A Race Well Run

Our mom: RUNNING STORIES

Charles’s running started as the result of an observant coach at Wichita Falls High School.  Not being very tall, Charles didn’t take part in sports in high school, but food was always important to him.  So much so that he would run every day to get a good place in the lunch line.  The track coach noticed and recruited him for the track team.  The coach always said he had “Jackrabbit legs”.  He was a sprinter and ran the 100, 200, 400 and mile relay.  He was good, lettered and planned on running track at BaylorCharles went out for track and made the team.  Charles’s dad died his freshman year and though he never admitted it, I’m sure it had a profound effect on him.  For whatever reason, his college track career ended.  He loved intermural football and maintained a love for track but didn’t run himself for years…Not until January 1, 1975.

Margaret Ann was only a few months old , and Baylor was going to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in 50 years.  Since she was too young to leave, we invited folks over to watch the game at our house.  Among the crew was Chuck Rosenthal. Chuck was surprised to see that his once skinny roomie had blossomed to a whopping 207 pounds.  Charles had gained as much weight as I had during my pregnancy.  When his mother chastised him, he retorted “It’s hard having a baby!”  Chuck shamed him unmercifully and challenged him to run in the Houston Marathon the next year.  Little did he know what he unleashed with that challenge! 

Charles trained and dieted and ran his first marathon at the Crowley Rice Festival—from Lafayette to Crowley—in 3 hours 54 minutes. 

Charles did go on to run the Houston Marathon the next January. He was an enthusiastic convert and found a like-minded group who became known as the Kingwood Runners.  In only his second year of running, he qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55.  He and his best friend, Mike Harris crossed the finish line holding hands!

He made some wonderful friends through his running plus we got to go on some awesome trips. Sarah and he counted up one time to over thirty marathons that he’d run.  I’ll try to tell about some of the more memorable ones.

Bill Looney arranged a marathon for Charles in Killeen one year.  He came in first in his age group.  Knowing Looney’s devotion to Charles, he may not have enrolled anyone who was the same age.

He ran London to Brighton twice.  It’s like a double marathon 52-something miles.  The first year he ran it, I was still nursing Sarah and couldn’t go.  The whole Kingwood Runner group went, wore their TEXAS flag shorts and had a great time.  George Allen got a flat for them and arranged for a driver to drive them on the course before the race.  As a driver, he was great, but his tour guide skills were lacking.  When they’d ask the bloke “What’s that building?”, he’d reply “Some bloody historic place!”.

The next time they went, I was first in line to go with them.  Our group consisted of Beth and Jack Sheridan, George Allen, Mike Harris, Charles Smerker, Gary Blackie, Jack Healing, Jerry(the artist), Charles and me.  George, once again, arranged for flats in a great area of London.  Ours was just a block from Green Park.  We got there several days before the race and stayed a few after, about 10 days in all.  

We met our good friends, Jane and Peter Weston.  George met Jane at a hotel where he stayed for his trips doing “oil bidnes”.  She was the receptionist and endeared herself by babysitting the Allen’s kids when they came along.  Peter was in the bomb division of Scotland Yard.  She’s a Scot and Peter, a Brit.  We had many a good time with them through the years.  They came to Texas once and we took them to a Dude Ranch near Bandera. We visited them every time we crossed the pond, continuing after Charles death.  They retired to Carrbridge, Scotland and converted an old church manse to a B&B.  When Peter died, Jane had a bench installed in his honor at the final hole of their local course.  The plaque read Peter Weston “Teed off at last”.  Love their sense of humor!

One of my “favorite memories of all” was an infrequent public display of affection from Charles.  He was never big on hand holding or other outward displays.  It was more like him to pinch me on the bottom in a crowd than peck me on the cheek.  That’s why this story stands out.  One afternoon between the day and night shift, we were left on our own.  We walked to Green Park hand in hand and rented lawn chairs, lazed the afternoon away, even kissing a few times. Guess he knew none of his buddies were around to accuse him of being mushy.  The Merle Haggard line about the “London vacation and it was you who made the whole thing a ball” always reminds me of that time.

