First of all, I need to thank my "I CAN. I WILL!" friends, fellow coaches, and athletes for nominating me for the Brooks Inspiring Coach of the Year award.
This was the email I received on Monday:
Congratulations
coach, you've been nominated by your athletes and peers for a National
Award we give out each year called the Brooks Inspiring Coach of the
Year,
and you have been selected as a finalist! We plan to announce our
finalists on May 15 on Flotrack and will host you and the other 12 finalists on a trip to Seattle for the Brooks awards show and PR Invitational.
In
the interest of time, we need you to sign the attached consent form and
complete the brief Q&A form at your earliest convenience. Also, we
need a high resolution
(preferably 400x400 or better) of you for our awards ceremony.
We
had over 1,500 nominations this year and selected 13 finalists. Along
with the award you will receive $500 cash and $5,000 MSRP gear for your
team.
Awards Ceremony Weekend
Please
make arrangements and book your travel for our Inspiring Coaches and PR
Invitational Weekend using our travel agency below (your plane ticket
is covered and
we have lodging for you and a guest in the new dorms at the U of
Washington).
Event Dates:
·
June 18 – Arrive in Seattle (preferably before 5PM)
·
June 19 – Awards Ceremony (Experience Music Project)
·
June 20 – PR Invitational
·
June 21 – Depart Seattle
I sent in this photo (after I had Jane Photoshop it to get rid of the competitor logos):
I arranged our plane tickets (Brian's ticket was almost $600), and bought us two extra days before the event in Seattle. I was able to use some of my Beginner's Luck class speech (and old blog entries) to answer some of the questions on the Q&A; however, some of my responses are new.
How many years have you
coached high school track/XC?
15 years
I have been involved in track and cross-country (running or coaching)
for 32 of 37 years.
How many athletes are on
your track/XC team?
Lincoln East High School typically has around 80 girls and boys out for
cross-country and 130 for track (cross-country and track are combined programs).
Do you coach any other
sports?
Lincoln East High School volunteer cross-country coach (2000-Present)
Lincoln East High School assistant track coach (2001-Present)
Did you run track/XC in high
school? If so, what events? Where?
When I was
6-years-old, I started running competitively in age group track and I was 9
when I started cross-country. In high school, I ran for Lincoln Southeast
(Lincoln, Nebraska), where I was a part of a “cross-country dynasty.” Running
on varsity all four years, our team never lost a meet (Lincoln Southeast won nine
state championships in a row). I was a member of four Nebraska Class A (the
biggest class division) high school state cross-country championship teams from
1991-1994. I placed in the top 10 at state all four years, and my 1992 team
still holds the Nebraska state record for the lowest team score (28 points). In
track, I ran the 4x800, the 1600, and the 3200. My team set the school record
in the 4x800 at the state meet my senior year (1995)—our record was finally
beaten a few years ago.
Did you run track/XC in
college? If so, what events? Where?
I started my college career running for the University of Nebraska.
After a medical redshirt defined my freshman cross-country season, I
transferred at semester to run at Nebraska Wesleyan University, where I ran cross-country
and indoor and outdoor track. At NWU, we were Conference Cross-Country
Champions in 1997 and 1998; our team placed 6th and 9th
in 1997 and 1998 respectively at the NCAA Division National Championships; I
was a Cross Country NCAA Division III All-American in 1998; and I held five
school track records when I graduated (indoor: 1,500, mile, 3,000; outdoor:
1,500, Sprint Medley Relay). Most importantly, I developed life-long
relationships with my teammates and coaches.
Did you have a coach that
inspired you in high school?
Ted Larson, my cross-country and track coach in high school, inspired me
in ways I am still discovering some 20 years later. He demanded the best out of
all of us, all of the time. He was a positive role model for me. Ted was a
motivator; he could get us excited about every meet. He knew what workouts we
needed to run; he taught us relaxation strategies; he was a friend and a good
listener. Ted helped me become a confident, motivated, and successful adult,
and I know I am a stronger person because of him. Twenty years later, I still
look for Ted at the state meet—he’s a spectator now—so I can get my “state meet
hug.”
What is your favorite
coaching moment? Can’t pick just one, feel free to list a few!
