Running Backs; Bein' Big

Watching the NFL this weekend I paid special attention to one of my favorite subjects - some people are bigger than others.  I tend to file myself in the bigger class so I'm always interested in the implications of bein' big. 

Big isn't a matter of choice.  People are born with a genetic disposition to be whatever size they become.  Oh, we influence our weight to some extent but height and skeletal frame are pretty much given to us at birth and we have to live with it.  I'm even skeptical about how much we can manage our weight.  I've seen studies that suggest all kinds of genetic influences interfere with our attempts to lose weight.

I've commented in the blog that football is a great sport because is has place for bigger players.  I believe this is especially fortunate for women because society seems to have a negative attitude toward large ladies.  Football teams love them.   

If you have thoughts on this, please share them with me.  Either using the comment option in the blog or my email address:  dstostad@att.net.

A stream in recent posts has been using bigger players as running backs.  A couple posts talked about an experiment a couple years ago where coach Soho used two big strong linewomen in the backfield with a fair amount of success.  More recently the Outlaws have tried linebacker Bridgette Brown in the backfield.  You'll recall I featured Bridgett in some posts because of her outstanding play at linebacker.  At about 220 pounds, Bridgette isn't all that big. She carries her weight really well.  But she is definitely not your classic running back.

One player isn't going to bring Bridgette down.  But help is coming.



I picked up one series of photos of her running and it does a good job of showing why it is tempting to hand the ball to big strong players.

Even when the tacklers come from the side away from her blockers, Bridgette proved difficult to take down.

Three tacklers.  Bridgette is big and strong.  It took three to get her down.

Soft landing?

She was much too strong to be brought down by a single tackler.  But when a second and then a third joined the contest, she finally went down. I've commented that I couldn't be a coach and I'm reluctant to offer coaching advice.  But I believe Bridgett belongs at the linebacker spot.  She was formidable as a runner but she was born to be a linebacker.

 

I thought of her as I watched the NFL linemen.  I thought we're born to be what we are.  NFL linemen were born for the line.  When they occasionally are given the ball for a short-yardage situation, it is a fluke.  Not natural.

I have believed the line players earn substantially less than backs and receivers.  Big body, little paycheck.  Little body, big paycheck.  Well, I was kind of right and kind of wrong.  I did a little googling and discovered on average linemen aren't all that short-changed.  One source revealed some linemen actually are paid more than some so-called "skill" players - the average for defensive ends is $1,583,784 while wide receivers average a measly $1,054,437.  The average for quarterbacks ($1,970,982) is only $389,198 more than for defensive ends.  But the really serious money goes to the glamour players, not the big guys.  The glory goes to the glamour players, runners, QBs, receivers.  Not to the draft horses doing battle on the line. 

Doesn't seem fair, does it? 

Life isn't fair. 

An underlying theme in this blog is "bein' big" in a small world.  Big isn't in.  Not for men or women.   In this blog from time to time we'll comment the problems we big folks have. 

Random Fan Photo

Serious People

A recent post was titled "Happy People" and featured smiling faces from the recent tryout session.  I explained that I had intended to feature serious people but was captivated by a particular smiling face and decided to look for more.  Today's post is a return to the original plan, a series of photos of serious competitors.  

I love the way sports get people reaching deep within themselves in an all-out effort to do faster, farther, better, more.  Facial expressions often reflect the effort.  Capturing those expressions is the intent of this post.  Note:  If I've posted a photo of you that you consider less than flattering, just let me know and I'll delete it (dstostad@att.net). 

If you'll recall the "Happy People" post, you know I started with a candidate name-tagged  "Q.T." - someone I've never met,  It was her happy expression that inspired the "Happy People" post.  I wondered if QT are her initials - but doubt it because I can't thing of any female name starting with Q (there's the male Quincy but no female name comes to mind).  Then I decided the initials are probably text-message shorthand for Cutie?  Fits. 

Can you call a football player "cute"?

That's QT, as if you needed me to tell you, wearing
#7.  I didn't get the name of her running mate.
This wasn't a race, rather a timed exercise, but I
suspect QT finished second - but had fun doing it.

It seemed fitting to include QT in my serious photos.  Not being serious.  To show the contrast. 

