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  THE MAN WHO INSPIRED ME TO BECOME A DISTANCE RUNNER

When I was growing up in grade school and junior high school I was terrible when it came to physical activities. When they picked teams for Gym class, I was usually the last person to be picked. When we would do running in class, I would usually be the last one to finish.

The first change in this area came on October 28, 1963. I was 13 at the time, and in the 8^th Grade at Hanley Junior High School. That evening I received in the mail a recently published book that I had ordered about the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. (John Kennedy was the President at the time. This was about 3 weeks before his death.)

The book gave various calisthenic exercises that could be performed to build up strength and endurance. My brother and I decided that we would begin to follow the exercise routines in the book. Within a matter of weeks I definitely noticed an improvement.

During the following summer (August 1964) I managed to become good friends with one of the star athletes in our class named Bert Minkin. Whoever said that brawn and brains can’t go together never knew Bert Minkin during his junior high and high school days. Bert was as proficient discussing Classic English Literature as he was scoring a touchdown for the football team.

Anyway, in August 1964 Bert would take my brother Howard and me to the field at Mercy High School (which was right across street from where I lived) or else across street to Heman Park, and lead us through calisthenic and isometric exercises. During the routines he would occasionally intersperse this with having us run one-quarter mile sprints.

In October 1964 my cousin Martin and I began going out and running together through the neighborhood on Sunday Mornings. We would usually go one mile, although on one occasion (I believe it was on October 25) we went all out and managed to complete 2 miles. By the middle of November, however, the weather began to turn cold, so we stopped going out and running on Sundays.

My real interest in running longer distances, however, began on Monday, April 19, 1965. During lunch period at school I walked out into the bleachers above the track and the athletic field, since it was a nice day. That was when I noticed a man running the track at a fast pace. Although I didn’t know specifically who he was, I did know that he was a teacher at the school.

I asked one of the boys who was in the bleachers who the man was that was running. The boy explained that the man was Mr. Frohlichstein, who was a math teacher. The boy said, “He does this everyday when the weather is good. He runs three miles during his lunch period. Sometimes he runs alone, and sometimes he runs with Mr. Kashner.” (Mr. Kashner was one of the Gym teachers.)

I later found out that Mr. Frohlichstein’s first name was Jack, although in those days no student would think of calling a teacher by their first name. I also later found out that at the time Mr. Frohlichstein was 36 years old.

As I watched Mr. Frohlichstein run the track and thought about how he did this for three miles every day, I decided that I wanted to be able to do that. That evening I went over to Heman Park with the intention of running 3 miles. I didn’t even come close to reaching that goal. I barely made one mile, but I nevertheless felt that it was a good accomplishment.

The following day, I came out to the bleachers again during lunch while Mr. Frohlichstein was running the track. I remarked what good shape he must be in to run 3 miles. One of the boys said, “That’s just a warm up for Mr. Frohlichstein. I understand that on weekends he goes out and runs some really long distances.” Now I was even more determined than ever to develop my running skills. As a result of this, I began to go out and run in the evenings 3 to 4 times a week.

The following year I left Hanley Junior High School and began attending University City Senior High School as a sophomore. Although it would be 27 more years before I would see Mr. Frohlichstein again, he remained an inspiration to me. I kept up with the running.

Later that year (December 1965) my father bought my brother and me a weightlifting set from Sears for $29. I’m still using that weightlifting set today. (Unlike some people, I never used heavy weights. I stayed with lighter weights just to keep my muscles toned up.) So between the weightlifting and the running I was keeping myself in good shape.

When I was in high school we would sometimes do endurance runs during Gym class. The object was to run as many laps as possible during a 30 minute period. Each student would hold onto a card and the Gym Teacher would “punch a hole in it” every time the student made a lap around the track.

During the spring of 1967, Kenny Abrams and I were the two best endurance runners in the class, so we would usually run together during these events. I was a junior and Kenny was a senior. While most students in the class would run between 10 and 12 laps during these events, Kenny and I would usually run 15 laps. One day we even pushed extra hard and ran 16 laps. (The track at the high school was one-quarter mile for each lap, so 16 laps was 4 miles.)

The following year Kenny left for college, and I have not seen him since. However, several months ago Kenny and I did become Facebook Friends. I was not too surprised to learn that he is still a long distance runner.

