Author Archives: Jon Waldron

Unknown's avatar

About Jon Waldron

Running and Racing have been important parts of my life for as long as I can remember. I ran Track and Cross Country at Amherst HS, back in the day, and am proud to have been training and competing with the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) for more than thirty years. If my bones hold out, I hope to continue for another thirty. Sixteen years ago, I began coaching, first as an Asst. Coach at Newton North HS in Newton, MA, and for the past ten years, as Head Track and Cross Country Coach at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts. I've been writing about running for almost as long as I've been running, dating back to high school, when I would write meet summaries for the Amherst Record for about $0.33 per column inch. I've been blogging about running since 2005, and began blogging at "the runner eclectic" in 2014. Until recently I also had a day job, working full-time as a Technical Product Manager for Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, MA. But I am now on what might turn out to be a permanent sabbatical. Thank you for reading my blog, and please consider leaving a comment.

Projects, Stunts, and Escapades

Maybe it was hearing Patrick talk about his streak of consecutive days running (which he chose to end just shy of one year), or maybe it was hearing Terry talk about his recent 100-mile week (“sometimes you need to change … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Natural Order of Things

“Once there was a shop owner who wanted a sign to put up in front of his shop to bring him good luck and many customers. He went to a Zen monk, and asked the monk to write a sign … Continue reading

Posted in Injuries & Health, Weather and Seasons | Leave a comment

Race Day Reading: The Thoughts of a Champion

“I was a never empty pitcher pouring out happiness.” – Neal Holtschulte, 2005 NCAA Div III Cross Country Champion Today, we compete for our league championship, and a week from Saturday we will compete for a New England Championship. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in Racing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Traveller in Two Worlds

    A week and a half ago I ran alone in the late afternoon, nine miles along the Reformatory Branch trail from Concord Center to Bedford Depot and back. A couple of days later I ran with the team, … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, High School Runners, Weather and Seasons | Leave a comment

First Interval Workout

I don’t think I would have survived as a high school coach if I hadn’t, at some level, mastered the art of forgetting about previous seasons and starting over every September. That’s not to say there’s no continuity year-to-year, but … Continue reading

Posted in High School Runners, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Catharsis

“Catharsis (from Greek κάθαρσις katharsis meaning ‘purification’ or ‘cleansing’) is the purification and purgation of emotions—especially pity and fear—through art or any extreme change in emotion that results in renewal and restoration.” – Wikipedia

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Hiatus

Hi all — sorry for not posting these last three weeks. All is well, I’ve just been extremely busy with work, coaching, hosting a large meet, and trying to hold down the home front while Ann is in Washington supporting … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Fun Run!

Running is a lot of things, but is it fun? In the first weeks of the cross-country season, when summer heat lingers, and no one has actually raced yet, our team organizes a 5K “fun run” for ourselves and for … Continue reading

Posted in cross country, High School Runners | Tagged | 5 Comments

Compassion and Sportsmanship

“It’s the first race that I’ve ever really had where I crossed the finish line and thought there wasn’t even another second that I could have made up at any point in that race… If you can say that honestly … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, Olympics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

From the Archives: On Running Hard in Dual Meets

[The beginning of cross country practices and the post-Labor Day surge at work has made it  difficult for me to think clearly, let alone sit down and write. So with apologies for the re-posting, here’s something from the archives: a … Continue reading

Posted in Coaching, cross country, High School Runners | Tagged , | Leave a comment