Running-for-time photos gave me several serious expressions.   As in the photo here, QT's running mate is serious, focused on getting down that track.  But QT isn't serious.  Rather being...Cute?  (I suspect she'll call and ask me to remove this photo.)


Running does bring out the  "serious" in most people. 

This is Ski.   More about her at the end of this post.

The sit-ups gave me some expressions I'd call serious.  You might have another term - like pained?  I suspect the ones I've included were close to the time limit when the sitter-upper was straining to get just one more rep.

The jumping drill called for yet another form of serious.  With one exception, the shots that follow were made as the jumper toed the line and prepared to launch.  I'm a big person (BIG) and jumping isn't part of my skill-set.  I can't relate with these jumpers because they actually expect to go airborne.  Wow.

This is quarterback Marisa Rivas.  We'll post a player
profile on her in the future - hopefully near future. 

The following (and last) serious photo is of Ski Tejeda.  I include it here not because Ski's facial expression reflects serious effort.  Actually the whole photo does.  Ski was in the line of jumpers earlier and she just wasn't satisfied with her distance.  So when the drill was over she returned and launched herself again.  With enough effort that she hit the ground and rolled.  I don't know for certain but I'll bet she bested her earlier jump distance.

Ski Tejeda, one of my favorite Outlaws because of her all-out blue-collar style of play.

If you've visited my blog posts you've seen lots of shots of Ski.  She is one of the players I admire most because of her all-out effort.  I have posted her making a tackle where the runner is hoisted high on Ski's shoulder from the force of Ski's hit.  I posted a shot of Ski flat on the ground grabbing the foot of the runner and holding her until other Outlaws arrived to finish the tackle.  I've seen Ski cover the entire field from her center linebacker post making tackles at the distant sideline.  Last season she intercepted a pass and ran it back to the end zone for a pick-six.  I've seen her get on the ground with another player who was running out of steam during tryouts and doing push-ups with the teammate, saying "you can do it, you can do it."  Inspiring the player.

Seeing Ski go back on her own to the broad jump sand and go all-out to improve over an earlier attempt inspires me.  She is serious about her performance.  She is inspiring.

I know she's an inspiration to the whole team.

Note:  An article about Ski published in the Hill Country News (Cedar Park) is linked in the links section of this blog.  Please check it out.

Random Fan Photo

Happy Thanksgiving

Lots of Football today

Happy People

The smiling face in the middle is QT.  She inspired this blog posting.

I like happy people.  People who smile.  People who laugh.

I was captivated by the photo above because of the big smile right in the center.  I don't know this player.   She was wearing a fancy name tag made of masking tape and I think her name is QT?  Every time I saw her during the tryouts she was smiling.  So I liked her.  Without knowing her.

This posting started as a search of Saturday's tryout photos looking for intensity.   I have lots of great shots of serious facial expressions as candidates went through the tests and focused on running faster, jumping farther, doing one more sit up.  They'll make a cool blog post.

But looking for serious I noticed happy.  

And switched the focus of this posting.  From serious to happy.

Don't know her name but love her smile.

Several of my happy shots are during breaks in the action.  Players and coaches just enjoying being a part of the Austin Outlaws experience. 

Malia

Didn't get either name but do love the smile.

Her name is Chantele, smiling during  a break.

It's easy to be smiling and happy when you're standing around, taking a break. But I noticed some of my happy people were even happy when they were working. In the last posting I observed how Tiffany James was smiling during her long jump test. 

These two shots (above and below) are Chantele - I don't know her either but that's the name printed in magic marker on her fancy name tag. She smiles a lot. Even when she's doing the long jump. She looks like she's having fun. I like Chantele.

Chantele again - smiling as she does the long jump. 
I love her smile. 

Following are a couple photos of another happy camper... or happy Outlaw. I didn't get her name though she was wearing a name tag. Every time I saw her - when she was jumping, when she was doing the running drill, she was smiling.  Or clowning. Having fun. Even without meeting her, I like her.  .

Didn't get her name, either, but she was always happy, always having fun.  Even during the long
jump - which looks like it is a belly-flop in the making here.  She did land on her feet.