One day in November 1967 we were scheduled to do one of the endurance runs in Gym class. I was boasting how I was sure that I would finish in first place, just as Kenny and I had done last year. One of the boys named Ben said, “I’m afraid you’re going to have to settle for second place. Because I intend to be first.” I said, “You’re a sophomore, right? I’m a senior, and there is no way that any sophomore is going to beat me.” Ben said, “I’m not just any sophomore. I’m a sophomore who is on the Cross Country Team.”

I gave my best performance ever that day on the endurance run, completing 17 laps. But I didn’t even come close to Ben, who completed 20 laps. I watched in amazement as he passed me three times so quickly that it looked like I was standing still. Afterwards I asked Ben if he was the best runner on the Cross Country Team. He said, “No, I’m about average.” That’s when I realized that while I may be a good runner compared to the average student in the school, I wasn’t even in the same league with the students who were on the Cross Country Team.

After graduating from high school in 1968, I seemed to lose interest in running, although I was doing a lot of walking for exercise. I returned to running full time during the summer of 1981, and have (weather permitting) stayed with it over the years.

One Sunday in May 1984, I entered a 4 mile run which was sponsored by St John’s Hospital and St Luke’s Hospital.  They announced that the results of the run would be posted on the wall in both hospitals later in the week. The following Saturday I stopped by the lobby of St John’s Hospital to look at the posted results. There was one name on the board which caught my eye. “Jack Frohlichstein — Age 55”. Could that be the same Jack Frohlichstein who ran the track at Hanley Junior high School back in 1965? It seemed likely that it was the same person. Perhaps we would meet again someday.

On the morning of Memorial Day (May 25) in 1992, I was standing at the starting area waiting for the University City Memorial Day 10-K (6.2 mile) run to begin, when I glanced over at the name tag of the man who   was standing next to me. The name tag said, “Jack Frohlichstein”. Although I hadn’t seen Mr. Frohlichstein in 27 years, it was obviously the same man.

I said, “You probably don’t remember me, but back in 1965 when you were teaching Math at Hanley Junior High School you were the person who inspired me to get interested in running long distances. I remember watching you run the track at lunch time.” He acknowledged that he was the same person who I thought that he was. I then said, “Mr. Frohlichstein, I wonder if I could ask you for a favor. Would you allow me the honor of running this race with you?” He said, “Call me Jack. If you can keep up with me, then you are more than welcome to run with me.”

The last time that I saw Mr. Frohlichstein — make that Jack — in 1965, I was 15 and Jack was 36. I was now 42 and Jack was 63. As we ran together we caught up with each other on the last 27 years. In the early 1970’s Jack left Hanley Junior High School, and began teaching Math at Parkway High School. He eventually retired from there. During the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s he completed more Marathons than he could count. Today he pretty much was limiting himself to 10-K (6.2 mile) and 5-K (3.1 mile) runs. I guess that everything is relative. I think of a 10-K as a very long distance for a run. But Jack referred to a 10-K as a “limited distance run”. I guess compared to a Marathon, a 10-K is a limited distance run.

Although I was 21 years younger than Jack, I really struggled to keep up with him that morning. On a couple of occasions I almost told him to “go ahead without me”. But I ultimately kept up with him for the entire race. I was quite proud of myself for being able to keep up with a champion runner for 6 miles, even if that champion runner was now 63 years old.

Although towards the end of the run Jack did say something which made me a “little less” proud. Jack mentioned that a few days earlier he had pulled a muscle in his leg during a training run, and consequently he was running slower than normal that morning. Then he told me something which I found even more amazing, as we were discussing our plans for the remainder of the day. After the run I planned on eating lunch at Ciceros, stopping by the cemetery to visit my grandparents gravesite, then going home to take a nap. Jack, on the other hand, was going to run in the University City 5-K (3.1 mile) run which would begin less than an hour later. Running two races the same morning at any age (must less at the age of 63) is an amazing accomplishment. And if that were not enough, that afternoon Jack planned on entering a Senior Olympics swimming contest.

One other thing that I learned when I was talking to Jack during the race. He was the person who founded the University City Memorial Day Run back in 1976.

Although since that date I’ve seen Jack Frohlichstein at many races, we never again ran together. It seems that I would see him after the run was over, as opposed to seeing him near the starting line. Some champions brag about their achievements while others are modest. Jack is one who is modest. When I would see him after a race and congratulate him on his good running time he would shrug me off and say something along the lines of, “That’s not good. I was way too slow.”

