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FLRC Newsletter - Sep 2003 |
| Remembering Brad Sanford | |
The last time I saw Brad Sanford, it was the morning of the Twin Tiers Race for the Cure in downtown Elmira. We waved at each other, and shouted hello. And I thought, "There goes Brad. I wonder who he's going to help run the race today?"
Brad died unexpectedly June 29. He was 58.
I watched Brad, for almost two decades, weave his magic as a loyal friend; a respected educator and beloved coach in the Elmira Heights school district; and as an age-group runner on the cusp of national-class performances. He preferred that his good works remain in "silent glory", as one student wrote.
On that perfect May morning at the Race for the Cure, the identical sponsor and race site made it seem like we were still at the Elmira-Thon. The chance meeting triggered an associative memory, because I always visualize Brad at the Elmira-Thon.
No one, not even Jim Derick, squeezed as much energy out of the trio of Elmira-Thon races as Brad.
Sometimes Brad was there to cheer on one of his star athletes, like Rob Winkky. Or, Brad might have some younger kids in tow, whom he planned to pace through the fun run or 3-mile race.
But often Brad would enter two or three events, and conduct a human experiment of one.
"When Brad was 50 in 1994, he won both the 10K (38:31) and 3-miler (19:06), in the 50-59 age category. Not a bad double," recalled Norm Ward, a longtime Elmira-Thon organizer. "However, his most memorable year was in 1997 when at the age of 53, he did all three events. He was second in the 10K and the 3-miler (37:36 and 19:02 respectively), in the 50-54 age category; in the team biathlon, his team was first in the 50-59 age category. I don't remember anyone else attempting this feat of endurance."
It was the 20th anniversary edition of the Elmira-Thon, and afterwards, when I interviewed him, Brad said, "I though I would do it because it's the 20th and I wanted to celebrate the joy of running that I think I share with a lot of people in the Southern Tier."
Brad was more passionate about sharing his love for running with others, than beating any age-group peers. But when he turned 50, Brad set about running a 17-minute 5K and a sub-3 hour marathon. Of course, Brad had to leave home to do it, because there were just too many folks here in the Twin Tiers he'd rather assist with their running goals.
"Brad would rather be thinking about you, not himself," said Dave Boor of Horseheads, a longtime friend and neighbor. "He set a goal of running four 5Ks -- one in 20 minutes, then 19, then 18 and 17, just to see if he could do it. He drove up to Alexandria Bay in late September, ran a 17-minute 5K and set an age-group record at the race."
Brad never broke the 3-hour mark in the marathon, but he came close with roughly a 3:03. One year, the Wineglass Marathon offered a prize to the team whose four members could put together the fastest marathon times. Brad, Boor, Quentin Summers and Tom Brewster won the team title.
"Of all the things he'd ever won, Brad said that prize meant the most to him," said Boor. "We all kept the trophy for one month, and then we gave it to Brad for keeps."
When they were neighbors, Boor had a reliable training partner right down the street.
"Brad would often call me as he left his house, and say, 'I'll be by your house in five minutes. Would you care to join me?'" Boor said. "You never said no to Brad. I enjoyed his cameraderie, and he was just like a thoroughbred race horse. He'd be one nose ahead, then pick it up, gut it out and sprint us in."
I didn't run with Brad, but I had lots of interaction with him when he coached track and cross country at Edison. I often attended the IAC meets, and would observe Brad encouraging all runners in the league, not just the kids at Edison.
We often had spirited discussions about the differences between coaching boys and girls, and the best way to jumpstart the work ethic of both groups. I was especially amazed when I discovered he took some of his boys' cross country team members to Boor's dairy farm, and had them do haying as part of their training.
"I think Brad saw me not training, basically working on the farm and still doing well in my running," said Boor, who put the boys on the payroll. "He thought haying would be a way to toughen those kids up, and make them realize that they'd better stay in school and get a good education. Brad would work right there beside them, take no money and say, 'Dave, tell me what to do.' Then, after working all day in the heat, we'd all go out for a 10-mile run together in the evening."
One of my most endearing memories of Brad has to do with one of his "don't tell anyone" secrets. Several years ago, I walked into the Marathon High School gymnasium right after the IAC cross country championships, and found Brad all alone on the stage, arranging plaques on a table.
There was an artfully-engraved award for one runner in each of the IAC schools. Brad created and then financed the annual "IAC Scholar-Athlete Award," which was given at the end of each season to one athlete per team selected by each IAC head coach.
When I finally pried this information out of Brad, he asked me a favor. Please don't give me any credit, he said. But would you please put the names of these kids in your running column?
"Brad stood for the scholar-athlete -- the whole person," said Skip Strobel, Brad's friend and successor to the Edison coaching position. "Not just the athlete, or just the scholar. The award usually doesn't go to the No. 1 runner, but to someone who holds a good academic average and is running well for the team."
Strobel now organizes and finances those awards, and has announced that beginning this season, the annual presentation will now be known as the Brad Sanford IAC Scholar-Athlete Award.
"Brad got me into coaching. He said, 'I have a great opportunity for you, and you'd be perfect for the job,'" said Strobel, one of our region's best runners. "I had never given it a thought. But by far, it's the greatest thing I've ever done. It's one thing to be a runner, and another thing to live through your athletes. But, to coach is to take your love of the sport, transfer that to the athletes, and then watch them develop in the sport.
"It is a continual gift which Brad has given me," he added. "I hope one day, I have the influence (on youth) that Brad did. I have big shoes to fill. Every cross country meet, I would call him, and tell him about the meet. It'll hit me most, after our first meet (this season), when I go to call, and he's not there."
I like to imagine Brad in heaven, running with Mike Watson and Bob Bridgman. There's a race every weekend, and Mike?s tooling around on his motor scooter, directing each race. Bob never misses a race, then he's off to talk with his friends and thank the organizers. Brad is cheering from the sidelines, or jogging alongside slower kids or finally hitting that sub-3 hour marathon.
"I think he still lives on in so many different ways," said Boor. "Often when I run, I think of Brad. He made you better, and brought out the best in you. Whether it was academics or doing hay, he had a way of making you do your best."
[Portions of this article originally appeared in the Elmira Star Gazette.]
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