Letter of the Week: Long-distance lessons of life

Long-distance lessons of life

As a cross-country runner at Wichita East High School in the late 1950s, I appreciated one Bob Timmons coaching lecture more than any other.

At his weekly team meeting, he did not talk about the physical or psychological elements of long-distance running. He did not talk about diet or academics. He lectured us about the attitude we should have about our fellow runners and the respect we should show toward each other.

Specifically, he lectured the front-runners on how all those behind them were working just as hard as them. He emphasized that winning a race does not make a runner a better human being than those who straggle in at the end.

All work hard. All are important. All deserve respect.

I don’t remember any other Coach Timmons lecture. It was the most valuable one we all could hear for the rest of our lives among our merely mortal fellow human beings, winners and losers alike.

Bill Ryan is a community mediator. He is a Kansas State University graduate and taught at Rockhurst University for 35 years before retiring. He has lived in Kansas City since 1970, is married and has an adult daughter.

This story was originally published September 13, 2015 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Letter of the Week: Long-distance lessons of life."