During 2009, I saw Jack at two different races. He was now 80 years old, and he was still going out and running 3 miles every other morning. Is that great or what?

In September 2010, I saw Jack Frohlichstein at the JCCA Labor Day Run. I wished Jack good luck with the run. He said, “I’m not running today. I’m sick, so I’m just here to watch.” I said, “What’s wrong? Do you have one of those summer colds that are going around?”  Jack said, “It’s a little more serious than that. I was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago. Right now I’m going through chemotherapy, and that’s just leaving me too weak to run. But I assure you that once I’m finished with the chemotherapy, you’ll see me out running once again.”

I’m hoping that Jack gets better soon, and can return to running once again. He is a fine runner, and equally important, he is a very fine man! He has been a great inspiration for me, and I’m sure that he has also been a great inspiration for a lot of other people during his lifetime.

As for me, I’m now 61 years old. I still go out and run, but it seems like I’ve been getting much slower since I turned 55. The last two years I finished in last place at the University City Memorial Day Run. But at least I did run the entire way.

As for some of the other fine long distance runners who I currently know:

One of those runners is Joan Becker. I first met her on June 9, 2007 at — of all places — a hospital endoscopy unit. I was sitting in the lobby nervously awaiting the test that I was about to undergo when Joan, who is a Registered Nurse, walked out and with a cheerful smile on her face asked me if I were ready to come in. I said, “I guess so. If I try to run away you will probably be able to catch me.” She smiled and said, “It won’t be that bad.” And it wasn’t bad at all.

That morning when I was telling some of the other staff members about my comment they laughed and said, “Joan certainly would have been able to catch you if you tried to run away. She is a Marathon Runner.”

When I later mentioned this to the staff in my doctor’s office they informed me that not only was Joan a Marathon Runner, but that she has traveled all over the country to enter Full Marathon and Half Marathon Runs. They said, “She is a great runner, a great nurse, and a great person.” Can’t ask for a nicer compliment than that.

Another fine long distance runner is Mike Rich, who I bowl with. In fact I just saw him a few hours ago when we bowled in a tournament sponsored by our mutual friends Adam and David Cohen, which raised money for the Humane Society.

Mike has plenty of Marathons, Half Marathons and 10-K runs under his belt.

Another fine long distance runner is a dentist named Nate Klarfeld, who went to high school with me. Nate is both a Marathon Runner, and a mixed martial arts champ.

And he knows how to inspire people. When I told him how I came in last place at the University City Memorial Day Run last year, his response was, “There is no such thing as last place for anyone who passes the starting line, much less the finish line. You beat every single person who didn’t show up this morning.”

Finally, there is Kenny Abrams, who was my running partner in high school and still runs long distances today. Kenny no longer lives near Saint Louis, but perhaps one day he and I will get the opportunity to share the same running trail.

UPDATE: MAY 30 2011:

This morning I entered the University City Memorial Day 10-K Run. Due to the fact that I didn’t get in nearly as much training time as I wanted this year, I had some serious doubts as to whether I would even be able to finish the run.

Before the race I saw Mike Rich (who I referred to above), who was entering the 10-K run. We talked for a few minutes, and wished each other good luck.

As I was lining up to start the race, I found myself standing next to Maurie, who is a long time friend of Joan Becker, who I mentioned above. Maurie is a nurse who I also know from the hospital. She mentioned that although she has run in many different races in the past, this was the first time that she had run in the University City Memorial Day Run. She mentioned that Joan was also running that morning, but that Joan was starting near the front of the group.

I said, “Maurie, on at least two occasions you gave me pep talks to get me through medical procedures. Any chance you could give me a pep talk right now to give me extra confidence to make it through this race?” She said, “Sure. Think positive, and I know that you will do just great.”  I said, “Well, great may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I’ll try hard to at least finish. And I know that you are going to do very well.” A few minutes later the starting bell sounded, we shook hands, and the race had begun.

I ultimately finished the race, although I came in last place. My speed ranged from very slow to ridiculously slow. But I was proud of the fact that I finished the race.

As I was getting ready to leave I saw Jack Frohlichstein. He is finished with his chemotherapy, and is now cured of the cancer that he was diagnosed with last year. He is now 82 years old, and yes he did enter and complete the 5-K (3.1 mile) run this morning. You just can’t keep a good man down.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2011:

In September 2011, I met another person who served as an inspiration to my running.

