CAMPUS

C O N C O R D A C A D E M Y M A G A Z I N E F A L L 2 0 0 9AT H L E T I C S50ALUMNAE/I CORNERSam Smith ’05 (third from left, holdingtrophy) was a key part of the WilliamsCollege women’s crew team, whichwon its fourth consecutive NCAA DivisionIII Rowing Championship this year.Midfielder Chelsey Bowman ’08started every game for Harvard’swomen’s lacrosse team.Two CAers played at Colby:John Moriarty ’07, lacrosse, andTrip Smith ’08, tennis.Patrick Walker ’08 pitched forDenison’s baseball team, which had a21–19 season.Fannie Watkinson ’08 made thewomen’s A team for Ultimate Frisbeeat Stanford.Ted TylerFocused on RunningFOR JON WALDRON, coaching running isnot about teaching. An accomplishedrunner who’s logged more than 60,000 miles,the head coach of CA’s boys cross-countryteam and the new club track and field teambelieves that coaching is about inspiringpeople to care about something. When peoplecare about running, “they’ll sleep more,they’ll eat well, they’ll attend every practiceand race,” he said. “Caring about somethingallows you to make good choices. It makesyou a better person.”Waldron first fell in love with runningwhen he was in fourth grade and ran aroundhis house—literally. “I had measured the distancewith a yardstick and it was about onehundred yards, so I figured eighteen timesaround would be a little over a mile,” he said.“I became fascinated with the idea of usingmy legs to get places instead of using a car,bus, or bike.” By the time he was in seventhgrade, Waldron was running every morningbefore school and competing in the mile—thelongest event for his age. Despite narrowlymissing his goal to run a mile in less thanfive minutes in eighth grade, Waldron’s affectionfor and commitment to the sport wereestablished.In high school, he competed on the varsitycross-country and track teams, but was oftenat odds with his coaches. “I viewed runningas exploration, both physical and intellectual,and I hated doing things simply because thecoach told me to,” he said. “I didn’t acceptthat you needed to turn your brain off whenyou became an athlete.” Between his sophomoreand junior years, he ran five hundredmiles and improved enough to place ninth inthe state. During the spring of his senior year,he ran a 4:27 mile, a school record that stoodfor thirteen years.But shortly after high school, he stoppedrunning. Waldron moved to Cambridge,Massachusetts, where he “read, wrote, andworked.” Two years after high school, heenrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon,and majored in music and English. Instead ofrunning, his new love was learning. Immersedin his classes, Waldron was barely aware thatthe city of Eugene, one hundred miles away,had become a running mecca, the birthplaceof Nike and home of the University of Oregon,where legendary runner Steve Prefontainehad won seven NCAA titles in cross-countryand track during the early seventies.It wasn’t until after college, when Waldronmoved back to Cambridge with his soon-to-bewife Ann, that he thought of running again.“We were watching a road race one day,” hesaid, “and Ann asked me what place I thoughtI’d finish in if I were in the race. I said, ‘Probablytenth.’” Shortly after, he signed up fora seven-mile race and placed . . . tenth. “I feltgood,” said Waldron, who continued to runduring lunch breaks and in occasional 10Ks.“I was reminded how enjoyable running is,how much it straightens out my head andhelps me focus.”Waldron, a project manager at NuanceCommunications, didn’t coach until his ownchildren were running at Newton North HighSchool, where he was hired to work withdistance runners. He was named head coachof the cross-country team at CA in 2007. Thatyear, the boys team won the Eastern IndependentLeague Championship. In 2008, theteam repeated as EIL champions and Waldronwas named EIL Coach of the Year.To Waldron, CA represents a uniqueconfluence of shared values and students whoare inspired to care—about many things,including running. “I’ve always had a goodfeeling about CA,” he said. “Sometimes itfeels like CA and I were separated at birth.”— Tara Bradley