Beating the Bus Home/ Cross Country.
When I was going to school there were many times that I just didn’t feel like riding the bus home from school so I would run the two miles or so and try to beat it there. It would still go to my place since my sisters were on it and had to be delivered. Duchesne sits in the valley of the Duchesne and Strawberry rivers. The two rivers actually come together at the east end of town. The schools were located on the west end of town and about a half mile from where the Duchesne River went through the town. I could usually be to that bridge before the bus actually left the school. Then the bus would come and cross the river and turn left down past some of the homes there where other students would get off. Then it would wind around and go up the hill onto Blue bench where our home was located. I could usually get to the top of the hill prior to it starting up the hill. I didn’t have to follow the road so the short cuts would help me save time. Once the bus got to the top of the hill it would have to go around to some homes for about a half mile and then back near the top of the hill to cross the bridge over the canal that ran along the edge of the hill up until that point. That little detour for the bus gave me the added time to fun the last three quarters to a mile home before the bus would get to our home. I must admit that I was usually only seconds ahead of the bus however and I am sure that “Jinks” Ivie (Jinks was his nickname and for years I didn’t know he even had another name. I still don’t recall what it was but will probably remember it later) and later Harold Spencer our bus drivers were never aware of the fact that I was racing with them or I might not have had the chance to beat the bus every time.
It was good training though and my high school coach must have caught wind of it somehow because I was selected by him in High school to be on the cross country racing team. I was able to use the bus to continue training for cross country but never was a really great runner or performer in that sport. I did take 5th once in a major meet held in Price where we were required to run around the edge of a golf course twice and I was number 24 or so after the first round and then had to kick my heels up and pass as many as I could before the last mile and a half came to an end. Luckily I had ran my race and not theirs because I had the stamina to pass many of them while they hit the wall and ran out of juice required to make it across the line before me. That is all but 4 of them who still had me beat. Lee Moon was one of our team and he placed 2nd if I remember correctly.
Today I have a hard time running though because I need to jog and jogging was just not a part of the running I did in those early years and so jogging is a lazy way to run. I should still do it but have not had a bus to have to beat home an thus must be lacking the motivation to run.