Joan and Maurie invited me to enter the Molly Gleason 5-K Run, which raised money for leukemia research. Molly Gleason was a girl who died of Leukemia at the age of 11. Dying from this disease is tragic at any age, but especially tragic when it happens to someone at such a young age. Molly’s parents were both good friends with Maurie and Joan.

Early in the run I found myself running side by side with a man who introduced himself as Molly Gleason’s Grandfather. His name is Mr. Kenney. What is really amazing is that he is 85 years old. No, I didn’t make a typing mistake. He was born a few months after my mother. And he was keeping up with me!

He was a very interesting person to talk to. He explained how he ran his first Marathon at the age of 48. When he was in his early 50’s he ran the Pikes Peak Marathon. Running even short distances (much less a 26 mile Marathon) at that altitude can be quite brutal. This makes the Pikes Peak Marathon extremely difficult even by Marathon standards.

Not only was he an amazing runner, but he was a very accomplished running coach. Every time somebody would pass us he would say, “Come on. We can’t let them get ahead of us. Let’s pick up that pace.” We’d speed up until we caught up and passed the person or persons.

As we were going up one rather steep hill, I was complaining how tough the hill was. He said, “The reason you’re having trouble on the hill is because your form is weak. You need to pump those arms up and down. Have you ever done any boxing?” I said, “No, but I’m familiar with the boxing punches.” He said, “OK, I want you to pump your arms like you’re throwing some uppercut punches.” I said, “Interesting you should say that. I used to bowl with a man who was a former professional boxer. He used to tell me that a well thrown bowling ball is similar to a well thrown uppercut punch.” He said, “Forget about bowling, and start concentrating on your running. Start pumping those arms, and let’s get to the top of this hill.” He was right. It did make a difference.

When we were near the 2.5 mile point I commented on how amazed I was that he had kept up with me. He said, “I’m not keeping up with you. You’re keeping up with me. I’m the one who has been setting the pace here.” I looked at him and said, “Are you trying to tell me that you can run faster than this?” He said, “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. We’ve got about a half mile to go. I’ll race you to the finish line.”

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed it. He took off running like a jack rabbit. By the time that I approached the finish line he was standing there waiting for me yelling, “Come on. You’re loafing.”

In recent years I’ve used my age (now 61) as the reason why I’m running a lot slower. But Mr. Kenney was proof that people in good shape can be proficient runners even in their 80’s, much less their 60’s.

UPDATE MARCH 2012

Earlier in this article I mentioned that my running partner in Gym class in high school was a boy named Kenny Abrams. The last time that I saw Kenny was in June 1967, a few days before he graduated high school. That is until last week.

Kenny (who now lives near Dallas, Texas) and I have been Facebook Friends since 2010. He had a post a few weeks ago which said that he was coming to Saint Louis to enter the Saint Patrick’s Day 5 mile run. Since he was staying the whole weekend I suggested that we get together on Sunday.

So on Sunday morning we met for lunch at Saint Louis Bread Company. It was really great to see each other after all these years. When we last saw each other I was 17 and Kenny was 18. I’m now 62 and Kenny is 63. So we spent a lot of time catching up on each other’s lives during the past 45 years.

In high school Kenny and I were about equal in terms of running abilities. Today he can run circles around me.

A NEW BEGINNING  — UPDATE 2018

 

On December 2, 2016, I was diagnosed with some serious heart problems. I had three arteries that were blocked 80 to 90 percent. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I had a bad mitral valve plus atrial flutter. My cardiologist wanted me to see a cardiac surgeon about getting open heart  surgery as soon as possible.

You know how I am. Even though the cardiac surgeon, two cardiologists, my primary care doctor, and numerous other people told me that I needed the surgery I kept saying no.

I found myself getting weaker every day. Running became impossible. Even walking more than short distances became very difficult. It looked like my running career was over.

However, on June 8, 2017 (it was 400 days ago yesterday), I finally had the bypass surgery.  I spent the next 6 days in the ICU, where I struggled to walk from one end of the nurse’s station to the other. When they would take me walking somebody would push a wheelchair next to me, so that it I found that I couldn’t go any further, they could wheel me back to my room.

