RUNNING IN THE ZONE CO-EDITOR IS A BOBBLE-HEAD!
No, no, that is not some sort of new taunt or insult! It is a high compliment.
My Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes co-editor, Steve King, has been immortalized in the form of a bobble-head doll. You don’t get your very own BHD (short for Bobble-Head Doll) without doing something remarkable. In fact, I’m pretty sure the next step is a bronze statue but with just one exception of which I know, at least around Vancouver (- the famous British Empire Games ‘moment’ from the Landy/Bannister miracle mile) those tend not to be for the living and we are definitely not wanting to move to that stage for a very, very long time.
Trying to pay proper tribute to Steve is not simple or easy. I have known him, run with him and written with him starting back around 1985-86. Back in those days Steve was more a runner, but I have a few old news clippings from the era when he used to write about the very active road running scene in the Okanagan, and while were still living there he began announcing the early Ironman Canada events. I can prove we were running together back then with the ‘ancient’ team photo of Bob’s Border Busters – the very first Hood to Coast team of which I was ever a part. That experience must have stuck because in a few days I will be leaving for my 8th Hood to Coast as the captain and a member of Canucks to the Coast. A close examination of the photograph of that fine first team indicates that Steve (back – 3rd from left) and I (back – 2nd from right) were a wee bit younger back in 1987.
The very development and writing of RITZ – the book, is a tribute to the depth of Steve’s involvement in our world of running. Steve remained in the Okanagan from those days in the 80’s, but I left in 1990 and will not forget the send-off by my running friends – held where? In Steve and Jean’s backyard, of course! I still have the original and much treasured Penticton Pounders singlet that was given to me as a gift that night. It was some years before Steve and I were physically in the same area again. By then he was the go-to guy when it came to announcing and commentating. Our first re-encounter was at the start of the Royal Victoria Marathon in 2000. From there we stayed in touch and eventually I approached him with the idea of a book to encourage and celebrate older runners. The concept had a few versions and tentative titles, including “Running in the Shade”.  Slowly it became Running in the Zone and the idea solidified, of inviting a bunch of avid runners, some very well known and some less so, to contribute to the package. Naturally, we invited more people than actually accepted, but as such things go the percentage success was nothing short of phenomenal. Why? Almost entirely because Steve knew most of these people, which allowed our approach to be personal. I won’t go into a long list of names of the 26 contributors or the titles of their pieces. You can quickly check that by just clicking “A Peek Inside the Covers” and look at the Table of Contents. You will see Olympians and world record holders as well as a number of builders of our sport and yes, passionate avid runners, like me. We organized the ‘zones‘, otherwise generally known as chapters after we received the contributions. We told our potential contributors the approximate size of the piece and the general thrust of the book, but largely left it to each of them to speak their minds and hearts. The result was some amazing writing, much of it from people who are otherwise not writers. That was my part in this undertaking. Having experience with editing in various forms, I helped our contributors to get their submissions into final form. It was always easy to tell when you had a good one, because regardless of the technical writing skill of any given author (and some of our contributors were professional writers in their own right) the raw beauty and strength always showed through. Steve and I worked with these wonderful gracious people to finalize and finally publish Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes.
Steve, while accomplished in so many areas – a kind of ‘man for all seasons’, is best known by most people in running and triathlon events as “The Voice”. It is interesting to know how many people have never really seen Steve and kind of don’t know who he is until you mention the announcer at the finish of Ironman or the Sun Run or Victoria or Vancouver marathons. The response is almost always something like “Oh him! He is amazing!” I remember one time when RITZ first came out and Steve and I were working our booth together: several people had come up and were showing interest/chatting, but only when Steve started talking to them did his distinctive voice register. They would suddenly realize who he was. You could literally see the ‘light’ come on.
I can’t tell you how many people head for finish lines in hopes that Steve will call them in and add a little colour. That, by the way, includes ME. I’m sorry. Full confession – I am shallow and weak – but I still love to hear it when Steve manages to give me a shout-out. Now with me, Steve doesn’t get any special credit for knowing a lot of stuff. I mean, we’ve known each other something approaching thirty years. What does amaze and thrill most people is that with whatever bits of info he may have gathered from a race entry or just having recognized a name from a previous race, Steve can tell a story about what any given runner has been doing. In a very recent post I talked about my grandson Charlie who just did his first Kids of Steel triathlon in Penticton, complete with Steve King race announcing. What a way to start your racing career! And apparently, Steve gave him the full treatment.  What Steve has is a gift not possessed by many, and Steve uses it well. We are all glad.
So, without going on and on about what so many already know about Steve and his announcing, what about this BHD? I was as surprised and pleased as anybody else when the news came out regarding this immortalization and tribute. Apparently, I was not a lot more surprised than Steve himself when the idea was floated as a means to create a vehicle for promoting our sport and raising a bit of money for charity. There was clearly some behind the scenes skulduggery of the highest order before Bobble-Head Steve was introduced to the world. The likeness is quite remarkable! I am seeking out my very own Steve King BHD because anytime Steve and I are in the same place at the same time and maybe one of the purposes is selling Running in the Zone, Steve is generally busy preparing to do what he does best. So with the Bobble-Head Doll, my co-editor can now always be there with me at any such public appearance! Maybe I need to get a recording that I can play for those that only recognize “The Voice”.
In all seriousness, this piece is my own little tribute to the contribution Steve makes to people and sport. Steve King’s web site can be found in the link here, and there you can take your own sweet time to find out more about his many skills and accomplishments. That list is extensive starting with his own career as race walker and later a runner. His ‘regular’ job is in addictions counseling and I am sure the combination of his caring nature and willingness to call a spade a spade makes him very successful in that field. There are many things that give enjoyment to we weekend warriors who run for the sheer fun and joy of it. A big one is the encouragement that comes from someone who can make you feel like you just won something big, even when you are slogging in at 3,658 out of 4,812 at some big race or another. (In case you aren’t following, that would be me.)
There is one more thing that must be said. For many, many years Steve has relied on the support and actual assistance of his wonderful wife, Jean. I’m pretty sure that he, before anyone else, would say this. Because, as with so many things, because the final product is what the great bulk of us see, we never know what is behind it all. As I noted, I don’t get much time at races to catch up with Steve because he is preparing (often for many hours) for his ‘effortless’ commentary. Jean is very much a part of that, as well as the race-day action that includes anything from spotting (those are binoculars in her hands in the picture to the left) to keeping him supplied with whatever he needs whether that be coffee or critical bits of paper tucked here and there. As with so many other things, Steve has put us all to shame and although my wife Judi and I are about to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary in just a few days, I have to warn her that I have not made her a musical CD to commemorate all those years together. Yep, Steve did that. It is called “Songs for Jean”. Many are appropriate covers, such as (what other than?) “Jean”, but at least one is an original song written just for her. Frankly, me not doing such a thing is more a kindness where it comes to my singing and musical talent, but as I already mentioned, Steve is one of those rare ‘man for all seasons’ kind of people.
So, are there any questions now as to why Steve has his own Bobble-Head? Thought not!
NOTE: Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes is now available in e-book format from Trafford Publishing