PUBLISHED 03/01/2006
How much do you run these days?
"I've ran a couple of marathons back in my day but I haven't run those kinds of miles anymore but I try to get in my three, four four, five days a week. I've really thought about getting back into it and run one more marathon. I just turned 50 and at 50 I thought that would be a good thing to do."
How many marathons have you run?
"I've been in two. I've been in the Grandma's and I've been in the Marquette one in Marquette, Michigan."
When did you run the last one?
"The last one was, damn, 20 years ago."
Did you run them close together?
"Within a couple of years."
Have you started training?
"I've don't it in the past. A few times I've done it here where I said I would do it. I am going to train for a marathon but because of recruiting...There always something. I haven't got back where I am willing to sacrifice the time needed to train on a daily basis. I haven't had the time. I love to run. It's where I get my piece of mind. You know. The problem I have is if I don't stay up with it on a weekly, monthly basis it seems like it's so much harder to get back into shape now and so much easier to get out of shape compared to how it used to be. Now probably the biggest chore is staying up with it. And I think if I do, I can get back into running...I have an equipment man here named Dave Pruder, who I've run just about every game day with the ten, eleven years I've been the head coach. We have this little three, four, five mile run we do every game day. Home and away. He's ran in all 50 states. He just finished last year. He's my motivation."
What do you get out of running before games?
"For me number one it forces me to get my run in that day and number two it's a little bit of a ritual, it clears my mind. I really think it makes me feel better. I always feel better after a good run. Believe it or not for me it's a stress reliever. It's a relaxer."
Game day most be a pretty stressful day?
"Sometimes it's gets a little hectic."
Do some of your players ever run with you?
"I've had a few in my time. I had a kid named Charlie Bell who is now playing for the Milwaukee Bucks that would always, there are a couple of road races here up in Flynt and he always used to try to get me...I ran in one with him. For the most part I've done some training with my guys over the years here. Run some miles with them and things like that. But in this day and age I think more have gone to speed workouts more than distance and so I haven't done it as of late. I always threaten to do it. They know I run every game day. They know my routine."
