I started running at Carleton in order to avoid the College requirement of three years of physical education classes. I went to the first PE class as a freshman, learned the class would be swimming and wrestling (ugh!), and decided then to become an Intercollegiate Cross Country Athlete.

It's the best thing I did at Carleton.

I didn’t set the athletic world on fire as a freshman. As a sophomore I had limited success in cross country, then made actual contributions to the indoor track team by running half-mile legs in the many indoor relays. But outdoor track doesn’t have all those relays and I could see too many teammates faster than I. Coach Bill Huyck humored my attempts as a sprinter, patiently let me practice the long jump, instructed me in the javelin, and finally let me compete in the 440-yd Intermediate Hurdles.

I had the worst hurdling technique. Coach Huyck nicknamed me Spider. He never explained why but it must have been because of my hurdling form. I beat guys who were much better athletes than I. Coach Huyck made it possible. My Carleton running experiences gave me confidence I lacked and helped shape my entire life. But I couldn't have had success without my coach.

Thanks, Bill. Thanks, too, to my Carl teammates. All were great guys – competitive and also supportive. Running with guys like Mike Steiner was inspiring – I trained harder and performed better because of them. Bill Terriquez was a track teammate. I didn’t see him coach but I know he was a credit to my inspirational coach, Bill Huyck.