Edition 175 - memory, Dakota Lundwurm
I met someone (let’s call him B) by chance at my son’s school 2 days ago. I had last seen B 28 yrs ago. B & I went to a computer class for 2 months. He was surprised I remembered his face. I have often said (& felt) my memory has degraded rather rapidly in the last decade. So this was a rare boost to the opposite opinion about my memory.
I had read about Dakota Lundwurm when she made the US Olympic team for Paris 2024 in the marathon. She had run no faster than ~11:30 for 2 miles in high school and played serious hockey until she switched sports on her mom’s recco. She was deservedly the topic of discussion in various articles since she seemingly came out of the blue in the last ~5 years. For a deep and well organized system like the one for US high school and collegiate athletics, that’s very rare.
But what I hadn’t known was the fact that she lost her mom, aged only 49, slept in various Walmart parking lots since she and her mom (who had separated from Dakota’s dad and was jobless for a while) were homeless. There’s a lovely profile on Runner’s World (likely behind a paywall) of Dakota. Go read. Get inspired.
While I acknowledge that a certain amount of genetic gifts is needed to make it big in professional long distance running, this kind of grit is what distinguishes the very best from the rest. Dakota’s story reminded me of Scott Jurek’s tough childhood (his mom had MS and he ended up helping raise his 2 siblings in addition to tending to his mom). Bill Rodgers, that amazing runner worked in a hospital for a while and that has likely had a profound influence on how gentle he is as a person (I have met and adore him). 3 magnificent runners, 3 tough backgrounds
I am a self-confessed fan of East African athletes, particularly Kenyan. Usually their background stories are filled with grit which makes the above seem normal, but for a change I am writing about non-African born athletes, none of whom have had it easy in life.
It takes all sorts to make the world go round