My wife has been a devotee of this group for about six months, giving it her rapt attention when she should have been giving attention to me. I have been an occasional reader, thinking of submitting a whimsical post occasionally, but deciding to wait until my son could bestow greater credibility upon my reflections. I guess that time has arrived.

Three turning points have marked Trevor's life as a racewalker. First, how he began racewalking at age 9 (as Tom Eastler has accurately calculated): as Trevor has recounted in recent interviews, his sister entered track and field after discovering that she was a good jumper and he tagged along. In 2001 she earned an expenses-paid-by-Dad trip to the Junior Olympics in Sacramento, including her first plane flight, and Trevor, having placed consistently near the back in the sprints and long jump, stayed home. Trevor resolved that next year he would be on the plane. As a result he tried every event available to a bantam and ended up qualifying for the 2002 Omaha Junior Olympics in three events. There he placed 27th in both the turbo-javelin and high jump, but second in the racewalk. He was inspired. John MacLachlan and Ray Kuhles were starting their Racewalking International youth training program that year and, failing to notice that the brochure said they wanted kids age 12 and over, signed him up.

Second, what made him begin to train more seriously: during his years with Ray Kuhles Trevor learned a lot but didn't practice much, because he was a dedicated and high-performing swimmer. He won Junior Olympic titles in 2003-2005 anyhow. In fall 2005 his epileptic seizures became sufficiently frequent and problematic that he was kicked out of his swim club. As small compensation during this despondent period, we gave him, as a 2005 Christmas present, a free trip to south Texas. He went there in March 2006, living with the Vergara family for a week and experiencing rigorous racewalk training for the first time. Trevor had successful brain surgery in August 2006 but never returned to serious swimming.

Third, what reversed Trevor's decision to quit racewalking: Trevor was so sensitive to the teasing he received while training in a park near our home that he resolved to become a runner once he returned from the 2008 World Race Walking Cup in Russia. He refused to go to Junior Nationals even though it was just three hours away and instead ran through the summer and then through a distinctly subpar cross-country season. Angry about his performance in the local cross-country championships, he committed himself to a brutal running schedule for two more weeks, after which he decided that the training plan was unsustainable and the goal of being a great runner was probably unachievable. At that point he returned to racewalking.

Several important observations arise from these highlights. First, because racewalking is so far down the food chain of U.S. athletic activities, great swimmers don't racewalk and great runners don't racewalk. We tend to get only the middle-of-the-barrel athlete who may be good but not stupendous in other disciplines. This is not an ideal situation, but since we will not change the culture overnight we need to accept it and present racewalking as an exciting, demanding, but rewarding discipline as broadly as possible. Since incorporation of racewalking into high school and NCAA programs is not around the corner, perhaps highlighting our sport's international popularity may help.

On the other hand, the Three Rivers Association of USA Track and Field made Trevor's success possible. In the nine years of our involvement with this association, every single local or association championship meet—-about 60 in all-—has included a racewalk. One meet each year drops the 400 meters to save time, but no meet ever drops the racewalk. (Once when a meet was running late the announcer proposed canceling the racewalk, but I stormed the field and prevented this deletion.) As a result Trevor saw a few kids who could racewalk and a few coaches who knew how to teach it. Without this initial opportunity, none of his other steps forward in the ensuing seven years could ever have happened.

One more significant observation can be readily deduced from Trevor's story: it is hard for a teenager to train as a racewalker. Combine few coaches, few training partners, few scholarships, and no recognition (except for the teasing), and then consider the amount of time needed to develop the endurance to succeed at the 10-kilometer distance, and it's not surprising that we have such a small cohort of high schoolers pursuing this discipline. Moreover, it is hard to imagine that Trevor could have enjoyed such a successful 2009 season if he had spent the winter in Pittsburgh, with its difficult weather, total absence of serious racewalkers, and lack of indoor training facility. His success required parents willing to remove Trevor from the middle of his junior year of high school, send him to sunny San Diego for four months, and tolerate his temporary decline into academic mediocrity. (Trevor, generally an excellent student, has agreed to delay his progress into college by at least a year.)

We may have a relatively small racewalking community, but many people who have made significant contributions to Trevor's growth can claim a share of the credit for his recent successes. A few are worth naming-—apologies in advance to any I omit. I have already mentioned John MacLachlan, Ray Kuhles, and the Vergaras. Debbie Williams of the South Park Track Club taught Trevor to racewalk when no one in our own club could do so. The Nemeths and Labashes were two racewalk-knowledgeable and encouraging families in our association. A.C. Jaime welcomed Trevor to Texas several times and offered great encouragement. David Lawrence and Allen James gave Trevor the chance to train and race with them in the Buffalo area. Vince Peters has offered invaluable support in many ways, including a ride to the 2008 indoor meets. Zachary Pollinger was Trevor's first racewalking mentor and Bill Pollinger has offered untiring encouragement and counsel, even when awarding Trevor those dreaded red cards. Mike Rohl and Mike Dewitt have provided suggestions at crucial moments. Others have participated in the racewalk training camps. John Nunn gave Trevor a place to live in San Diego and of course Tim Seaman has given high-quality, low-cost coaching to a sometimes high-strung, low-communication teenager.

Those who wonder about USATF's support of racewalkers may find our experience encouraging. Trevor has been funded for three international trips in the last 15 months, with a fourth (to Trinidad for Pan Am Juniors) ahead. That doesn't even count USA vs. Canada, in which he did not compete. He was also funded (along with the Sorensons) for two weeks of training in California with Tim Seaman immediately prior to Junior Nationals. I have had three conversations with national youth chair Lionel Leach in the last month, two by phone and one today in person at the Region 2 Junior Olympics in Jamestown, NY. (That's right, my family went to Italy and I went to Jamestown. Happily, I got to watch a 9-year-old girl from our youth club complete a beautiful 1500-meter racewalk and position herself as a serious candidate for a national Junior Olympic championship. We're doing our part to build the racewalking pipeline, though even in our youth club nobody who can do any other event well bothers with the racewalk.) Lionel has expressed strong support for investment in upgrading the quality of youth racewalking, and I have offered our assistance in any way possible.

Except that it is harder for me to be Trevor's training partner, now that he has walked a 10k faster than I can run it.

One last suggestion – since we are a relatively small community, let's try not to eat each other up, on this discussion group or anywhere else.

Now I will return to my preferred status in the shadows. But if I can be helpful in any way, contact me at brucepfi@aol.com

--Bruce Barron Trevor's dad