Gerry on the left and Phil Hailer in the Bruins sweatshirt, November 2013. I'm at 245 pounds in this picture!
The oldest of my younger sisters Paula is a great artist. She is my favorite artist and not just because she is my sister. She paints scenes from life that anybody can look at and relate to and say, "I feel like I'm there."
My favorite work of Paula's, Fenway Park:
My sister Karla is a gifted educator. She was great with inspiring young children to read long before she did it for a living. Kids love her.
Grace Anne, who is the youngest of all of us, keeps me in line. There is nothing I can do that she can't hammer. We don't see each other that often but when we do, it's like we talked a couple of hours ago. Anything I do or have done is fair game for her humor. She has managed the business affairs of various Washington, D.C. law firms for years and that was after a long distinguished career as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill.
Grace Anne in the upper left and Paula lower right and of course, "Hot Breath Houlihan" in the middle:
Then there is my older brother Phil. He was my best friend growing up. I didn't have to be his but he was mine. He was the perfect "Big Brother." He didn't bully me like lots of big brothers can do.
From Christmas 1953:
Here's Phil in the winter of 2010:
In college I changed my preferred participation sport from high school football to college cross country. I started out running in cross country meets at around seven minutes a mile thinking that I sucked because I was dead last. Phil was the one who helped me gain perspective so I didn't quit. When complaining to him about my lack of performance he pointed out that I was nuts and explained in a brotherly tone how few people could do what I was doing. He also pointed out that I had lost 30 pounds my freshman year as my team workouts averaged about seventy miles per week.
Phil was the first in the family to run a major road race. It was the 1977 New York City Marathon that went through all five NYC Boroughs as opposed to its early days when it just went through Central Park. While Phil and I age wise are in our upper sixties now, our parents back then were 52. The thought of running in a race back then never crossed their mind. They thought when it came to running that we were nuts. They were right but for all the reasons parents know about their children.
Phil and I ran the Boston Marathon together as bandits when the race had about 2,000 runners. Now before any of my running purist friends get upset, at that time, being in "The Back of the Pack" was okay. In fact we were even welcomed as long as we didn't get in the other runners' way. Heck, at that time we were just bodies on the road. There were no official water stops until Canadian Jerome Drayton after winning the race pointed out the race management faux pas. Back in the 1970's as it does now, the Boston Marathon race management hands out numbers to VIPs in the Boston area for runners who do not qualify.* A Groucho Marx look a like was in the back of the pack every year, and still is to my knowledge but much older, handing out race numbers that say, "Back of the Pack."
National television stories were done about runners like us. Bandits like Roberta Gibb, the first known woman to run as a bandit, Nina Kuscsik, a bandit her first three Boston Marathons, and arguably K.V. Switzer to name another. Yes it was a different time. Phil ran a lot of years as an invited runner until it was determined last year that he was no longer a race VIP. Phil like me would not think of just jumping in the race without meeting today's charity or invited or qualifying standards. Like I said, things are different now. But bother Phil last year ran the Boston Marathon much like race director Dave McGillivray does every year. After the race was over, sister Karla drove him to Hopkinton in the mid-afternoon rain and Phil ran the Boston Marathon course. This next April we are both doing that. If you would like to join us then please do. Instead of the "Running of the Bulls," it'll be "The Running of the Bums." It has a nice ring to it if you ask me. We are legitimate bandits once again!
Phil, April 2015 running his own Boston Marathon:
I thought of this today and it was a driving force in my half marathon effort today. This week of the training scheduled was "screwed up." I believe that is a technical term used by everyone everywhere to provide a cleaner version of what we are really thinking. My legs from Falmouth hurt. Doing 36 miles in 48 hours four days after you have dental surgery is not smart. There I said it. But I would do it again on a similar journey to the one I'm on. In fact I did today.
Much like some of my favorite female runners, Greta Waitz, Paula Radcliffe, and the first official winner of the Boston Marathon, Nina Kuscsik, I was having gastro intestinal issues. The difference for me was that I was not going to be on international television and, being slower, I had a choice of Portable Plastic Temporary Manufactured Housing ("PPTMH") at my disposal. (Maybe a slight pun but not intentional). There was no way that I was going to avoid running in Cleveland today. I woke up sick but in my mind I just had to run.
Greta Waitz in one of her NYC Marathon wins:
The Boss was ready. I was motivated but I was experiencing lower abdominal pain. I then thought about not running but then I could hear Phil as I would be telling the story. He would be doing his impression of Jim McKay of ABC's announcing of Greta Waitz when she halfway in the NYC Marathon had "issues." McKay pointed out to everybody who was watching or listening and then invited analysis from the runner reporters. You already know from a previous post that Greta is my number one sports hero. I figured it was go time no matter what. Good enough for Greta, good enough for me! The best part was the Boss was in my corner, and unfortunately for her, would also be in the same car with me if it didn't go well.
I finished today. There was a stop at a gas station at the Ohio Turnpike entrance on the way to the race. There was a random stop at a PPTMH unit in Downtown Cleveland that appeared out of nowhere as we got close to our eventual parking spot. I did the live parking in the street with the flashers on while I checked out the housing unit. (I think Greta and Phil willed the presence of the PPTMH for me). During the race, there were three stops along the way. Kind of graphic, eh? Well, every runner sometime goes through it and some more than others on certain days. Today was my day. Clearly I would have been faster but so what?
The good news is that my objective was to finish with a time with a "2"in front of a bunch of numbers, much like in guessing the price of the car on the TV show The Price Is Right. I finished in 2:58:54. I was 1,054 out of 1127 and 478 out of 490 males. I was 11 out of 14 in my age group. But that's not the whole story. In Jim Chaney's NFL Hall of Fame Marathon in April, my half marathon time was 3:34:44. At the time I was 20 pounds heavier. I also was a guy who was just a few days short of the one year anniversary of a stroke. Today I had issues and a will to overcome my obstacles, concerns and questions such as, "I wonder if there's any toilet paper left in the PPTMH?"
I feel real good about today. Of course now that I have written this, its Open Season from my siblings and in particular Grace Anne.
On the plus side, even while Phil is mocking me the next time I talk to him, I know he understands. Every runner does. No, not that. It's, "I'm a runner. Race day isn't always going to be perfect. Now shut up and run." It's what Phil would do and he's my big brother. Enough said.
Steve, I envy you for your fantastic family and I admire you for being you!
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