Mark Zepp
PAKMAN
Member # 3400
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posted October 05, 2014 06:23 AM
The Run of My Life!
Some of you I have know
n for many years, since I was a skinny kid and ran through the middle of town and the back country roads of the towns where major coon hound, beagle and bird dog events were being held, way back in my early years at Wick Outdoor Works when I lived the life of a gypsy. Some are from my “van” days, when I headed west to hunt coyotes, disappeared from society for two years, and bought an old video camera out of a paper in Idaho and began filming my adventures. Some are new friends, and for all of you, this is the story behind The Run of My Life!
Late last year, Dr.Naseer Nasser gave my life back to me after a six hour heart procedure fixed an irregular heartbeat that had for several years, left me heavily medicated and overweight. Early this Spring, Dr. Neelam Patel weaned me off of several medications which instantly made me feel better and then told me I needed to lose weight.
As this was happening I got an e-mail from a co-worker by the name of Warner Smith. Most of you have not been lucky enough to ever meet Warner. In truth, we were never big buddies when we worked together in Tucson, Arizona, but when Tri-Tronics was purchased by Garmin, Warner and Gary Williams and I formed a bond or “brotherhood” over the next couple of years as we transitioned into full time Garmin employees.
If you have won a sponsorship prize from Tri-Tronics in the past 10 years or from Garmin Tri-Tronics in the past 3 years, Warner Smith is the guy that has helped put those contracts together with the dog registries and organizations to ensure that coon hunters, bird hunters, beaglers, retriever, K-9 and working dog folks across the country got the best prize sponsorships available after winning or participating in a major or worthwhile event.
Although we did not start off as buddies, one thing is for sure, I have always highly respected Warner because he is just so damn humble. While many folks are like the character Uncle Rico, in one of my all time favorite movies, Napoleon Dynamite, Warner is the real deal. You would never know he played Division I football on a full scholarship to the University of Arizona or for the NFL Colts, because he just doesn’t bring it up or brag about, as many of us would do. But after you know him a bit and he brings up a little of his past, you just can’t help but listen to his sports stories as he nonchalantly talks about different teammates and stadiums and adventures. When the U of A was damn good during the Dick Thome and “Desert Swarm” years, that big red headed Warner was in the middle of it.
Anyway, as I was beginning to feel good and y health was improving daily, I got an e-mail from Warner that said, “I’ve been diagnosed with ALS, aka Lou Gehrig’s disease. I really don’t have any information to offer. I need to take a couple of days to absorb this news and process this with my family. I will work from home this week.”
At 41 years old, with a wife, Becky, and a four year old daughter, Carlee, our buddy, Warner Smith, was diagnosed with ALS.
Major issues going on in my life at that moment suddenly seemed insignificant, small and petty. “What is the right thing to do in a situation like this?” I asked myself.
I really did not know and still am not sure. Warner has a great attitude and is working everyday as if nothing is wrong, fighting the good fight, just as you would expect a former All American, tough offensive lineman, husband and father to do.
The next day, I cut the top part out of a “Team Realtree” hat that Dodd Clifton down in Columbus, Georgia had given to me, to ensure that I had a good sun visor and that heat could easily escape my head, put on a pair of hiking boots and Cabela’s shorts and an old t-shirt and began “running” . Two miles at sixteen minutes per mile is where I started, and it damn near killed me. Several months, many bottles of Ibuprofen, four pairs of new running shoes and hundreds and hundreds of miles later, got me down to twelve minute miles for fifteen mile stretches through the countryside. Alone, out on the road, step after step, mile after mile, I cleared my head, lost fifty pounds and figured out many things that have eluded me the past few years but are truly important in life. One of them is to try to do something for everybody’s buddy, Warner Smith.
With that in mind, Steve Smith from Garmin and I have made a decision to earn some college money for Warner’s 4 year old daughter, but we cannot do it without your help. Money earned and donated will be put into a fund which will help pay for college courses for Warner’s daughter years down the road from now, when it is her time to begin to leave her mark and a bright spot on the world.
So, I hope you will join me in heart, spirit and if possible, a donation as I head to St. Louis , Missouri on October 19th, 2014 for “The Run of My Life” , a 26.2 mile Marathon. That’s a long way for an old, semi- fat guy like me, but with your help, I am sure I can make it.
Steve Smith is going attempting a half Marathon that same day.
If you can send .50 cents, it will be appreciated and no amount is too small.
A Foundation or 5013c, with a board to oversee it is presently being set up for these donations.
Please make any checks payable to:
Carlee Smith College Fund
@ Mark Zepp
11935W, 710N
Middlebury, IN 46540
[ October 05, 2014, 06:32 AM: Message edited by: Mark Zepp ]
Posts: 9 | From: Vail, AZ | Registered: Jan 2009
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