Chip Off The Old Block
I was just on the phone to home not too long ago as Waverly was getting ready to go to bed.
She was telling me about her day at school and that in one of her subjects, she had a substitute teacher. No earth-shattering news there except that she proceeded to tell me that she heard the gentleman talking to a teacher's aide and that he made the comment that he was an 11-year veteran of the Houston Marathon.
Like her father, Waverly said her ears perked up.
When the moment was right, she started to talk to him and proceeded to find out that the gentleman was Ralph Ridenhour from Spring. She said that he told her that he ran 9 in a row in one stretch and then added the other two shortly thereafter. (While we talked, and not that I didn't believe her, I looked at the recent file of all veterans that I received from Jack Lippincott and sure enough -- Ralph L. Ridenhour ran his first Houston Marathon in 1982 to 1990 and then followed with a two-year stretch in 1993 and 1994.)
She said that she mentioned that I wrote for Runner Triathlete News and Inside Texas Running and that he said that when he was running, he read those publications. Waverly went on to explain that he was into cycling now for his health, but had done a century or two and had also run in the Boston Marathon.
I did a little looking in the Chronicle's Archives and found out that he was the 40-49 age group winner of the 6th annual 3-mile Love Run in February 1990. The only other note to be found was that he took home another age group award in November 1985 at the Race Against Houston's Hunger. He ran 36:57, which I presumed to be a 5-mile run (since the winner ran a 30:01.)
The next e-mail I expect to get is from Bill Dwyer telling me that Ralph was a member of the old FM 1960 Roadrunners. :)
She was telling me about her day at school and that in one of her subjects, she had a substitute teacher. No earth-shattering news there except that she proceeded to tell me that she heard the gentleman talking to a teacher's aide and that he made the comment that he was an 11-year veteran of the Houston Marathon.
Like her father, Waverly said her ears perked up.
When the moment was right, she started to talk to him and proceeded to find out that the gentleman was Ralph Ridenhour from Spring. She said that he told her that he ran 9 in a row in one stretch and then added the other two shortly thereafter. (While we talked, and not that I didn't believe her, I looked at the recent file of all veterans that I received from Jack Lippincott and sure enough -- Ralph L. Ridenhour ran his first Houston Marathon in 1982 to 1990 and then followed with a two-year stretch in 1993 and 1994.)
She said that she mentioned that I wrote for Runner Triathlete News and Inside Texas Running and that he said that when he was running, he read those publications. Waverly went on to explain that he was into cycling now for his health, but had done a century or two and had also run in the Boston Marathon.
I did a little looking in the Chronicle's Archives and found out that he was the 40-49 age group winner of the 6th annual 3-mile Love Run in February 1990. The only other note to be found was that he took home another age group award in November 1985 at the Race Against Houston's Hunger. He ran 36:57, which I presumed to be a 5-mile run (since the winner ran a 30:01.)
The next e-mail I expect to get is from Bill Dwyer telling me that Ralph was a member of the old FM 1960 Roadrunners. :)
posted by WalkSports.com | 10:15 PM
2 Comments:
Not only a member of the FM1960 Roadrunners but one of my very best friends who helped me get to Boston. Ralph & I went to Boston together in 1990. His PR is 2:53.
I talked to Ralph Tuesday after the marathon in fact.
Ralph had a major back surgery that ended his running several years ago...now a 2 handicap golfer.....he's very competitive.
Ralph is retired from SW Bell and spends his time substitiute teaching.
also....Ralph always ran close to 30 minutes for 5 miles so the Race Against Hunger was probably a 10K.
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