1990 Houston Tenneco Marathon

Eight months after we were married, Cathy and I packed up all our (very limited) earthly possesions for a move from Utica, New York to Natchitoches, Louisiana. We moved from Central New York to Northwest Louisiana in late July. Needless to say, we melted.

In New York, I would often run at 5 in the afternoon. In Natchitoches, I always ran at 6 in the morning. It was hotter (and much more humid) at 6 a.m. in Natchitoches in July, than it was at 5 p.m. in Utica, New York.

During the fall of 1989, we celebrated our first wedding anniversary at The Mariner Restaurant on Sibley Lake in Natchitoches, I was working as an intern in the athletics department at Northwestern State University for the great sum of $500 per month and Cathy was working the third shift as a nurse at Natchitoches Parish Hospital (thankfully, for a lot more money). The marathon bug was still in me, so I started a search for the closest marathon. At that time, my search identified the Houston Tenneco Marathon, which was held in January.

When I entered the marathon, I was serving in the #2 intern role at NSU. But, in early December, the guy in the top intern spot took a full time job at a university in Wisconsin. That meant I was in charge of promotions, game management, helped in fund raising, served as ticket manager, and generally did whatever I was told. Oh, in January of 1990, I became the men's golf coach (there was no additional compensation for this role).

The net of all that was, despite having registered and properly paying me fees, I did not make it to the starting line. I did not even make it to Houston because we had home basketball games the weekend of the race, and I had to be in Natchitoches.

OK, not a great story, but it sure was easy to type.