The essence of running cannot be measured by a stopwatch, just as one’s life cannot be measured by a calendar. The people who judge their running by their victories over others, or by the size of trophy collections are the same people who define their lives by the size of their incomes or the make and model of their automobiles.
Found that note on a page of memo paper from Knapp Printing Company. “Counselors, creators, craftsmen.” Publishers of a few editions of Running magazine in Salem, Oregon. 1978ish. Probably 1978, about the time I started billing myself as “The World’s Slowest Professional Runner.” A honorific title surely, but for a running bum back in the day, making a living from a sport you loved was about as good as a gold medal. Certainly a bronze.
I just love the phrase “making a living.” As in… you don’t earn a life, you create it.
With much help from many kind folks, I managed to cobble together an existence devoted to running. Free shoes, free trips, free books, store, magazine, self-sacrificing spouse. Salem, Oregon, in the late Seventies seemed young and green and fresh. You should have been there. Huge salmon in Mill Creek, passing through the middle of town.
Fast forward. 2018. Eugene, Oregon. Nike Surprises Runner With Cerebral Palsy By Offering a Professional Contract.
The torch passes.
This Inspiring Runner Is Nike’s First Professional Athlete With Cerebral Palsy
Kate Streit for SimpleMost.
In his Instagram post about the contract, Gallegos wrote, “I was once a kid in leg braces who could barely put on foot in front of the other! Now I have signed a contract with Nike Running! Trust the process! And most of all trust in God!”
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It’s caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain and is the most common motor disability in childhood.
Gallegos started running when he was 14. “I did fall two to three times per week for a while, but eventually, the reason I never quit or expressed interest in quitting is simply because I saw that it was doing more good in my life than it was doing bad,” he told Runner’s World.
He joined his high school cross-country team to get involved and improve his strength but never dreamed that he would one day be a professional athlete. He was presented with a contract from the company by footwear marketing manager John Truax after running club practice, and video footage of the emotional surprise was posted on Oct. 6, which is World Cerebral Palsy Day. Check out the video of the surprise below:
Wow! You can really see just how shocked and overjoyed Gallegos is to receive the news as he breaks down in tears.
“I’m sure once I start getting more involved it will fully sink in,” Gallegos told Runner’s World. “But for now, I’m more in shock that it’s happening. I knew they were thinking about giving me a contract, but with something like that, you don’t expect it to happen.”
As a junior on the University of Oregon’s club team, Gallegos races 5K on the track, 8K in cross country and half marathons on the road (his personal best in the half is 2:03, Runner’s World reported). He hopes to run the Chicago Marathon next year as his first full marathon.
Gallegos took to Instagram to share a photo of himself about to sign his contract and express his gratitude and excitement:
“Beyond blessed to officially represent the swoosh!” he wrote in his caption. “Still can’t believe I made Nike history! Very excited! Big things are yet to come!” Congratulations to Gallegos, and we can’t wait to follow along with his professional career!
I never got a contract with Nike. Sold them my magazine but never got a contract. That was my mistake. But I did get a job at Nike.
And I milked it for five years. Like a Wisconsin dairy farmer.
And the title of “The World’s Slowest Professional Runner” lay unclaimed. All these decades.
Until now. Until Justin. Because Justin knows, he knows what it takes.
WSPR – pronounced ‘whisper’ – is not for the five-hour marathoner who sells see-through pants to goat yoga enthusiasts in Beverly Hills.
WSPR is for that man or woman who is actually trying to be as fast as a pro.
There’s a mindset. The clock says what it says, what is, but my soul says I’m faster than that. My soul says that. And I gotta believe my soul.
I am faster than you know. Faster than I know. And I am going to prove it.
The applause may go to the winner, but my heart goes out to the also-rans who gave it their all.
We give extra because we have extra to give.
And giving your all is money in the bank.
What it means to be a pro.
Congratulations, sir. And thank you.