From the corner chair

It was the worst of times, but ...

I had the best of times.

Joe Henderson, the one-time West Coast editor for Runner's World magazine, once told me I would be a runner for life.

At the time, I nodded in agreement because running was the most important thing outside my family and work. I couldn't wait to get out and put in my five miles or my track workout or my weekend long runs.

I was a runner. I was a road racer.

The past few years, however, running became less and less important. Injuries led to weight gain, weight gain led to more injuries and eventually it all led to doing a lot more sitting than moving.

I've written before about my return to running, this time, though, as a proud jogger or, as I like to write, a proud "walgger," mixing jogging with walking and doing most, if not all, with my wife. She was not included in my past running life, thus the emptiness of a long-distance runner.

Last Saturday, I ran my first 5K in two years, my first official race (wearing a race number) since the last Sutliff Bridge 5K a long, long time ago. I ran the entire 3.1 miles at the CRFD Memorial 5K at Prairie High School, finishing in 22 minutes, 42 seconds.

It very likely is the worst time I've ever recorded in a 5K, but I can guarantee you it was the best time I ever had running one. There was no stress, no worries and no pain. I ran a 7:40 first mile chatting with friend John Armon, then picked it up just enough to average 7:19. That's not fast, but it is fast enough for the new runner in me.

Now I just have to get my wife to finish her first 5K. She's ready, willing and more than able.

So, I guess, the best of times are yet to come.

And now for something completely different

OK, this isn't sports, but, hey, there is more happening in the "corner chair" than athletic events. Sometimes.

Anyhow, just finished reading the latest offering from David Morrell earlier this week. In a word "Wow!"

Morrell is best know as the man who created "Rambo" in his "First Blood" novel. It was a great book, one of this best. But Morrell is so much more than "Rambo."

I've been a fan since reading "First Blood" in high schoool and haven't missed one since. His story-telling is second to none, the action unrivaled in fiction today.

In "The Shimmer," which comes out in July, Morrell writes about the real-life "Marfa Lights," mysterious lights that appear in a small Texas town. Do a Web search on "Marfa Lights." You'll be surprised by what you find.

In "The Shimmer" the town is called Rostov, and the story follows police officer Dan Page, whose wife has left him to find something in these lights. A series of exciting events follow after Page finds his wife. There are thrills galore, a lot of intrigue and can't-put-down storyline.

Morrell is called the "father of the modern action novel" and it's hard to argue that statement. He also is a master researcher. He took flying lessons to help him with his book. It's not the first time he's gone to great lengths to better understand his stories and his characters.

It's wonderful reading. Look for it in July.

2009 Eastern Iowa running schedule

Look for a local road this summer? Get those legs moving. Here is the list we've got so far:

MAY

16 — Marion Arts Festival 5K, Marion, (319) 373-0741

23 — CRFD Memorial 5K, Cedar Rapids

23 — EF5K walk/run, Parkersburg

30 — Central Lutheran School 5K, Newhall, (515) 577-8908

30 — Dam to Dam, 20K and 5K, Des Moines

JUNE

6 — Kernels Foundation 5K, Cedar Rapids, (319) 896-7612

6 — Robins Civic Club 5K, Robins, (319) 329-8746

6 — Loop the Lake 5K, Cedar Falls, (319) 233-0243

7 — Pigman triathlon. sprint distance (500-meter swim, 25K bike, 5K run), Palo, www.pigmantri.com

12 — ACS Washington County 5K and Relay for Life, Washington (Iowa), (319) 653-1051

13 — Run the Flood, Cedar Rapids, www.crruntheflood.com

13 — Dam to Downtown 10K, Iowa City

13 — Keota Fun Run, 5K and 10K, (641) 636-3019

19 — Kalona Days 5K, (319) 656-3822

20 — Hog Wild Days, Hiawatha, (319) 389-0429, www.hogwilddays.com

20 — Solstice Strike 5K, Coralville, (319) 466-9817

27 — Cascade 175th Celebration 5K

27 — Gallop & Trot 5K, Edgewood

27 — Timber City Adventure Race, Maquoketa, 8-mile canoe, 14-mile bike, teams and individuals, (563) 652-4602

28 — Sturgis Falls Half-marathon and 5K, Cedar Falls, (319) 277-6526

28 — West Union Triathlon, (563) 422-3685

JULY

4 — Alliant Energy Fifth Season 8K, (319) 530-2873, or www.cvra.net

4 — Williamsburg Firecracker run, (319) 668-1636 4 — Dysart 5K, (319) 476-4081

4 — Belle Plaine Rotary 5K, (319) 444-3322

4 — 5K for Independence Day, Cedar Falls

5 — Tri in July, Sigourney, (641) 622-2404

11 — Midnight Madness, 5K and 10K, Ames, (515) 232-6131

12 — Muscatine County Fair Parade 5K, West Liberty, (319) 627-7454

18 — Solon Beef Day 5K, www.beefdays.com

25 — Bix 7,Davenport, (563) 383-2489

25 — Shed Your Threads, Elkader, (563-245-3662)

