Salem, Oregon's
Running & Walking Club Site
Home of
Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
www.WVRoadrunners.org.

Sue’s Story
by Sue Schmidt

It was not unanimous at the last board meeting that the next WVRR board member to write their story would be me. I’m a better listener than I am a talker. There are more interesting stories out there than mine, but I was outvoted.

I have always loved to run as long as I can remember. I was the little girl running up and down the playground with the scabby knees at Morningside School in South Salem. I don’t know why I waited until high school to go out for track. I attended Sprague High School the first year it opened and there were only 11 girls, including myself, who went out for the track team.

My events were the 440, anchor leg on the relay, an occasional 220, and the hurdles. Yes, I did the hurdles. Those of you who know me are aware that I am only 5’1", and I definitely wasn’t any taller back then! At first I was the only hurdler on the girls track team, and I was never very good, due to my small stature. But I loved running them! I didn’t care that I came in dead last in the hurdles in most track meets. My mother was horrified with the softball size bruises on the insides of my ankle and knee from constantly bashing the hurdle with my trailing leg. During one track meet I tripped over a hurdle and fell flat, having to get stitches below the knee. I still have the scar. My track coach often tried to encourage me to try running the 880 or mile, but I didn’t think I could run that far.

Early in my first marriage my husband and I had an interest in "jogging" and became involved with the early Pheidippides Running Club. He did quite well, working from the local 5K and 10K races to completing the Portland Marathon, while I did my one-mile jog. Eventually he coaxed me into going out for a long, slow jog, and I ran two whole miles! I was so excited, as I didn’t think I could run that far.

Eventually I was able to run farther, and began participating in local races, and this new Hood to Coast relay, which ran all the way from Mt. Hood to Pacific City in those days. The first years our team of eleven men and women did the entire relay all packed into one large van. If you don’t believe me, ask Eb Engleman, Debbie Susee, or Randy Hostetler. The advantage of one van is that we could all be together the entire relay, not missing out on any of the fun. You can guess what the disadvantages were!

I slowly faded from the local running scene in 1990, and in 1992 I remarried and became a stepmother to two small children, ages 10 and 5. I didn’t totally quit running, as I feared getting fat. I managed an occasional two or three-mile jog, two or three times a month. About 4 years ago I made a friend at Gold’s Gym who saw me run my occasional 2 miles during the noon hour on the treadmill, and gave me her back issues of Runner’s World. After looking at the first issue, I determined right then and there that I was going to be a runner again! Oh what I’ve missed out on all those years!

So, I worked myself back to running 3 to 4 days a week, and when I worked up to an hour run one weekend, and decided I was going to run the Dream of Roses. I hadn’t run that race for 10 years. My time for the run was disappointing, and I knew very few people. One of the gals I did know encouraged me to go down to the Governor’s Cup on Saturday mornings at 7:00. I hardly slept a wink the first night, as I was so excited to meet some new running friends. I continued going every weekend and began making new friends and literally hanging onto every bit of advice and information I could get from all of the running experts Saturday morning at the Cup. One of those rainy mornings I ran back from Holman Park to the Cup with a new acquaintance, Charlotte Hartwig, and secretly decided I wanted to do a marathon. It was awhile before I told anyone, as I didn’t think I could run that far.

I tried training twice for marathons, and got injured and twice. I finally completed my first marathon, the Newport Marathon in 2002 with the help of Phyllis McCall.

I was fortunate to qualify for the Boston Marathon after my Newport Marathon experience, and completed that in April of this year. As much as I have enjoyed the marathon experience, I still love some of the shorter runs just as much. I recently had the honor of becoming part of Team GFR and ran cross-country this fall, which has been a new and fun experience for me as well.

I wish to thank to all of you for your encouragement and friendship these past few years. I look forward to many more runs with old and new friends for many, many years to come.