The best use of your medals! Motivating others!
Nearly 10 years ago, a church friend of ours had a serious stroke. Paralyzed on one side of his body, Don could barely speak, couldn’t walk and struggled to be understood. But he communicated through moans and smiles. I volunteered to take him to pool rehab. I helped him changed into his trunks, and accompanied him into the pool, where a trainer guided him through therapy. When I moved my family south 40 miles, I had to say goodbye to Don. How could I show my admiration for his courage and heart? I draped around his neck one of my national championship relay medals.
The use of old medals came to mind today as I read about a world-class masters W55 star from Leduc, Alberta. Her name is Liz McBlain, and she’s an elementary school PE teacher who encourages kids to run.
Liz has won many medals — at WMA worlds, the World Masters Games and at USATF masters nationals. And what does she do with her surplus?
You guessed it.
Gerry Moddejonge of the Leduc Representative newspaper wrote Friday:
“With a plethora of hardware from past competitions, McBlain shares her medals with her own track athletes, with one main difference. Whereas she earns the medals for results, she gives them away for a good effort. It is a great motivator for her young athletes to keep focused on personal improvement, which has translated into sporting success for Willow Park school over the past decade.
” ‘I do it to promote masters (games) and give back to the kids,’ said McBlain, who vows to finally hang up the cleats ‘when I roll over in my grave.’ ”
Earlier stories about McBlain repeat the theme:
“The medals are nice to win but the kids enjoy them even more so I use them as incentives,” said McBlain, who offers them to students showing the best effort rather than the best result. “Some of these kids have nothing when they leave the school. This gives something back to them.
“I often wonder how many of them went on to become teachers and what inspired them. That is really neat for me.”
Moddejonge continued in that September 2003 story:
One of those former students is Tessa Hornbeck, who is a Pys. Ed. specialist at New Sarepta elementary school. She began running a year after moving to Willow Park.
“Since then running was something that I’ve always done,” said Hornbeck, who didn’t realize just how much of an influence McBlain had on her life until she caught herself — however many years later — seeking out McBlain for training advice.
“She’s definitely an inspiration because she’s always someone I’ve looked up to as a teacher and as an athlete,” said Hornbeck. “Everything she knows she’ll tell me, I hope.”
Whatever advice she gets, Hornbeck will take to the 2004 World Championships in Portugal after qualifying for the 14th and final spot on the Canadian team at an International Triathlon Union event in Edmonton July 13.
She finished 28th, but after all non-Canadians and those unwilling to commit were weeded out, she doubled her rank in the standings.
“I got the 14th spot. I was very excited,” said Hornbeck. “I didn’t think I had a chance.”
Me again:
We all know that medals have a short shelf life. You wear them for a couple days at nationals and worlds, and then they go in the shoebox or in a dusty wall display. And those local medals won at city or state Senior Olympics or State Games? They pile up in a corner.
We’re not all teachers, but we all know kids — or hard-working adults.
Don died last year, and I was saddened to hear it. But his wife and family were released from their own paralysis. They had dedicated themselves to his care and comfort. For that, they deserve their own medal.
I’m sure you can think of others in your life who deserve the same. Take good care of your important medals. A medal of any color can be a golden inducement and inspiration to someone who could use it.
5 Responses
Great post Ken. That’s a very thoughtful thing to do.
Last year I made the All American list for the first time and my friend Wayne Bennett (M69 sprinter) shortly afterward gave me one of his many patches he had earned over the years. Instant gratification and a very nice thing for Wayne to do. I also know Wayne has often given his medals to his grandchildren.
Nice story on Liz and the use for medals.
Brings back another fond memory of New Jersey’s Browning Ross, one of the truly GREAT “Masters” of athletics.
A two-time Olympian (’48 & ’52) in the steeplechase (and a standout in the 40s & 50s from 800 to 10k after being legendary coach Jumbo Elliott’s first Olympian at Villanova), Ross literally won many hundreds of trophies and medals in his lifetime (someone once challenged that—we later agreed that Brownie ran competitively for more than 40 years, sometimes as much a five times a week–he might have had thousands!) , a lifetime devoted to promoting track and field and distance running.
