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Lessons for cross country runners

As a mother of a son, daughter-in law and now grandson, I have learned a lot about running that I had no idea about before.

One thing for sure, my son did not get his talent from me or his father or anyone I know of in our family.

I remember when our son was in junior high school, he found out that there was a road race in Marietta taking place the same time as one of our daughter’s birthday parties. He insisted on going to the race so my husband took him to Marietta. My husband had his doubts about him running, for there were a lot of experienced runners stretching and doing what a runner does before the race starts. Our son had never entered a race before and even with his high top gym shoes and plain shorts, ended up finishing the race 7th overall and first in his age group, which I think was around 14 years old, but cannot remember for sure. After that race, my husband who knew nothing about racing, looked into getting him what was needed to take part in running.

At that time Dr. Forbes Hiehle was an active runner and we were friends, so my husband got him to show George what shoes and clothes he should get, and some advice if he planned to take part in running in the future and that was the history and what led to his very active part in the area running community, including running the Boston, New York, Chicago and the original Marathon in Athens, Greece. I have learned to like and enjoy running, and now my grandson Franklin seems to be following in his father’s footsteps by being heavily involved in cross country, road races and track.

The thing with cross country events, you get to see them start and unless you want to personally run to various places, you can watch them go by and then wait until you see them heading for the finish line.

Cross Country does not really get the attention that it deserves, but for those who participate, it is a very exciting sport plus it teaches them discipline and patience over the years. For sure it takes a lot of training, hard work plus a certain amount of talent to become a good distance runner, but I am sure they get great self-satisfaction once they reach the finish line.

There is a lot more to running, like taking extra care of their bodies and especially their legs, plus controlling what you eat, drink and make sure they are getting the proper rest. Cross country is a great team sport, where not only you help place your team in the top finishers, but also possible achieve a personal satisfaction by finishing in the top ten.

Long term success requires the runners to have a vision and to focus on both the present and future and develop a positive attitude. So I want to wish all of you, young and old, and ones that run for fun and ones that are competitive, all the best.

Below are recipes that are popular with runners.

Last week we lost a good friend with the passing of Delegate Frank Deem. Frank was a special person that was dedicated and loved by not only our area, but the entire state of West Virginia. After the funeral service, his wife Becky and family hosted a beautiful Celebration of Life at the Parkersburg Country Club. May his memory be eternal.

Until next week..

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Italian Eggplant

1 large eggplant

1/4 cup milk

1 beaten egg

2 tablespoons flour

1 pound ground beef

1 chopped bell pepper

8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese

1 chopped onion

salt and pepper

1 can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon oregano

Make a batter using milk, flour and egg. Peel and slice eggplant. Dip in batter and fry. Set aside. saute beef, onion, salt, pepper, bell pepper and oregano. Add tomato sauce and 1/2 can water. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. In a large baking dish, layer eggplant, meat and cheese. Continue until all has been used. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

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Okra Gumbo

2 pounds fresh okra

1 large onion, chopped

4 medium fresh tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce

1 large can whole kernel corn

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons chili powder

Wash and cut okra and tomatoes. Heat oil in large saucepan. Saute onion until tender. Add okra, tomatoes and spices. When almost done, add tomato sauce and drained corn. Simmer, covered, for approximately 45 minutes.

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Red Beans and Rice

1 pound red kidney beans

2 medium onions, diced

1 rib celery, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1 pound sausage

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups cooked rice

1-2 tablespoons butter

Pick over beans before cleaning and remove any bruised or spotted ones. Soak in water overnight in covered pot. The following day, strain and pour off water. In same pot, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Saute onions, celery and garlic until clear. Do not brown. Add beans, 1-3 cups water, bay leaves, salt and pepper and sausage. Cook over medium heat. Simmer 2 1/2-3 hours. Serve over rice.

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Chinese Noodles or Spaghetti

12 ounce package bacon, fried crisp, set aside

1 bunch green onions

2 medium onions, chopped

4-5 carrots

1 6-ounce can mushrooms

1 large head cabbage

soy sauce

1 pound box of extra fine spaghetti

Grate carrots rather fine, chop green onions, tops included, chop onions, put in a large skillet with all of the bacon grease, fry until tender. Slice cabbage as for cole slaw, combine with other vegetables. Cook about 5 minutes, add mushrooms and soy sauce to taste and color. Cook spaghetti or noodles to just tender; do not overcook. Combine with vegetables and crumbled bacon and stir fry for a few minutes.

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Egg Dumplings

1 cup flour

1/3 teaspoon salt

about 3 tablespoons milk or broth

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

Sift flour, salt and baking powder; then mix throughly, but quickly, with beaten egg and milk or broth. Cook 12-15 minutes without removing lid.

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Rigatoni

1 1/2 package rigatoni

2 pounds hot sausage

2 medium size cans tomato puree

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

2 small cans mushrooms

3 packages mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Roll sausage into walnut size balls. Saute onions and green pepper until half done, then add sausage balls; brown all over and simmer slowly. In another pan, mix puree with water, enough to thin so it doesn’t scorch; add mushrooms, seasonings and sausage, onions and green pepper. Cook very slowly while cooking rigatoni in salted water. When rigatoni is done, drain and spread a layer in bottom of baking dish, follow with layer of sauce. Top with about 3 slices of cheese and repeat, finally topping the pan with cheese. Bake until top layer of cheese is bubbly brown. This takes about 30 minutes if oven has been preheated to 400.

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Kiki Angelos is a food columnist for the Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

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