I Tried to Coach Kids How to Run But Got Schooled Instead

A marathon is a far easier feat of endurance

My nametag said coach, but I still had a lot to learn. All images by author

This fall, I volunteered to be a running coach at a local elementary school.

The role seemed tailor-made for me: I’m an avid marathoner, I recently retired, and, as a father of two, I know kids. Or so I thought.

Starting with my paternity leave that lasted just a week, I was often absent when our sons were young. Believing that focusing on my career was the best way to support my family, I left much of the day-to-day parenting to my poor wife. I vividly recall on one work trip sitting helpless in a Tokyo hotel room, as Margaret screamed over the phone that she had locked herself in the bedroom to escape our shrieking one- and three-year-olds, whose cries I could clearly hear across the ocean.

Tears long since dried, those kids are now grown and away at college. As I putter around our empty house, I can’t help but feel pangs of regret and guilt. In the end, I wonder, was it really worth it to miss the countless school plays, soccer games, and family meals?

So when the coaching assignment arose, I saw more than an opportunity to teach kids how to run; I saw a chance at redemption.