Charles was so obsessed with his running in the early years that before going to a party, I’d have to warn him to remember to not just talk about running! He started at the inception of the craze.  His first Houston Marathon was only the fourth of what is now an event that draws 13,000 runners.  We were at the deer camp at the Eckerts’s ranch near Doss once when he went for his run.  It was eleven miles into town and he was on his way back when several cars stopped to see if he needed a ride.  It never occurred to these good Hill Country folk that anyone would be running unless they were being chased or had run out of gas.  

Another adventure I got to go on with the crew was to Front Royal, VA, for a hundred mile race.  Charles, Jack Healing and I went with Gary Blackie on a road trip.  First stop was Birmingham where a Mockingbird kept us up all night.  The next day we made it to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Once again, we had failed to book a room ahead.  The place we finally found was like a scene out of Psycho: Tourist court with bouncy metal chairs and a neon sign with the office in an old two story house.  The house was crammed with antiques and the manager was a nice Anthony Perkins type.  I asked if we could see a room(learned my lesson from that dump in Eunice).  I was just saying to Charles how much the setup reminded me of Psycho when I glanced over my shoulder to see “Anthony” right behind us. We stayed there but none of us showered that night!

One might ask why I would be allowed to go on an obvious “boy trip”.  Other than my scintillating BS, they wanted me to drive the aide car on the race.  I had been worrying about it since we left.  Of course it started in the morning, but it would also be run at night…in the hills…with horses also running.  Because of the horse element, the aide cars couldn’t use their headlights.  What could they have been thinking!  As it turned out, God was on my side.  At 50 miles, they were tuckered out.  Charles got lost early on and added a few miles to his trek.  They were literally cooling their heels in a bubbly spring when I found them.  It didn’t take much for me to entice them to quit and have an ice cold Pearl Beer.

Both of the girls learned to run from their dad.  They both excelled in the 400, 800, and Cross Country.  Sarah had the advantage of following an older sister(in more than just running).  She started in track camps early.  In her first race she was dead last.  Her daddy coached and coaxed her into being a star.  Both girls struggled with running after Charles died.  He was so much a part of it, always on the field with them, running along and encouraging them to drop their shoulders and pump their arms.  No one else could fill that void.  Sarah caught the bug and ran four marathons.  She qualified for Boston on her second running 3:36.  She ran Boston for fun and her last was the Marine Corp.  I know they both continue to hear his words in their ears as they go up a hill…pump your arms and chop your stride!

He loved the sport.  Shortly before he died, he won the Masters Mile at the Kingwood Relays.  It was fun to see the girls and their friends cheering him on as he had done for them.  He beat a guy named Reggie who beat him the year before.  He had a 3x5 card on his mirror for a year that said Kick Reggie’s Ass.  He already added a new sign that read Kick Reggie’s Ass Again! 

When Charles died, the girls and I tried to think of an appropriate memorial for him  One day as I went into our bathroom, the light flickered over the Kick Reggie’s Ass Again sign.  A light lit up in my head to fund an Accutrack for Kingwood High School.  They were new at the time, but Charles thought they should have one.  It’s an automatic timer that shows the runner’s time as they cross the finish line.  Friends and family contributed to make that happen.  The school administration also named a scholarship for Charles.

It’s fitting that Charles “went out” with his running shoes on, doing what he loved.  He left a great legacy, two girls who grew up knowing he loved them and me very much.  George Allen was with him on that last run.  He told me later that Charles was talking about the girls and me when he started his run that morning.

We’ll always be comforted knowing that as wild and crazy as Charles could be, he was a good man, husband, father and Christian.  He wasn’t a Bible-thumper(as he used to call some at Baylor).  He lived his life reflecting Christ’s love to others.  He was not only a coach and encourager to his girls, but also to their friends.  They all loved Mr. Fortinberry!  He was an honest businessman who would rather take a loss than cheat a customer.

