12/30/2013
It's hard to realize how much someone can have an influence on you, especially when you are young. For me, looking back over time, I realize a teacher at Montera Jr. High in Oakland, CA was one of those influences. Mr. Ray was my phys ed and cross country coach and not only did he instill in me a love for running, he lead by example. He ran every single mile of every single workout with us. No other coach in any other sport I participated in joined in on the workouts... they ...just yelled at us. Mr. Ray could have sat on the sidelines, he was 60, and he could have yelled and people probably would have listened... I later found out he was awarded the Soldier's Medal for Heroism in 1944 while fighting on the beaches of Normandy in France during WWII. But I remember Mr. Ray simply smiling and saying "let's go for a run shall we." Come to think of it, I don't actually remember him telling anyone to run or making them run, we just wanted to when we were around him. I actually think it was hard for him to hold back and not jump in and run with us in the weekly meets during the season. I also remember Mr. Ray driving the team around in his Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia. He loved that thing. So much so that he put thousands of more miles on it during long road trips in the summers when school wasn't in session. Running and road trips. It's been 23 years, and I've done my fair share of running, a lot of it actually, and I've been on a few road trips, some bigger than others. Looking back, I can't help but wonder if somehow, without force or judgment, Mr. Ray had a subtle yet influential hand in shaping running and traveling into two of the most important things in my life. Running and traveling have taken me to the ends of the earth and back, and much, much farther from the practice fields at Montera Jr. High than I could have ever imagined. Thanks Mr. Ray, rest in peace.
Charles Ray - 1924 - 2013