Walking the 180 yards from the 13 Wall Gate to the Lower Yard is kind of a dreary walk.
But as soon as I enter the Lower Yard, a barrage of activity is before me. It is now 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. As I walk I hear a distinct clanging of metal. I notice that there is a heated game of horseshoes in motion. Next to the horseshoe pit is the tennis court where four women (women???) from the tennis team gather the team around them to begin their morning volleys, getting ready for their morning matches.
At 9 a.m. the basketball players start arriving on the court, formatting plays and shots that would make the average basketball fan stand up and notice.
The Over-40 basketball team is expected to do exceptionally well, with new talent coming in from Solano State Pen. The core of the team will be back and Coach Al Lacy is expecting a better season than last year. Returning players with fancy handles are Post-Em-Up Kalipo, Dave (Lumber Jack) Baker, Graceful Al Lacy, Cox the Fox at small forward, Hustling Black, Fast Track J.B., Troy (aka) Bone, and Floor General Duck Harris with sidekick KC. The new players should add a touch of fire to the already sizzling Kings. So come one, come all, and support your team.
To say springtime is on its way is to say baseball is right around the corner. The next thing we will know is, Batter Up!
This year the baseball team will consist of the combined rosters of last year’s Giants and Pirates – the best of the two teams will fill a 25-man lineup. Tryouts were to be in February. So take me out to the ballpark.
While team sports are being formed there is an assortment of individual workouts going on. There is exercising of all sorts. Handball games dominate the far wall. While all this is going on you have the 1,000 Mile Club, putting in laps as they get ready for their next running event.
At 1 p.m. the multi-ethnic members of the soccer team come to work out, going at it so hard that they forget they were incarcerated. So as you see, there is a sporting event for everyone, all it takes is a little practice and determination to find a new world while you’re getting yourself together.
Thousand Mile Club Churns Laps
Abraham Yera Ortiz and Ronnie Goodman led the charge on a sunny summer day as the San Quentin Thousand Mile Club reeled off laps around the Lower Yard. The event was run without alarms or fanfare but the runners did have a gauntlet of sorts.
They had to make their way past and through practice for a basketball team and a field full of football players, plus the construction site with men at work.
The top performances by Ortiz and Goodman were 52 laps, or 13 miles, in 1:29:50 and 1:30:55, respectively. Following them, also with 13 miles, was Eddie Tate, 1:59:06.Finishing 10 miles were Bill Pillars, 1:31:35; Malcolm Jones, 1:44:11, and Ronnie Richardson, 2:06:06.
Completing five miles were Mike Villanueva, 37:08; Eddie Tate, 37:36; James Hall, 39:34: Jerome Black, 45:26; Noel Valdivia, 49:00, and Paul Cooksey, winner of the over-60 division in 55:08.The run was supported by Laura Bowman, Coach Frank Ruona, Community Volunteer Jill Friedman and SQ1MK Chairman Steve Pascascio. .
Thousand Mile Club Runs the Lower Yard
A group of dedicated runners jogged distances of 5, 10 an 15 miles as part of the San Quentin 1000 Mile Club’s event recently.
The leading runner was Ron Goodman, who logged the grueling marathon distance of 26.2 miles.
It was a bright, sunny day with no alarms to disturb the event. Ron’s coach paced him for the final 10 miles.
Ron has been running since his youth and considers the sport as spiritual.
He missed the Boston Marathon qualifying time by 30 minutes. “It was a bad day,” he said, “but I will continue to improve.”
NEVER GIVE UP!
I once read about a man who refused to give up. Almost everything he did turned out bad. I mean all bad. This man was defeated at and by just about everything.
He failed in business back in 1831. He was defeated for the legislature in 1832, failed in business again in 1833 and was elected to the legislature in 1834. His sweetheart died in 1835.
He had a nervous breakdown in 1836, was defeated for Speaker in 1838, defeated for land officer in 1843, defeated for congress in 1843, elected for congress in 1846, defeated for reelection in 1848, defeated for the senate in 1855, defeated for vice-president in 1856 and defeated for Senate in 1858.
And I mumbled to myself “I would have quit.” But this man never did quit. In 1860 he was elected to the presidency of the United States.
His name was Abraham Lincoln.