'If I ain't startin' I ain't departin',' runner Larry Windsor quotes Templeton
The 32nd running of the Dam Mill 5K Aug. 1 from the staging area of Cupola Park in Millsboro was as picturesque and friendly as always. The town embraces and supports the race, as cops, fire police and paramedics are quick to help where needed.
Just over 160 ran the race, with the first two places going to Bob Bacon in 17:17 followed by his live girlfriend Crystal Burnick in 17:40.
Bob is a former runner at DeSales University in Allentown while Crystal ran for Slippery Rock.
A subplot to the Dam Mill race was the planned induction of longtime runners and lifetime friends Larry Windsor and Alan Quillen. Both now in the 60-64 age group, in their prime they were no joke, but have slowed somewhat. Larry has slowed by double battling lung cancer that had spread to his brain and he is under treatment. Larry is not allowed to drive, so his friend Alan brought him to the race.
Windsor quotes former baseball players the way a Harvard professor quotes great thinkers no one remembers.
“In the words of Gary Templeton [Cardinals, Padres, Mets], 'If I ain’t startin, I ain’t departin',” Windsor said. And that meant “sick or wobbly, undergoing cancer therapies or not,” Larry Windsor was not coming to Millsboro just to get a plaque, he was going to run the race.
"You remember, just put one foot in front of the other," Larry said.
And so Larry got around the course in 42:45, while his buddy Alan Quillen ran 24:51. Friends escorted Windsor through the final stretch of the race, someone got him a chair, someone else thought he looked ill. The paramedics were called to come check him out.
Then Larry was helped up the steps under the cupola cover to get his plaque then back to a chair he didn’t ask for. Took much concern can freak out a person, make them think “Goodness, I must really look bad."
Eleven-year-old Olivia Montini ran 24:41 while her dad Paul ran 18:58 and her mom Rebecca ran 26:22. Olivia walked over to Larry and simply said, "Hi, Larry.” And you got a sense that was the best greeting Larry heard all morning.
“A year ago I wouldn’t talk about any of this, but now I’m willing to answer all questions, figuring while I’m here I may as well tell my own story. I also ran this race for my running friend Don Marvel, who passed away last week.
To quote Delmon Young [Orioles, Phillies], "Motivation stops when you go to sleep."
Complete results from the race can be found at seashorestriders.com, but if you want a sense and feel for the brotherhood of racing, you just have to be there.