Still happy.  She's matched with a very fast runner.  I think
she lost the "race" but this wasn't a race, just a time trial.

Situps are fun!

 Some players even smiled during the rigors of the sit ups exercise/drill.  How many sit ups can you do in two minutes?   I said "some" players but that suggests more than one smiled during sit ups.  There may have been more than one but I only caught one sitter-upper smiling.  And I didn't get her name because her arms are covering the name tag.

This is my friend QT (whom I haven't met yet).  This is a close as she comes to serious.  Still
smiling but stretching to catch that pass.  I like QT.

Through all the tryouts I most noticed QT's happy demeanor.  She seems to have a permanent smile.  If I ever interview her so I can profile her in this blog, I'm going to try to get a serious-look photo.  Just to see if she is capable of not being happy. 

 I hope not.

The Outlaws experience is fun.  It is sport and sport calls for concentration, extreme effort, bringing out your very best performance.  Lots of serious effort, which we'll feature in a coming blog post. 

But doing your best, extending yourself, is also fun.  And you can see that in some of the faces of Outlaws.

Tryouts Saturday; Packers Following Our Blog; Runners - Big

I think the Green Bay Packers are following this blog.  And learning from it.  We've been talking about using big line players as running backs.  This Sunday in their game against Tampa Bay, the Pack used BJ Raji, a 337 pound defensive lineman, for a one-yard rushing touchdown.  Well, "rushing" may be an overstatement. 

Do you think it is just a coincidence they used this tactic within a week of when we discussed it here?

I don't think so.  I don't believe in coincidence.  I think someone from the Pack has found our blog and is stealing our ideas.

Saturday was tryout day for ladies who want to play for the Outlaws. 

There was a great turnout.  So many candidates and returning veterans that the exercise lasted nearly two hours longer than scheduled.  I was there with my camera and I'll be posting photos in this blog and also on my photosharing website:  dstostad.smugmug.com. 

Today I'll just post some highlight photos and comments.  Mostly for fun.  Okay, all for fun.  That's why I'm doing this blog - it is fun!

Tiffany James taking off in her special socks.  Smiling to show
this is just plain fun.

First, I'm delighted to have an old friend coming back after a couple years away.  She is Tiffany James and was the inspiration for a blog posting called Socks.

I love Tiffany because of her smile, even when she's doing drills for the tryouts.  I love her aggressive style of play - she earned the nickname, "Crash" as in crash test dummy because she kept crashing into big running backs.  And I love her because of her socks - which have given me lots of material for my blog. 

Welcome back Tiffany, I've missed you.

Nice socks.



The tryout process is more than just an aptitude test to see if you have what it takes to play football.  It is also an opportunity for coaches to get an idea of who you are and what you can do that might affect how you get placed on the team.  There are lots of drills and exercises.  Jumping was obviously fun - look at that big smile on Tiffany.  Well, not everyone had as much fun as Tiffany.  Still, judging by the spirit of the candidates, all the drills and tests were just plain fun. 

Come on, just one more.  And one more after that...

Well, maybe not all. 

Some of the candidates found the situps to be a bit of a chore.  Not the first situp.  Or even the sixth or seventh.  But when you get to forty or so situps in an couple of minutes, you begin to "feel" it. 

And I'll bet some abs were sore on Sunday.



Oh, it wasn't that bad.  Was it?  Well, situps after running
and chasing footballs and stuff... wear's a person out.



Now the running drill, that was fun.  Wasn't it?  Only 40 meters?  Or 40 yards.  As fast as you can go.  With a coach at the end of the run with a stopwatch.  Pretty much every sport rewards speed so speed is important.  And running just plain fun.  (I was a lineman - I hated running.  I hated it!)  It doesn't seem fair that we linemen (and women) should have to run at all. 

A special aspect of this running drill was Lily positioning herself prone on the tarmac in the middle lane, using her trusty digital camera to record you having fun going full speed against the clock.  That's Lily's cap and ponytail in the foreground of the photo.

Two Outlaw wannabes having fun.  Lily in the forground recording their fun for posterity.

