My 100,000 Mile Quest by Kevin Follett
My 100,000 Mile Quest by Kevin Follett
Many people have asked over the years, “Why do you run?” Some of my
answers might be:
I was too small for football or basketball, it was
something I was good at and enjoyed, I liked the feeling of endorphins
after a run, I liked the challenge of seeing how far or fast I could go, etc.
For whatever reason, it became an addiction, something that fit well with
my compulsive behavior. I’m also a person that likes to keep track of
things in my life, and it was my Dad that encouraged me to start keeping
track of my miles. But keeping track of just miles wasn’t enough as I kept
track of where I ran, who I ran with, and all the interesting wildlife
sightings I had as well on a run. Along with this came all the interesting
charts and graphs I could create to see the trends in my running over the
years. But running for me has been more than just the physical exercise
and experience I’ve experienced almost every day over the last forty plus
years. It has been a spiritual experience as well. I look at each day and
each run as a gift that God has given me to enjoy Him and the world
around me. Most of my miles have been logged alone, but I’ve never really
run alone as I have had my Creator showing me amazing things in His
creation and about myself. I feel blessed to have been able to run as I
have, even though there’s been many ‘bumps’ along the road with the
various injuries that every runner experiences at some point. My running
has also been a blessing with my family, as I’ve been able to spend time
running thousands of miles with my wife and three daughters. Over these
long runs we’ve talked about many things, tried to solve problems,
discussed important issues, and ultimately become closer to each other. I
wouldn’t give up those times together for any amount of money. In the
end, I can’t imagine my life and many of the relationships I have with so
many people without running. So, compiled here in these pages are just
snippets of places, people and stats that make up my running
experience…
Summer 1972: The Summer Olympics are held in Munich, Germany and even
though foreign athletes like Lasse Viren of Finland win the 5k and 10k, Americans
get excited by the first win of the marathon by an American in 64 years by Frank
Shorter. I remember watching this on TV and wondered if I could ever run that far
too. The American running boom was starting and seeds were planted in my mind
about becoming a “Runner”.
Frank Shorter winning the Olympics in 1972. Beginning 7th grade in 1973.
Fall 1973: I am uprooted from my neighborhood school in Upper Arlington and
bussed to an inner city school, Jones Junior High School, in Columbus, Ohio. My
7th grade social studies teacher, Mr. Janson, asks me if I would like to come out
for Cross Country. I didn’t even know what “cross country” was, but he was a
good teacher and the coach of this sport, so I joined the team. My Mom bought me
my first pair of running shoes, the Adidas Country. It was made of kangaroo skin,
had 3 green stripes, and it’s heel was rounded with rubber up the back side. At
4’10” and 81 lbs, I was much better suited to run than play football or basketball.
Jones Junior High School Cross Country team (I’m second from the left).
Coach Janson has us run up to 20 miles/week, and for those of us who reach 100
miles, we earn the “Jones 100 mile club” t-shirt! We run a total of five cross
country meets during the season, including four meets in Columbus and the Ohio
Junior High State Championships in Cincinnati.
As you can see from the season results, my best mile was 5:45, I had a couple 2nd
place finishes, and ended up 13th in State out of 48 runners. Because I was the
team’s top runner, I got to ride with Mr. Janson in his Chevrolet Corvette to the
State Meet!
Running to the finish line of the Ohio Junior High XC Championships
Spring 1974: My Dad takes a professorship at Kansas State University, so we
move from Columbus, Ohio to Manhattan, Kansas. There is no cross country
offered for junior high students, so I don’t re-enter the sport again for three years.
Manhattan Junior High school did offer Track & Field, so I joined the team in
March of 1974. Practices were held at an old dirt track south of the railroad
tracks. At these practices we soon learned all we needed to know about racing
from our expert coaches. These strategies included: avoiding water and milk,
eating a candy bar minutes before our race for quick energy, and lying quietly in
the infield before our race to be well rested. It was no wonder we all threw up
after each race, thinking this was normal if you ran hard enough. The coaches
decided I should be a 440 yd runner, and put me in the mile relay with three other
skinny kids. Our first meet that spring was held in Emporia, Kansas as we had a
duel meet against the EJHS Spartans. Our mascot for MJHS was the Papooses, a
baby Indian strapped to the back of an Indian Squaw. As those of you have been
to a track meet know, the mile relay is the last event of the day. So, I nervously
waited through the entire meet for my race, avoiding water, eating my Snickers
bar and laying still in the infield. I left my bag in the infield and ran my leg of the
relay, after which I threw up and knew in my heart that I had run hard enough.
Despite most of this racing preparation not being what was best for me or the
other runners, over time I learned more about better ways to train and get ready
for races. Perhaps that is what intrigued me later in life to learn how to become a
coach.
Fall 1976: As a 105 lb sophomore at Manhattan High School, I run my first high
school cross country season. Kansas cross country is 2 miles, and I run on the JV
team for the season notching an 11:06 pr in the cow pastures (literally, including
running by cattle and over barbed wire fences) of Chapman, Kansas.
