Good-bye Tribute to Bob Bridgman

Editor's Note: The quote of the month I selected has one line that stands out in my mind: "Never think everything -- or anyone -- can be replaced." For the second time in six weeks, our hearts have been broken because of the death of another treasured running friend.

Bob Bridgman fell off a ladder at his home in Mansfield, Pa., and died on Oct. 6 from severe spinal cord injuries sustained from breaking his neck. You might not know the name, but you'd know the face. Bob ran road races almost every weekend, all over New York state and Pennsylvania. You could find him in Elmira, Corning, Binghamton, Sayre, Williamsport, State College, Rochester -- and always Ithaca. Two years in a row, Bob won the midpack award at the Ithaca 5 & 10, and carried home a new pair of running shoes.

Bob won an age-group award at the 5 & 10 again this year (in the 10-miler), and that's the last time I saw him and got to talk with him. Several of us attended his memorial service on Oct. 14 in Mansfield, Pa., and paid our respects to the family. Words could never explain how much all of us will miss Bob.

Thanksgiving is coming up, so we should say a prayer of thanks that friends Vic LaPort and Harland Bigelow survived and thrived after their necks were broken (great comeback marathon at Steamtown, Harland!), and how all of us have escaped serious injury at one time or another. This time, Bob wasn't as fortunate.

As I did with Mike Watson, I eulogized Bob in my Oct. 16 column in the Star-Gazette. Bob was one of us, so we pay tribute to him this month.

"Tiers Running Community Loses Beloved Patriarch"

--Diane Sherrer

I always wanted to write a column about Bob Bridgman, but he never wanted any special attention.

Bob was far more interested in how Skip Strobel fared against Jim Derick in the Elmira-Thon; or if Louise Young kept pace with Shirley Woodford at Red Baron; or how his local age-group peers, like Cal Loomis and David Morgan, placed at the most recent 5K.

The beloved patriarch of our running community, Bob was the best-looking, most fit -- wow, what a pair of legs! -- 68-year-old gentleman we all had the privilege to see every week at every road race. And regardless of our ages, we were all trying to keep pace with Bob.

"If you just saw Bob, you wouldn't know his age," said Sally Rusby, 64, of Horseheads. "A long time ago, we were running the Wellsboro 10K, and I looked at this guy in front of me with really strong legs -- it was Bob -- and I thought, 'Hey, he's pretty good, I'll follow him!' Then at the Monkey Run Down, he was running right beside me and kept me going. When we finished, I said, 'Thanks, you helped me get a better time.'"

Great sorrow swept through our Twin Tiers running family when we learned last week that Bob died at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 of severe spinal cord injuries sustained when he fell from a ladder at his home in Mansfield, Pa.

"Bob was my mentor, and taught me how to race," said Louise Young of Tioga, Pa. "My goal was to keep up with him, and the nice thing was, he could always figure out our pace in his head. I can't imagine going to races without Bob there. And you could always look for Bob, tell him what you had done, and in that warm tone of voice he had, he'd smile and say, 'that' super.'"

Bob was always telling me "that's super" too, and how much he appreciated me. Ironically, he called me six weeks ago to let me know Mike Watson had died, because he didn't want me to hear about it in some insensitive manner. And when I hurt myself last year at the New York City Marathon, he called, concerned for my recovery. I could never imagine Bob not being here, regardless of his age.

"Most men his age have lived a long life, with perhaps the best years of their running behind them," said Dave Weiss of Corning. "But at age 68, Bob was in the prime of his life."

Every time I saw Bob, I could imagine him narrating a PBS special or starring in a remake of "Good-bye Mr. Chips," because he looked exactly like a distinguished professor -- and, that's exactly what he was. Bob was a professor of mathematics for 30 years at Mansfield University, and continued to tutor students well after his retirement in 1992.

"He was absolutely my favorite professor at Mansfield," said Edison's track and cross country coach Skip Strobel,who took a calculus course from Bob. "He spent an enormous amount of time outside the classroom helping me. I ran for Mansfield, and Bob always knew exactly what time I ran and where I had placed. So I tried to do my best in class not to let him down, because he took such an interest in me outside the classroom."

A mind of a mathematician is a handy asset when you're an avid runner. Bob ran a race almost every weekend he could find one within a 130-mile radius of his home, and alternated driving to each one with close friend Fred Davis.

Bob kept meticulous, daily records of his running career, with details on each training run or race, percentile of overall finish and age-group placing, the pace, the weather, the exact time it took to drive to the race, and each distance run. From the beginning of his running career in 1978 until the end of December 1999, Bob ran a total of 33,982.9 miles -- roughly an average of 1,100 to 1,300 miles per year.

Up until the weekend prior to his death, when Bob ran the Applefest 5K in Geneva on Sept. 30, it's estimated he had run nearly 750 races in his career. But it was never about the age-group trophies (which he almost always won but gave away), or the T-shirts (also given to charities), or bragging rights. Those close to him say the best part of running for Bob was seeing his friends every week, and having the opportunity to go up to the race organizers and thank them for their efforts.

"No one was ever nicer to you when you beat him than Bob," said Corning's David Morgan, a friend and age-group competitor. "You almost felt worse when you won because he ws so gracious. We had a nice little competition going back and forth, and trying to catch him is what got me going. Bob knew exactly what he had, and gave it his all.

"There was a time when there might be just one or two in our (60 to 69) age group," added Morgan. "I used to ask Fred how they had done at some race, and Fred would joke, 'I finished second, and Bob finished next to last.'"

"What a gentleman Bob was, always concerned for other people and their trials and tribulations," said Dick Shaw of Horseheads. "The first time I got to know Bob was the Downtown Mile in Elmira. We were first and second, and from that day on, we always looked for each other. He's going to be a person who'll be missed"

Bob was not just a runner. He was Earlene's husband for 45 years, Jeff's dad, a lover of animals and a humanitarian. Once named "Citizens of the Year" for their community volunteering, Bob and Earlene created a food pantry for the residents of Mansfield, and were active participants in Habitat for Humanity, an organization that builds houses for those who have no home. Bob once lost a year of running because he fell off the roof of a house he was building in Kentucky, and hurt his back.

How do we honor Bob's memory? Buy some extra canned goods at the grocery store and donate the food to your local church; adopt a homeless cat or dog; say something nice to someone at the next road race.

"Bob means a wonderful relationship, a superb competitor and a good friend who always gave me encouragement," said Mary Wenck of Corning. "I'm deeply saddened for our running community, and Bob's death should make us all enjoy each other while we have the opportunity."

The day before Bob fell, he had completed a two-hour run in preparation for the 20th annual Red Baron Half Marathon on Nov. 5, a race he rarely missed. I think the race directors should prepare a memorial race number for Bob, and someone should run it down the mountain one last time.

As Bob would say, "Wouldn't that be super!"