Okay, so maybe running and situps weren't really highlights of the tryouts.  But a couple other drills were at least entertaining.  There was a pass catching drill.  Now a lot of us linemen never get a chance to catch a pass in a game.  We aren't even allowed to touch the football.  But everyone got a chance to try catching passes in a brief drill. 

Got it!  Coach, I want to be a receiver.

My favorite drill was the chance for everyone to try carrying the ball.  Candidates were all given the ball and sent on a route where they collided with imaginary tacklers, bounced off, and continued the romp toward the end zone. 

The "imaginary" tacklers were team coaches holding blocking pads.  One was team general manager Lily Messina.  Lily is retired (or trying to retire) from playing and looks to be lighter than her playing weight of 170 pounds.  She wasn't wearing cleats or athletic shoes of any kind - actually she was wearing flipflops.  I'm going into some detail on Lily to give you some perspective on the photos that follow. 

In this blog we've been talking about handing the football to a linewoman and seeing if her size and strength will give her an edge against would-be tacklers.  Or even imaginary would-be tacklers,  Like Lily.

In the tryouts one runner was certainly a bigger player.  Maile Capers Cristobal is over 6 feet and a bit north of 200 pounds.  And she is a remarkably fast runner considering her size. 

So you have the setting - Lily,  wearing flipflops, 5' 7" and under 170 pounds, holding a canvas blocking target; Maile wearing athletic shoes, 6'1" and well over 200 pounds, running full tilt. 

I've said football is a collision sport.  A collision is coming.

You can see the size and attire advantage goes to Maile.  Also
the inertia - she was running and Lily standing still.  Now if
Lily were in football gear, the result would be different.  Maybe.

Same photo but zooming in so you can see the intensity in the facial expressions.

You can't tell from the photo but I'm sure Maile is having fun.  Lily, too.  Well, maybe not so much...

Lots of fun photos from the tryouts.  I'll post more in the weeks ahead. 

Random Fan Photo

I think this is visitor's side because the Outlaws know visitors
like the sunny side.  And I think it is early, before the game starts.
I just like the effect of rows of seats, a few cameras, water jugs,
player bench still empty, and a few dedicated fans ready for some
action.

Runners - BIG, Follow up

In the last narrative post we talked about using linewomen as running backs.  Specifically we talked about the season when an unnamed coach inserted KJ Scheib and Velma "Boogie" Pickens in the backfield.  Both were big strong line players. 

CheNell "Soho" Tillman-Brooks 

That unnamed coach was Soho.  Soho has played for a variety of teams including the Rage and the always powerful Houston Energy.  She has been coaching the Outlaws since I started covering the team.   

She responded to my post with some background:

Hey Dennis; I was the coach that used KJ at fullback.  Being that she was having her way with folks at lineman, I thought she would give us more of a boost as a blocker at fullback.  

She didn’t let me down either.  In short yardage situations, her number was called a majority of the time.  Her height (5’10”) allowed the running backs to hide behind her … and her power was intimidating!  I had faith in KJ because of her game play and unselfishness.  She scored once and had other opportunities to score more but didn’t have the best of hands; she dropped a few sure thing passes.  

Having her block for Boogie (Velma Pickens) was quite a sight!  Those two rolling towards folks was like watching Mike Tyson fight himself, big hits and someone was bound to walk away sore!  If I had it to do all over again, I would have reverted to the wishbone and used KJ, Boogie, and Bridgette Brown when we needed to bully folks.  And replace Boogie with Shadana (Hurd) when we needed highlight film!

The reference to "wishbone" may be unfamiliar to some of you.  When I started playing football back in the 1950's the standard backfield set-up was the T-formation:  Quarterback over center, a fullback directly behind the Quarterback flanked on either side by halfbacks.  The full back was big and strong while the halfbacks were lighter and faster runners.  The  wishbone was a variation of the T-formation with the halfbacks lined up a step or two farther back than the fullback.  We'll save all the implications of the T-formation, wishbone, and current lineups for a future post. 

For this discussion, it was common for the fullback to be a lead blocker using size and strength to help clear a path for the quicker halfbacks.  In Soho's vision the three power backs would be KJ, Velma, and Bridgette Brown (we featured Bridgette's tackling prowess in previous posts).  When the situation called for speed, she'd insert our star speedster, Shadana Hurd.

