Guest Post: Father – Daughter Running Buddies

This recap was submitted by Run Oregon reader Doug Darst. Feel free to Submit a Guest Post in the “Contact Us” tab if you want to get involved. My daughter and I have never been runners. Sure, we’ve jogged a few times and hit the treadmill after the Thanksgiving holidays but the sport just never clicked with us. So I was a little skeptical when Sarah, a biology major at Oregon State, sent me a text message last May stating that she suddenly had this desire to train for a half marathon during her summer break. “Sure”, I responded, betting a pay check that we wouldn’t even run around the block.   Imagine my surprise when I received an email 30 minutes later indicating that I had been registered for the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon in October! Before I could pick myself off the floor, I got another text from Sarah letting me know there was no better motivation than committing to a race to get ready!

She was right! When Sarah got home for summer break we did some research on various training programs and started from scratch – just trying to run a couple of miles. Each week we picked a day for a “long run” and then run 1/2 mile further than our previous “long run” distance. This was accompanied by shorter runs and occasionally some weight training to mix things up during the week. As time passed, our endurance grew, our pace improved and our shoes wore out. We’ve learned about Garmin watches, Shot Bloks, Gu and a little about nutrition.

What I didn’t expect, however, was how much fun we would have. In our world of never-ending interruptions from emails, text messages, phone calls and the entire world of social media, it has been simply wonderful to get on the road with my daughter and have completely uninterrupted time to run and talk. We definitely subscribe to the talking method to regulate pace and breathing, not to mention it makes the run more entertaining. All topics are fair game, from current events to the latest on the Beaver’s football season to plans for the weekend. I enjoy the running, but I treasure the time spent with my daughter!

We ran our first race, the Hubbard Hop Fest 5k in July and our first 10k at the Canby Dahlia Run last month. We’re now signed up for one more 10k at the September Oktoberfest Race and then, if our plan holds together, the Runaway Pumpkin Half Marathon in October.

If you thought the idea of escaping the daily electronic overload of our world was a fantasy – it’s not! Grab your kids or significant other (or both), lace up those shoes and hit the road! You’ll lose some weight, have fun at some awesome racing events and actually get to have a conversation with your loved ones.