There are so many “favorite” moments: I love
watching my athletes do all the right things to find success—in the past nine
years, our girls have finished 2nd at the state cross-country meet
three times; they won state in 2012; and our 4x800 relay were state champions,
setting both a school and state record last spring. This past fall, our girls
were the favorites to win state. We would have won; however, the unusual
October heat took down one of our top runners about 100 meters before the
finish line. When she woke up in the medical tent several minutes later, she
asked, “What place did I get?” It was heartbreaking to tell her that she passed
out and didn’t finish. While the girls were disappointed that they ended up in
third place instead of winning, they were more concerned about their teammate’s
wellbeing; they were graceful in defeat.
I love the stories and the rituals—the pasta feeds,
the excitement over earning “top ten” t-shirts, the team bonding on long runs. Every
day, I look forward to the time I get to spend with my runners.
I teach and coach at the same high school as my
husband. In fact, we started dating after becoming friends during my first
cross-country season at East. When I first started coaching, I was still in
incredible shape: I would run long runs with the boys and hard workouts with
the girls. To try to impress me, Brian ran “way over his head” for the entire
season. After the season was over, he still tried to keep up with me. One
Saturday morning, Brian, one of the other cross-country coaches, and I went out
for a trail run. We went out 4.5 miles when Brian finally asked how far we were
going. It was an out-and-back route, so we were only halfway done. On the
return trip, Brian literally did trip—three times—and his devotion won me over,
and, eventually, I fell for him. I get to spend a lot of time with my husband doing
something we both love. Our runners are our kids.
Brian and I are also devoted to our runners, and we
get love from them back, which sometimes manifests in strange ways. Our girls
like to leave us chalk masterpieces on our driveway. Since I was diagnosed
again with cancer right before cross-country started, we would often find
positive messages covering our driveway. At the banquet this fall, one of our
senior girls walked up to the coaches’ table: she had a gift for Brian and me.
I wouldn’t advocate giving animals as gifts; however, once Morgan handed me our
gift—a kitten—I was instantly in love.
What piece of advice do you
give an athlete having a bad day to inspire them?
I learned the positive affirmation, “I can, I will,” from my
Southeast High School cross-country coach, Ted Larson. That
motivating statement quickly became our team’s rallying cry in the middle of
the race, and those four words carried my high school teammates and me through
four undefeated seasons. I let that phrase guide me to a successful
college running career at Wesleyan and during three marathons where my body
wanted me to quit but my mind willed me to finish. However, that
simple, yet inspiring, affirmation was the most valuable when I was diagnosed
with breast cancer two weeks after finishing the 2009 New York City
Marathon.
Immediately, after that life-altering phone call, I realized
that those “I can, I will” statements would continue to define my life:
- I can, I will…beat “CANcer” because I have an
amazing support system of family, friends, colleagues, students, doctors,
and total strangers;
- I can, I will…keep a positive self-image, no
matter how my body is transformed;
- I can, I will…continue teaching students how
to overcome obstacles with grace, humor, and perseverance;
- I can, I will…defy cancer by sporting a hot
pink Mohawk and use my head as an art canvas;
- I can, I will…continue running with my track
athletes, even if chemo aids me in reenacting the scene from Chariots of Fire;
- I can, I will…use humor to make the “cancer
experience” entertaining, even though in reality uncertainty can be
terrifying;
- I can, I will…remind others that every day, no
matter how insignificant or mundane it seems, is a day to treasure
and enjoy;
- I can, I will…stay focused, remain mentally
tough, and exude confidence;
- I can, I will…maintain a positive attitude and
help others keep a healthy perspective on what is really important;
- I can, I will…work on being more patient and
learn to ask for help;
- I can, I will…share my love and make sure
others know that I care about them everyday;
- I can, I will…model how to deal with
adversity;
- I can, I will…achieve my goals and help others
be successful;
- I can, I will…keep running this marathon and
encourage those around me to keep fighting as well;
- And…I can, I will…make it to the finish line.
From my experience, I can attest that the four words, “I
can, I will,” are much more powerful then the three words, “You have
cancer.”
Lincoln added a new
half marathon last fall (the Halfsy), and I signed up for it prior to my August
diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. Despite a lack of training—six miles is
not a “long run,” I had a group of women who decided to run at my pace. At the
start of the race, Courtney's friend, Peg, who was running with our "I
CAN. I WILL!" group asked me, as we ran by the East High marquee,
"How did you get your slogan, "I can, I will," up
there?" Peg didn't know that I taught at East High. The phrase has
taken over our athletic department this year. My friend and athletic director,
made "I CAN. I WILL!" a rallying cry, for all of our athletes and
teams. As a coaching staff, we have modified the phrase to "We can, we
will! It has fully been embraced.