But as the days went by, I began to walk a little further every day. One day when a nurse named Kate took me walking outside of the ICU into the perimeter area, I pointed outside and talked about the times when I had run in that area. I said that I hoped to one day return and run that stretch of the street again. The look on her face suggested that she was skeptical.

If there was one thing that they taught me in the ICU was the importance of walking to build up my strength and independence. Less than a month after I was discharged from the ICU, I was walking 30 minutes every morning, and 30 minutes every evening.

And finally one day in September 2017, I did it. I went out and slowly jogged 2 miles. A couple of months later (November 2017), I returned to the street that was right outside of the hospital  where I had told Kate that I one day would once again go running. And I did slowly jog on that street for about 40 minutes. So I kept the promise.

On Memorial Day (May 28, 2018), I entered the University City 5-K (3.1 mile) run / walk. When I mentioned my plans to Joan (the nurse who is a Marathon Runner that I talked about above), she asked it I had cleared those plans with my cardiologist.  So I contacted my cardiologist (who is a long distance runner himself), and he said it should be fine if I wanted to combine slow jogging with walking. I jogged the first mile, walked the second mile, and alternated between walking and jogging the last mile. I didn’t even look at my time. I was just happy to cross the finish line.

So today I do a lot of walking, and a little bit of jogging. For many years I believed that only running and jogging really counted. I thought that walking was worth nothing. I now realize how wrong that belief was.  Walking is an excellent exercise. Maybe not as good as running, but it is the next best thing.

THE END OF A RUNNING LEGEND

On Friday, November 30, 2018, Jack Frohlichstein passed away at the age of 89. On that day the Saint Louis Running Community lost a great runner, and a great person.  He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. Those we keep in our hearts remain ours forever.

ONE MORE GREAT RUNNER

For several years during the 1990’s, I worked with a man named Tom Rooney. I had no idea that he was a runner. Just last year (2021), I learned that he is one of the best runners who I have ever known.

On his 55th birthday in 2021, he set a goal for himself for the next 365 days. His goal was to run 5 Marathons, 5 Half Marathons, five different 10-K runs, five different 5-K runs, place five “other races”. Exactly one year later, on his 56th birthday, he announced that he had reached that goal during the year that he was 55 years old. 

I am not aware of any other person who set that type of goal, much less successfully completed that goal.  Great running Tom!

OTHER ARTICLES WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR

 

To date this article has not been published anywhere. I’ve also written several other articles over the years, although none of the others were published either. A synopsis of my articles include:

Climate Control Nightmare — The time that it took me over two years to get a heater fixed on an old Cadillac.

The Rise in Bowling Averages — Discusses the rise in bowling averages from the 1950’s through the early part of this decade. Gives numbers along with potential reasons.

The Bird Mystery — Have you ever tried to prove that something did NOT happen? That’s what I had to do if I wanted to keep my sanity. Funny to read about today. Very aggravating at the time that it happened.

My Colonoscopy Experiences — What it is like to go through this test from a lay person’s perspective. It’s not as bad as it sounds. And it may have saved my life on two occasions.

Messages From Beyond The Grave — This one is rather controversial, dealing with the subject of life after death. It reaches no conclusions, merely spelling out some facts, leaving the readers to decide for themselves.

Trials and Tribulations of My Probation Period — I’ve worked at the same place for over 35 years. However, there was a time when I didn’t think that I was going to make it past my 90 day probation period.

Semi-Hustler — Another article about bowling — This one talks about people who understate their bowling ability to see the reaction of others when they have “beginners luck.”

The Library Visit That Saved Me From Cancer — Cancer can’t happen to me. It only happens to other people. Or so I thought, until a visit to the library taught me otherwise.

Carburetor Nightmare — Sort of a sequel to “Climate Control Nightmare”. When I couldn’t find any auto mechanic who really could work on the carburetor on my 1970 Cadillac, I found help from an unlikely source.

My Family’s First Luxury Car — Back in grade school, junior high school, and high school, I often wondered if my father would ever add some prestige to our family by purchasing a luxury car. It finally happened during my senior year of high school. But the outcome wasn’t exactly what I had been expecting.

The Man Who Inspired Me To Become A Distance Runner — I’ve been interested in running since I was about 14 years old. While a lot of people were instrumental in me getting and keeping that interest, there was one man who had a profound effect on me getting and keeping this interest.