Training in our neighborhood in Manhattan, Kansas.
Christmas 1976: My Dad notices me running quite a bit, so for Christmas he gives
me a calendar and suggests I write down how many miles I’m running each
month. So, on January 1, 1977 I begin a Running Log that has continued to this
day. My first month only consisted of 20 miles, but as I tried to improve on total
miles from month to month, I eventually reached 200 miles in the month of
September. This was also the month that I completed my very first 10-mile run, on
the 23rd and reached my first total 1,000 miles on the 30th.
My statistics from my first year of my running log in 1977. I ran mile # 1,000 on
September 30th in Manhattan, Kansas. States run in: Kansas, Colorado,
Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona and Maryland.
Spring 1977: I finally move up to running middle distance in my first high school
track season, running mostly the 880 yd run. At the CKL (Central Kansas League)
meet I run my best time, 2:07.2, finishing 8th and scoring one point for the team.
Fall 1977: After a summer of running about 30 miles/week, I’m ready for my junior
year of cross country and form a close bond with Bob Stowe and Joe Uphoff after
running miles and miles together. I run 7 meets, including a pr of 10:16 in
McPherson, Kansas. I end up as the 8th runner and the alternate for State.
Running with teammate Bob Stowe in McPherson.
Running the CKL meet in Manhattan, Kansas.
December 3, 1977: Along with teammates Bob Stowe and Joe Uphoff, we travel to
Lake Shawnee on a windy and cold 36 degree day outside Topeka, Kansas to run
our very first road race. We chose to run the Sunflower Half-Marathon, a 13.1 mile
race that consisted of two 6.5 mile loops around Lake Shawnee. We covered our
bodies in Cramer Icy Hot and braved the elements in our shorts and t-shirts. After
1 hour 35 minutes I crossed the line in 80th place and no feeling in any part of my
body.
The race bib from my very first road race on Dec 3, 1977 in Topeka, Ks.
Up to this point in 1977 I had run in only Adidas and Puma running shoes. But,
Coach Bill Bowerman from the University of Oregon developed the first Nike
“Waffle Trainer” in 1974 and by 1978 this running shoe was all the rage on our
team. The next year, 1978 was the only year I wore these shoes with the “waffle”
sole.
Spring 1978: Track season arrives and I continue to run the 880 yd. dash. Our 2mile relay takes 3rd at the CKL meet and I run a pr of 2:02.1. We go on to finish 2nd
at Regionals and a disappointing 7th at State in Salina.
Running my fastest split in the 880 at the CKL Championships.
Fall 1978: After boosting my summer mileage to 40 miles/week, I’m ready for my
senior year of cross country. We run races of mostly 2 miles, but for the first time
we also run two races of 3 miles as the state is thinking of eventually moving the
cross country distance up to 3 miles or even the strange 5k (3.1 miles). I compete
for the top spot on the team with Bob Stowe and Clay Miller. I run my best 3 mile
of 16:21 at Concordia, and my best 2 mile of 9:54 as the first Manhattan High
School runner at the State Championships held in our hometown of Manhattan,
Kansas, good enough for 10th place.
MHS 1978 team: (I’m the 3rd person in row 2, Clay Miller is to my left, Bob Stowe &
Kyle Blakely are the two persons in the upper right corner). Kansas Coach of the
year: Bill Congleton, was our coach.
Manhattan Invitational: Me, Anthony Thompson and Joe Uphoff in back.
Fall 1978: Manhattan Invitational: Coming up the hill with Kyle Blakely and in the
finish shoot.
Fall 1978: Wamego Invitational: Clay Miller, Me and Kyle Blakely.
I-70 League Championships in Salina, Kansas
Fall 1978: MHS varsity team with me and Bob Stowe on the right.
Regional XC in Salina, Kansas
Running at the Kansas State Cross Country Championships in Manhattan, Kansas.
Dec 2, 1978; First ever 5k, the Little Apple in Manhattan, Ks. Finished 6th overall.
1978 Log: First year of over 2000 miles, mostly in the town and Flint Hills of
Manhattan, Kansas. Hit mile 2,000 on April 19th and mile 3,000 on September 29th,
both in Manhattan, Kansas. New state run in: California.
Spring 1979: Our track coaches have us run a couple Indoor track meets for the
first time. I win an 880 and a mile, and then compete in the Kansas State Indoor
Championships taking second in the mile in 4:36. Because of this, I run mostly the
mile in my senior outdoor season. My pr comes at the I-70 League Championships
where I ran 4:25.1. A highlight was qualifying to run in the HS Mile division of the
KU Relays. Little did I realize that 25 years later my daughter would come to
Lawrence and win a race here. I win Regionals and go on to take 7th at State. (Jim
Ryan held the state record of sub-4 minutes, and it was still safe after my senior
season.)
My racing bib from the 1979 KU Relays
Competing in the I-70 League Championships mile in Manhattan, Ks (in all blue).
Spring
1979:
Winning
the
Regional
Meet
Mile
in
Salina,
Kansas.