Ross regularly competed into his 60s (mostly against younger runners–the “Masters” movement and age-group competition really hadn’t blossomed then)and as the first “lifetime” runner in the area he inspired thousands of people into an active lifestyle.
But, his bigger contribution was as a promoter (a one-man track meet–clerk, starter, official, awards presenter) of WEEKLY track meets and road races–“All-Comer” Events where eight-year olds might line up next to an over-70 runner.
EVERYONE who finished got a prize (oh yes–there were entry fees–usually fifty cents an event for adults, nothing for kids) that, in addition to medals/trophies that were recycled by Brownie, might include frozen turkeys at the holidays, T-shirts, even running shoes—all provided by Brownie!
I was handed a “recycled” medal (red and white ribbon, “1st place” emblazoned on the back) by Brownie on July 4th, 1957 when I won the 10 and under dash before the fireworks in a “Brownie meet.” That began a 42-year friendship with Brownie.
As a track athlete, coach, official, and meet administrator) I have talked to hundreds of athletes (men and women) who credit Brownie with getting(and keeping) them interested in track and running. And, most of them have a medal or trophy first won by Brownie many years ago as a prized possession.
In addition to being the founder of the RoadRunners Club of America (he’s a member of the U.S. Distance Runners Hall of Fame and numerous other Halls). He died in his late 70s (in 1998 after getting into his car after a couple of miles run through the woods on a frigid spring day).
A happy note to Brownie’s generosity. Despite giving tons of medals and trophies away, Brownie still had an attic full of large trophies and medals. Although he wouldn’t part with the most important (Olympic, Pan-Am games, etc.) he had some very nice awards (like the 15 identical “Loving Cups” from winning one local town’s “Founder’s Day” race through town 15 years in a row during the ’40s and ’50s) to which he had no particular attachment.
Back in the ’80s (?) when gold prices zoomed through the roof, someone mentioned to Brownie he should look into “cashing in” some of his trophies–he might get a few hundred bucks or so. He tossed five or six medals and trophies into a paper bag, drove over to Philadelphia, and plopped his ’50s-era awards on the dealer’s counter. He walked out with a few THOUSAND dollars, and took his wife (Brownie lived a very modest lifestyle) on a fabulous vacation. Turns out MOST good medals (silver, bronze) from the 40s and early 50s had high gold content. Brownie cashed in two or three more bags before the prices fell, but no one was more deserving of the unexpected windfall than Brownie Ross!
My children grew up ski racing, a sport for very affluent families. They were often awarded large trophies for accomplishing almost nothing. The awards were often meaningless and seldom represented any real accomplishment. Self esteem is important in children, but it should be based on accomplishment.
Track and Field has been notoriously skimpy when it comes to awards. Giving medals for showing up mean nothing. The awards that meant most to me were the ones I won in difficult competitions for which I trained months and years. In two of my most memorable competitions I didn’t win any medal: beating an Olympic gold medal winner and national champion. I didn’t win either competition but rose well above my usual performance.
Nobody cares about medals. Anyone can accumulate a room full of them if they enter enough competitions. Their main value is to remind us of personal accomplishments and meeting personal goals.
Ken,
Medals have lots of uses. My grandkids have a few of the hundreds that I have earned at local and state games. An elementary school in Austin got a bunch of medals left over from some of the Texas Mssters Championships meets. I also gave about 100 of my medals to a teacher who teaches in a lower economic area school and he uses them for rewards for his third graders. I also donated about 200 to a friend in charge of rehabilitation at a local hospital. She gives them out to patients as they achieve certain things in their stages of their rehabilitation. Terrell Schaffer, a member of the Dallas Masters works in a hospice program and uses his to help people in their last hours. He reports that their smile at receiving probably their only medal in their life makes it worthwhile.
Wayne Bennett
Didn’t realize this site was here–nice to be
recognized in this way.
from liz mcblain at willow park in leduc-just south of edmonton, alberta
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