25 — Walker Pickle Days 5K, (319) 448-4425

AUGUST

1 — Town & Country Days Road Race 8K, Epworth, (563) 876-3442

6 — Veterans Memorial Hosptial 5K, Cardiac Classic, Waukon, (563) 568-3411

8 — Atkins Watermelon Days 5K, (319) 446-7016

8 — Panther Prowl 5K, Monticello, (319) 465-4548

15 — St. Judes Sweet Corn Festival, 8K and 5K, (319) 550-4980

15 — Lone Tree Fun Run 5K, (319) 629-4222

16 — Pigman Triathlon, half-ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run), Palo, www.pigmantri.com

29 — Mustang Gallop 5K, Cedar Rapids, (319) 363-1323, ext. 1836

29 — Grinnell Happy Days 10K, 5K, (641) 236-2620

SEPTEMBER

20 — 19th annual Pewterman Pentathlon, Cedar Rapids

Randy Lewis ready to go

Randy Lewis, a four-time all-American for the University of Iowa wrestling team in the 1970s, is getting back on the mat.

Lewis, 49, announced this decision several weeks ago, but know it's time to back up his plan.

"If I hadn't" put it out on the message boards, "I'd probably back out," he said today.

Lewis will wrestle in a World Teams qualifier today in Waterloo, competing at 163 pounds. He was in the 180s when he made the annoucement and was down to 167 today.

"It's going to be a little problem," he said of making weight.

But he's ready to compete.

"I have some skills that these guys aren't use to," he said.

He said he only feels 49 "when I look in the mirror."

He hasn't been doing any hard training for fear of injury.

"I'm too old to train. I think I'm young enough for one tournament," he said.

Look for more on this story in Saturday's Gazette.

Auto racing, Arlo Becker style

Arlo Becker hasn’t changed much in his “50-some” years of racing cars at Hawkeye Downs.

He’s “69 and holding” and still takes things one season at a time.

“I’ll give it one more year,” he said. But there’s one thing Becker, 71, would like to see change at a track that is celebrating its 84th season.

“I would like to see Hawkeye Downs go back to dirt some day,” he said this week while promoting the his May 17 “Race’m or Wreck’m” event at the track, “but I don’t know if it will happen.”

Becker, of Norway, thinks fans and drivers around Eastern Iowa like dirt racing more than asphalt. Hawkeye Downs is the only asphalt track in an area with many dirt options.

“Everybody likes to let it hang out on the dirt,” he said.

Becker, who drives in the modified division at Hawkeye Downs, said he may switch to dirt next season “if my health holds up.”

“I’m seriously thinking about it,” he said, noting he’d run at Benton County Speedway in Vinton and West Liberty Raceway.

Becker and the rest of the modifieds will be back on the half-mile tonight after racing on the quarter-mile last week at Hawkeye Downs.

“I prefer the half-mile,” he said. “You go faster and you get the big picture as far as a guy slowing down up there ... your vision has to be better.”

He also said the setup is completely different on the smaller track, where you “turn left and go fast.”

“You have to have your car set up just perfect,” he said.

Why Kevin Jackson?

I never heard from Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard, seeking my counsel on who his next wrestling coach should be. I knew it would be a long wait.

Pollard, I’m sure, is got plenty of advice from Cyclone boosters and others in the wrestling world before making Kevin Jackson his next coach.

Once again, Pollard proved to be full of surprises in his hire. It looked like the field was narrowed to former Cyclones Chris Bono, Joe Heskett and Jackson and former Arizona State wrestler Zeke Jones. Mark Manning, reportedly, was a candidate, too.

No knock on Jackson, but he would not have been my top choice. Bono and Heskett made more sense. Both are young, talented coaches capable of taking this team to the top next year.

The biggest knock against Bono was he’s still competing, although I think he would have gladly hung up his singlet to coach in Ames. Although he’s never acknowledged it publicly, those close to Bono said he was bitter when Cael Sanderson moved ahead of him on the coaching chart at ISU several years ago. If true, that could have hurt him, too.

That mades Heskett the front-runner in this corner. An assistant at Ohio State now, Heskett will be a great head coach some day. It looks like it will happen somewhere other than Ames.

I did chat with a couple of UNI wrestlers Thursday night at the school's senior sports banquet. Moza Fay, one of the best wrestlers in recent UNI history and a class act, said Jackson is very well-liked and respected among wrestlers.

That's good enough for me, but I still would have liked to have seen what Heskett can do.