Scott Gatlin RIF #80
This week’s RIF Club Profile is Scott Gatlin #80. Scott is another on of our RIF runners from Tennessee. From all that I’ve seen so far, there is a fun and supportive running community in the Volunteer State. You’ll see in Scott’s interview that he’s got a pretty good running support community of his own, one he found and one he inspired!
Meet Scott Gatlin:
INFO
Name: Scott Gatlin
RIF #: 80
Twitter: @Gocart223
Facebook: Scott Gatlin
STATS
Years Running: 4 years
Favorite Race Distance: Half marathon
Favorite PR: New Orleans Rock and Roll Half Marathon
Favorite Race: St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis
Favorite Bling: New Orleans Half Marathon
Next Race: Local 5-10k’s, including the Thanksgiving Day 5K in Jackson TN, then St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis
What Makes You FEEL Fast?: Sprinting in my cross-training workouts. I’m much better at sprints than distance, and hope to compete in the Tennessee Senior Olympics track and field sprints in 2013.
FUN RUNNING QUESTIONS
Who inspires your running and why? My training/running friends have inspired my running since the beginning. In particular, David (RIF #84) and Stephanie invited me, coached me, encouraged me, ran my pace early on, and have become the caretakers of our running group, which has grown to over 30 runners. I run because of those relationships. Fitness, while a blessing, is secondary to the relationships and the camaraderie. So many times our training runs are just excuses to be together and enjoy each other.
If you could go for a run with any famous person (living or dead), who would it be and why? I’d enjoy training or running a race with George W. Bush. While he made some mistakes in office, I admire him for many reasons, including a marathon in the 3:30’s. He’d have to slow down for me.
What is the strangest/funniest thing you’ve ever seen while running? Our running group really enjoys running in falling snow, but before the roads become dangerous. On one particular snow run, which happened to fall at about 9:00 pm on a Sunday night, many drivers acted like they’d never seen runners before. They were honking, stopping and yelling, and seemed completely amazed that we would run in that weather. Their comments along our route in North Jackson were the most amusing thing that’s happened to me while running. But I guess the drivers were the ones seeing something funny….
Why do you race? I race because I really need a training goal in front of me. I enjoy training with my friends, but it’s far too easy to slack off, especially in the heat of the summer, if a race is not looming in the future. And in every race I run, I enjoy talking to folks I don’t know during the race. I’m not sure if they enjoy it or not…. And I really have grown to cherish the post-race fellowship – hearing the stories, the successes, the challenges of my training partners. The social atmosphere of racing has become a huge blessing for me.
Big races or small races? And why? I love the atmosphere and noise, energy, excitement, crowds, and hoopla of big races (NOLA, St. Jude), but I think I enjoy the local smaller races as much or more. It’s comfortable to run where I train. It’s great to sleep in my own bed before the race. And it’s like a family reunion after the small local races, including the Andrew Jackson Marathon and Half Marathon. Spending time with the running community is something that I really enjoy.
What is the one piece of running gear you can’t leave the house without? Garmin Forerunner 305. We joke that we almost refuse to run if we can’t upload it and get credit for it.
What running moment are you most proud of? I’m most proud of my April 2012 PR in the NOLA half marathon. While I was elated to knock off 9 minutes, I was much more excited that the change in diet and cross-training (CrossFit Jackson) had proven to work. In every prior half marathon, I’d bonked somewhere in the last 2-3 miles. That was not the case in April. My fastest five miles were the last five miles, all sub-8:00, and I had some gas left in the tank at the finish line. Feeling good at the end of a race was a huge change, and one that I intend to do again.
Is there anything else you would like the rest of the club to know that we didn’t cover in the questions? The most gratifying aspect of my running has come gradually. One by one, each of my family have begun running and pursuing a lifestyle of health and fitness. I was blessed to run the New Orleans Half Marathon with my oldest son, Jesse, and his wife in April (the first half for him), and my younger son, Brooks, ran the Andrew Jackson Half Marathon with me, step for step, later that month. Their wives run and race as well. And my wife, Jamie, who has never involved herself in exercise until now, is running and exercising and has dropped around 40 pounds in 2012. I can’t wait to run a race with her at her pace and be with her when she crosses the finish line. Running and fitness has blessed and unified our entire family. A Gatlin Family race shirt is not far in our future, and I’m looking forward to the day when my grandsons are old enough to train and race with us.
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It’s so cool that Scott’s family has taken up running and that it’s brought them closer together. Congratulations to Jamie for losing weight and running too! I can’t wait to see the Gatlin Family race shirt. I think what I liked most about Scott’s interview is that he is using CrossFit to make himself a stronger runner and that he knows what his strengths and weaknesses are. He has big plans (the Tennessee Senior Olympics Track & Field 2013) and I have no doubt he will get there.
Thanks for sharing Scott! Good luck with your running & racing!
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[All photos submitted by Scott Gatlin]