Since my first cancer diagnosis in 2009, the "I CAN. I
WILL!" mantra has spread faster than the cancer cells. My athletes,
students, and colleagues have written the phrase multiple times on my (former)
baldhead; I have inked hundreds of plastic crocodiles with the mantra (I was
told that the crocodile is my animal totem, according to an Aboriginal woman I
met while I was on a trip in Australia—crocodiles exhibit “power, tenacity,
wisdom, creativity, and survival”) and I handed them out to those in need of
inspiration. I have seen my athletes write those four words on their arms with
Sharpies; the phrase dons the sleeves and the fronts of several shirts—even on
other team’s t-shirts. My mantra has been
written in different ways, using different punctuation, but the meaning is the
same. These four words have powered me (and others) through lots of situations,
from cross-country races in high school to dealing with cancer and other
challenging obstacles.
What is your favorite race
to either watch or run?
I love chasing our girls and boys around the cross-country course,
particularly at Pioneers Park, the course where I spent many hours racing and
training. While we have always had competitive teams, it is empowering to watch
our kids run their personal records, whether that’s our girl finishing first or
our girl with autism finishing the race.
During the track season, the best part of the meet is the mile. This was
my favorite race to compete in when I was in high school and college, and I can
always feel the electricity in the air when it comes time for this event. The
mile is a combination of endurance and speed, and it takes a strong-willed mind
to focus during that third lap (for some reason, it is easy to hit your time on
the 800, and during the last lap, you can smell the finish line).
I am not a competitive runner anymore, but there are still races that I
can run and share that “team experience.” In Nebraska, we have the
Market-to-Markey Relay, a team event that originally started in the Old Market
in Omaha, Nebraska, and wrapped up 80-some miles later in the Haymarket in downtown
Lincoln, Nebraska. I have been a part of this relay since its inception, either
as a runner or a team supporter. My college teammates are good at convincing me
to run marathons. I have run Chicago twice (2004 and 2006) and New York City
(2009). I joke that my friends can finish the race, go back to the hotel,
shower, eat lunch, and then come back to watch me cross the line.
What makes you Run Happy?
I have always been a runner, and despite what cancer tries to take from
me, running will always be in my blood--even though the very composition of my
blood has changed due to my stem cell transplant. Chemo, radiation, an
assortment of non-performance enhancing drugs, a resting heart rate twice as
fast as the beat at the peak of my career, annoying side effects--they have
chipped away at my minute-per-mile pace, but they can't take away what I know:
my inner being--at its very core--is a runner; I have always been a runner.
How has running defined my existence and, ultimately, my happiness? I
can’t imagine a time in my life where running hasn’t been a key part of it.
From summer fun runs with my father to four state high school team
championships at Lincoln Southeast to an All-American cross country runner at
Wesleyan to a cross country and track coach at Lincoln East High School, my
center of gravity has always been around running.
This fall, our school
had to deal with a devastating loss—a well-loved and highly talented student
committed suicide. A unique individual, Tony wore I ♥ ____ t-shirts
everyday to school, and, in response to the news, I decided to write a tribute
to him. While my list extended for a few pages, reflecting other dimensions of
my life, many of my "I ♥" statements were about my love of running:
I ♥ telling stories and making people laugh on long runs
I ♥ getting "pressured" by my friends to run marathons
I ♥ using the phrase "I can. I will!"
I ♥ reminiscing with my high school and college running buddies
I ♥ running
I ♥ coaching kids who want to be successful
I ♥ being around other people who emit positive vibes
I ♥ being the first person in line and the first one to the finish line
I ♥ smelling new running shoes
I ♥ crocodiles and people with crocodile mentalities
I ♥ my cross country and track kids
I ♥ running with my former teammates
I ♥ living by the phrase "I Can. I Will!"
I ♥ buying lots of things at marathon expos, so I'm sure to finish the race
I ♥ finishers' medals
I ♥ the Lincoln Running Company (and my college coach Ann Ringlein)
I ♥ NWU Cross Country
I ♥ East Cross Country and Track
As a coach, I want my athletes to find their inner runners and to
channel their own “I can. I will!” philosophies.
* * *
Today, I received another email: there was one more question that wasn't on the questionnaire: "What is the one line—the number one piece of coaching
advice--you tell your athletes to inspire them and/or to get them run
their best?
(This could be something like “Dig deep and never look back” or something similar)"
Yeah, I do have some coaching (and life) advice:
I CAN. I WILL!
