Don Kardong
Don Kardong
DonaldFranklin Kardongis a noted runner and author from the United States. He represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRunner
Date of Birth22 December 1948
CountryUnited States of America
prior
Prior to the 1976 Olympics, I was a 5,000m runner.
almost ask catch draw hill knees lonely miles race runner running strength track willing
In those long, lonely miles you put in during the off-season, and in those knife-in-the-gut track repetitions and hill repeats that buckle your knees - at that moment in almost every race when you ask yourself how much you're willing to hurt to catch one more runner - you can draw strength and inspiration from your running mates.
running years break-out
Train at the same pace day after day, week after week, year after year, and that's the kind of running the body adapts to. But break out of that comfort zone with a little speedwork now and then, and the body will learn to deal with the new demands.
athlete kids race
Coaches know that a parent publicly scolding his kid after a race will not help the athlete perform better.
moose disease tick
I know runners who have suffered a tick bite and ended up with Lyme disease. Ill take an angry moose any day.
marathon idiot hills
You entered a marathon with hills? You idiot.
athlete brought cheaters cheating forgotten hopes persistent room rumors savage
When an athlete has relegated the persistent rumors of cheating to the back room of the mind, he hasn't really forgotten them. And when he glances back to where rumors hunker in the darkness, he hopes with a savage heart that somehow, some day, those cheaters will be brought to justice.
appear blindness complete concealing death frighten ground headlights level question running simply suffered temporary toward truly whether
Running at night used to frighten me. Part of it was simply safety, the question of whether level ground would truly appear under each tentative footstep, and whether the temporary but complete blindness suffered while running toward headlights was, in fact, concealing death.
beat elvis number race runners weekend
The Kenyans beat up on the American runners in every road race every weekend of the year, but we're way ahead of them in the number and quality of our Elvis impersonators. We get our X-Men and gorillas.
across canyon distance grand mount run
New nemeses keep racing fresh, but I also find challenge in going longer, with only the distance as foe. I run my first 50-mile race, journey across the Grand Canyon and back, circumnavigate Mount St. Helens.
careful certain cold frozen head known lovers lungs south visits
Cold is not without its risks to runners, of course, especially ones who don't head south when winter visits their neighborhood. Even pooh-pooh-ers of frozen lungs and lovers of dark jogs over permafrost have been known to be careful about certain hazards.
bad behind encourage fast jog rally regardless runner spirits veteran whether
Cheer for your teammates, regardless of whether they're fast or slow, veteran or neophyte, varsity or JV. Or rally the spirits of someone who's had a bad performance. Also, encourage stragglers during tough workouts; jog back to 'pick up' a runner who's behind during a long run.
chance complicate footprints hides ice later leaving marking merely ruts snow tire turns twist
Sure, the first light snowfall may be a chance to dance giddily, leaving squeaky footprints through the neighborhood, marking the runner's right to the domain. But later drubbings of snow merely complicate running. Snow turns to ice, to slush, to ice again. Tire ruts twist ankles. New snow hides the hazards.
across along angular granite hidden leaves path race ran rip rocks slick toughest trail van york
The toughest trail I ever ran was the Escarpment in the Catskills of New York State. This was an 18-mile race through Rip Van Winkle country, routed through boulder fields, across angular juttings of granite and along a path with an unrelenting barrage of roots, rocks and mud, all of it hidden under slick leaves and dangling nettles.