On his tombstone is the inscription “a race well run”.  His life was too short but it was run with enthusiasm and joy and love.  The girls always say he crammed more good “daddying” into the years we had him than most dads do in a lifetime!

Sarah: We are so proud of our NYC Marathon runners! Winnie, our Brand Manager and Reese, our intern both completed the NYC Marathon Sunday.

Margaret and I were raised runners. Our dad trained and completed his first marathon after he gained as much weight as my mom did when she was pregnant with my sister. His friend challenged him to run the Houston Marathon. He did…and was hooked.

Our parents ended up moving out of “Houston proper” to Kingwood…for the running trails. There are miles and miles our greenbelt trails in Kingwood, making it the perfect place to train…also lots of shade from all the pine trees.  He trained with a group of guys…I believe called the Kingwood Runners. His running buddies became a staple in all of our lives. They would usually meet at our house in the dark and run 20 plus miles before any of the rest of the family had opened our eyes. He was always training for something.

He also took it to the next level with Ultra Marathons. I started running with my dad when I was around 9 or 10 years old. We ran in any race we could find. Mostly 5k’s for charities and a few 10k’s. Our favorite was the Blue Bell fun run in Brenham, TX. After the race they opened up the Blue Bell trucks full of ice cream and we were welcomed to dig in. Charles Fortinberry loved Blue Bell ice cream as much as he loved running.

Margaret and I both ran track in middle school and high school…and our dad coached us as much, if not more that our actual coaches did. He was a fanatic… in a good way. He would get as nervous as we would before a race. My pre-race jitters manifested in a good barfing session before almost every race. It became a norm and my friends would say…she is ready to KATN now. A term our dad taught us…and all of our friends. Kick Ass and Take Names.

Flash forward to post college, after a stint in Maui, living in Houston again right after 911. I decided to run the Houston Marathon. I don’t think I had run more than a 10k at this point, so I joined a training group called Houston Fit. I ended up with great coaches who became great friends and paired up with a perfect running partner that would listen to my stories as we ran…I am a talker and she was a good listener. 

My sweet running partner had a bad case of the runs during the race…no pun intended, so I stopped with her every time she needed a potty break.  We ran a 3:45, and at the end of the race my coach told me I would have qualified for Boston on my first marathon if I hadn’t stopped with my friend at all the porty potties. I wouldn’t have done it any other way. Having a friend to run with and endure all those tough miles, was part of why I loved running. Misery loves company, but victory also loves company.

Training for months and completing a marathon with someone you put in all the work with is pretty special. Also, as fate would have it, one of my dad’s old running buddies found me after the race and told me I beat my dad’s first marathon time by 15 minutes. So goals were set for next year.

Next Houston marathon I ran a 3:36 and qualified for Boston. My running partner I was training with for Boston got injured and was not able to run. We convinced our friend…who was not in training and had never run a marathon to run in her place. Heather is an animal and picked up the training with me about a month before the race and went on to run Boston with me and we had a blast. Heather has continued running her tail off and has run Boston several times since and has gone on to compete in Iron Man races as well. She caught the bug big time.

My last marathon I ran was The Marine Core Marathon in Washington D.C. My dad was a proud Marine so that made it extra special. I trained with Team In Training and raised over $5000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of a college friend fighting the disease. It was my toughest marathon yet…and my last. I trained with a gal that was running a different Marathon, so for the actual race I ran solo for the first time ever. I got a blister at mile 6 which was not ideal. One of my college friends, Curt yelled from the crowd…Fortinberry…what are you doing? I had not seen Curt since college and it made my day and lifted my spirits at just the right time. The race course goes around all the monuments and ends at the Iwo Jima memorial. It is called “The People’s race” so there are no “invited” runners. So, to my surprise my bib number was super low and I started pretty close to the actual starting line. They had parachuters drop out of helicopters at the start after the National Anthem. It was one of the most memorial races I have run and I highly recommend it.

My running shoes have turned into walking shoes, but exercise is still my therapy and brings me so much joy. After writing all this…I may pick up the pace and see if I still have any KATN in my blood.