May 1979: I never liked running in the heat and humidity of Kansas, but the State
Track meet didn’t care about how I felt. In hot and muggy conditions I ran a
mediocre 4:34 to finish 7th in my last high school track meet. I was glad to
eventually move back to Colorado a few years later to continue running in drier
heat.
Fall 1979: Now attending classes at Kansas State University, I continue to run,
upping my mileage to over 200 miles/month. For most of the next 30-40 years I
would maintain that type of mileage which consisted of about 50 miles/week. In
October I run at the KSU Intramural cross country race, which was held on the
same course I had run the high school state meet on a year earlier. I win in a time
just a few seconds faster than I had run at State the year before. Road races start
to become more popular on weekends, and I enjoy running these with some of my
running buddies.
Winning the KSU Intramural Cross country race at Warner Park in Manhattan.
One of my first 10k races, the Little Apple at Tuttle Creek Res.
1979: Over 2000 miles in Manhattan, Kansas, and my first animal sighting on a run: a
coyote in North Park near the Ranch. I run mile 4,000 on March 24th and mile 5,000 on
September 10th, both in Manhattan, Kansas.
1980: Running in one of my favorite places, Bellvue and LaPorte, Colorado.
Spring 1980:
Along with my old high school running partners Bob Stowe, Joe Uphoff and Kyle
Blakely, we form the “Stickman Running Club”. We design and sell t-shirts, and
even write a monthly newsletter on the running exploits of those in the club. In
May of 1980, the second annual Bolder Boulder 10k was to be run in Boulder,
Colorado, and one of my running idols: Frank Shorter, was going to be there.
Kyle Blakely and I decided we were going to go to Boulder, run the race, and
afterwards make him an ‘honorary member’ of the Stickman Running Club and
present him with a t-shirt. The day before the race, we drive from Manhattan to
Boulder, eating M&Ms and drinking Mountain Dew the whole way. In Boulder we
find a park and sleep under the car near the starting line. We are awakened by
the delivery of the port-o-johns and prepare for the big day. We run the race,
finishing at the Boulder High School track. On the other side of the track, there he
is…Frank Shorter, gold & silver Olympic medalist, and soon to be...a Stickman.
We walk over, explain who we are and what we’re up to. He works really hard at
holding back his emotions by saying very few words. He takes the shirt, doesn’t
look at it, and we leave...super excited that Frank Shorter is now in our Club! Just
in case you’re wondering, Frank Shorter came to Manhattan, Kansas the following
year to run a 10k (his mother-in-law lived in the area). After the race I walked up
to get an autograph when he all of the sudden recognized and said, “That shirt
you gave me, it’s my favorite t-shirt!”
Bolder Boulder 1980: Presenting Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter with a
Stickman Running shirt and making him an honorary member of the Club. You can
see the excitement on his face about receiving this huge honor.
Running the 1980 Bolder Boulder with fellow stickman, Kyle Blakely
My Dad and myself running the St.Pats 10k in Manhattan, Kansas.
Summer 1980: One of my all-time favorite places to run is the roads and trails in
North Park, Colorado around the Follett Ranch. It was on June 11th that I decided
to attempt my very first 20 mile run, and to run it from the town of Walden to the
gate of the Ranch. It was a hilly, generally uphill (Walden is at 8100’ and the
Ranch is at 9000’), windy run that I finished in two hours and thirty minutes. It
would be four more years before I attempted a full marathon, but this day I knew I
could complete one.
Finishing my first ever 20 mile run, covering the distance in North Park, Colorado.
Joe Uphoff and myself run the St.Marys 10mile.
Fall 1980: I join the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and begin competing in
intramural races for the frat. We also host a university wide contest called the
Chariot Relays, and one of my duties was to run in the torch at the beginning of
the Games. Bart Radford becomes one of my daily running partners from the frat.
The old KSU track & coliseum, site of the Chariot Relays. The Lambda Chi Alpha
cross country team.
The 1980 KSU Cross Country Intramural Championships.
Winning one for Lambda Chi.
Arne Richards 20k in St. George, Ks and the Heartland 10k in Stockdate, Ks.
1980 Little Apple 10k in Manhattan, Kansas (I’m in all yellow).
In the Fall of 1980 I meet one of my all-time favorite running partners:
Karen Kresie. She lives in a nearby sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, and we begin running
together and eventually dating. A former tennis player, she continues to run to
this day.
1980: First full year where every month I ran 200 miles or more. I run mile 6,000 on
February 12th in Manhattan, and mile 7,000 on July 5th in LaPorte, Colorado, and mile
8,000 on November 29th in Mission, Kansas. New states run in: Illinois, North Carolina
and West Virginia.
States run in 1977
States run in 1978
States run in 1979
States run in 1980
Chasing down Frank Shorter in the 1981 St. Pats Day 10k in Manhattan, Kansas (Ignore
the crease where the two pictures are taped together).
Filename:
My 100,000 Mile Quest by Kevin Follett.doc
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My Life As A Runner by Kevin Follett
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