(Mar., 2021) Dick Rapson has been running and coaching in northeast Philly for longer than most. He says his athletic credentials aren't special, but how many people do you know who are still running strong 65 years after starting? "I’ve tried to combine my fitness with my coaching career," says Rapson, 81, from Lansdale, PA. "Back in the 60’s-80’s I used to run with the guys and explain the biology of fitness as we ran." A true coach-educator; we can never have enough of those. "I've always tried to use our sport to help kids feel good about their achievements," he adds. [LifetimeRunning.net co-host Amby Burfoot can attest to this. Burfoot's wife, Cristina Negron, got her start in running on one of Rapson's mid-1970s cross-country teams.]
Career-profession: I began teaching in 1961 and retired in 2006. (43 of those years at Lower Moreland- mainly teaching AP biology). I continued to coach track (about 40 years; beginning in 1966) and cross country (51 years until my Covid “sabbatical” in 2020; I began the LM program in 1969). At this point I’m up in the air about returning to XC in 2021.
When did you start running and why? I begin running in HS as track was the only spring sport. It was a terrible