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Joe Henderson's Marathon Group Coverage: The man who makes it all possible.
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It's a chilly drizzling Sunday morning in Eugene, OR, and Joe Henderson's marathon group is in the midst of training for the Eugene Marathon in May. While most people are still sipping their breakfast coffee and reading the Sunday paper, these runners are in the process of running eleven miles today. With each stride comes one step closer to the finish line at Eugene Running Company. With each mile comes pain and sweat along with pride and glory. As the runners get to the mile four mark they are not only met with a cooler full of water for hydration, but words of confidence and praise from Joe Henderson himself. Henderson stands there smiling with a stopwatch and clipboard in hand, yelling out times and cheers. He exchanges his constant smile and enthusiastically waves to each and every runner. At times, he even acts as a coat rack as his athletes pass by, too warm to run in layers. Yet, he is not just a coach, cheerleader and sometimes coat rack, but a running icon jam-packed with knowledge, skills and running expertise. Henderson was born on June 3, 1943 in Peoria, Illinois. He began running at the age of fourteen which jump started his career and life of running. Joe began his legendary journalism career in high school with a magazine called Distance Running News, where he focused his writing on elite running news. Within two years of writing the magazine, he had a national following. During this time, he also managed to become a seven-time Iowa state high school track and cross country champion. This success led him to continue his running career at Drake University, where he continued his writing career as well with his Distance Running News and also wrote for the Des Moines Register in 1966. In 1970, after writing for Track and Field News from 1967 to 1969, Henderson joined Bob Anderson as chief editor for Runner's World magazine (formally known as Distance Running News). He was Anderson's first full-time employee and was a journalist there for thirty-three years, and in this time, he coined the phrase and movement of "LSD" (long slow distance), which in the 60's was not a common practice among runners. Many runners simply ran intervals and faster workouts, so through this idea of "LSD," runners began to see longer careers in the sport. To this day, it is a staple in the training of a distance runner. Today, Henderson is the author and coauthor of more than two dozen running books and until recently wrote a monthly Runner's World magazine column entitled "Joe Henderson's Journal." He currently writes for Marathon & Beyond magazine, and since 1982, he has written a weekly e-mailed newsletter column entitled "Joe Henderson's Running Commentary," that can be found at www.joehenderson.com. Henderson is member of the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame for his contribution to running through journalism, is the only two-time winner of the RRCA Journalism Award and has also served as executive director of the International Runners Committee. He has raced over 700 times at distances from 100 meters to more than 100 kilometers. He also currently teaches running classes at the University of Oregon and coaches a marathon training group in Eugene. Yet, these successes take a backseat to the success of his athletes and friends. Henderson is a coach that exudes integrity, excitement and a passion for the sport of running that is hard to come by. He illuminates a love for the sport that only a man of experience can, his positive and inspiring impression on distance running isn't one that is soon to fade. He chooses to not only focus on the athletes that are going to cross the finish line first, but waits and shows the same excitement from start to finish giving praise and encouragement to everyone. This must be why every one of his athletes arrives back at the Eugene Running Company after an eleven mile day wearing the same smile they arrived with. Written By Amanda Kushin and Tiffany Gibson Photos courtesy of Michael Lebowitz |
