, but would not truly engage because it was too hard in their minds. What a loss. Hit me back so we can talk. [...]
Pingback by songs of experience » Charles Foster … “wax on, wax off” — 12/1/2005 @ 8:31 am