Monday, February 15, 2016

In Memorium


Before I'd ever even given running a second thought, I was closer to the sport than I could have imagined.  As a very young girl, I had a distant Uncle, Hector Rodriguez, who apparently fell as deeply in love with this sport of ours as I did. (or, by the track records, 10x times more in love, but who's counting! ;)).  We lived closest to him when I was 5 years old to seven, and lived in Florida.  I don't remember much about him then, except that the family called him 'el corredor' (the runner) or 'el campion' (the champ), and he'd be at most of the extended family gatherings (birthdays, holidays, etc).  Besides a runner, he was also the relative known for having married "una Americana" (white woman).  That was pretty news worthy back then, too.  But that's all 7 year old Judy remembers. :)

When my mother, brother and I moved to New Jersey, we saw him less.  But being near NYC, we did see him at least annually. ;)  Sometimes, I recall, logistics were a problem.  He'd drive a HUGE work truck up to the race from Florida, and wasn't allowed on the non-commercial streets.  So of course, he'd run in to New Jersey to visit with his Uncle (my grandfather), and the rest of us.  I don't remember talking about running with him until I joined the cross-country team my Freshman year in high school, and even then, no details of our conversations stick out.  Missed opportunities.  I only went to watch him run the marathon once (locals avoid tourist events like the plague in NYC; I've only been to see the ball drop on NYE once, too).  And my memory is vague here too.  The thought that sticks out is that I wasn't allowed to pass the red solo cup to a runner; my job was to pass the red solo cup to a relative, who would pass the cup to the runners. Haha.  

Now as an adult, I am fascinated by his story, and his accomplishments.  This obituary was my start point, and I think you all would enjoy the short read, too:


Hard to imagine how much courage it would take to defect from Cuba during the Pan American Games!  Sheesh, all I worry about besides running during a race is my hair game. ;) 

From here, most of the other things I found came from Googling both him and his long time friend Alan Miller.  These short articles in the Florida papers detail his life's story.  



I was even excited to learn they'd run a charity 5K in his honor while he was in the hospital.  If this had become an annual event, I would seriously have to get there:

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2005-08-21/sports/0508200488_1_race-ing-miami-marathon-runners

I hope to add to this entry an old picture or two;  I will have to raid my mother's albums when I am next in NJ.  I also hope to add other tidbits, if I ever find more information.  Documenting a family member's journey into running gives me a way to make up for the fact that I wouldn't find my true passion for running until 5 years after his passing, and too late to connect on that topic with him in this world. :/

RIP, Uncle Hector.
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