Jill Elliott was a fierce competitor.  And she was a big strong
woman, weighing in 300 pound range. 

This discussion of using big players in the backfield led to a more general dialog about "Bein' Big" in women's professional.  Is "big" an asset or detriment? 

Soho's reply is it depends.  More important than the size of the player is the size of the heart and competitive drive.  She mentioned a number of players who out-play bigger opponents.  And some big players who are fierce competitors. 

Soho has a wealth of knowledge and experience in women's professional football, both as coach and player.  We'll have her share more of her insights in a future posting. 

We also have a couple more posts coming on running backs. 

Random Fan Photo

Runners - BIG

William "The Fridge" Perry was big.  BIG.  At 6' 2" and around 335 pounds, he was a formidable defensive lineman for the 1985 Chicago Bears.  If you're older, you'll remember that that Bears team won Superbowl XX over the New England Patriots, 46-10. 

We're in a series of posts on running the football.  Why this discussion of a huge defensive lineman?

Because, for a few plays in Superbowl XX, the Fridge was a running back.  He even scored a rushing touchdown. 

The Bears had the ball on about the three yard line.  Bears coach Mike Ditka put the Fridge in and defied the Patriots to stop him.  Some sources say the Fridge actually weighed 385 pounds. Patriot defenders could believe that.  The giant just powered his way into the end zone.  In his career the Fridge scored two rushing touchdowns and one as a pass receiver.  Google "William Perry Chicago Bears" and you'll get all kinds of hits, including a UTube video of his pass reception. 

Imagine being a defender and having a refrigerator charging toward you. 

KJ Smiling after scoring her first
touchdown as a running back.

The Outlaws have tried a page from Ditka's book.  A few years ago our coach took two of the Outlaws' strongest linewomen and tried them as runners. 

One was one of my favorites, KJ Scheib, 5' 10" 220 pound center for the Outlaws.  She was one of the bigger players and was respected as one of the strongest.  We've profiled her elsewhere in this blog.  She was a team leader, a scholar on all things football.  And big.  And strong.

Coach figured that strong as she is, she'd be difficult to tackle.  So he tried her one season as a running back.  My game photos of her charging into the line aren't good enough for my blog.  But I do have a few shots of KJ in practice. 

Big.  Strong.  Intimidating.

You'll notice in the photos below that she never did hit the ground.  I suspect she was tackled from time to time.   I know she scored at least one touchdown.  But I believe the experiment lasted just a season or two.  In running backs speed is generally more important than power.  An KJ wasn't all that fast.

Do you think one tackler is going to bring KJ down?  Nope.

How about two tacklers?  Nope.  But help is coming.

How about a host of tacklers.  I think they must have brought
her down but I don't have that photo.  KJ was (is) a big
strong young woman. 

Velma Pickens

We had another big strong linewoman on the same team with KJ, Velma Pickens.  Velma declined to be one of my featured players so I never got her stats.  I just know she was highly regarded for her physical strength and she was big.  Must have been 5' 8" and over 200 pounds.  An outstanding linewoman. 

And a pretty good running back.  I remember one play where Velma was running up the right side. Suddenly she was confronted with a defensive tackler, one-on-one.  She didn't try to evade the tackler, didn't try any fancy fakes to throw the tackler off target.  Velma just lowered her shoulder and drove into the defender.

Have you ever been on the sideline listening to the sounds of football?  The popping of pads when big collides with big.  I'll never forget the sound of the impact.  My kinda player.

Velma with the ball and heading this way.  She was
pretty fast for a larger lady. 

I searched my archives for action photos of Velma.  Found none in practice and only a bad one in a game.  I'll post the bad one because it suggests something that I observed on the field - she was a pretty good runner.  Pretty fast for a large linewoman. 

As I recall Velma played more than one season as a running back.  Seems to me she powered the ball into the end zone with seconds to go in one nail biter of a game. 

Another team tried using a plus-sized lady as a running back, and gave me one of my all time favorite action photos.  The team was Dallas.  I don't recall the runner's name.  She wasn't as tall as KJ or Velma but she was big.  Bulky.  Stout.  The theory in putting a big runner on the field is that she will be difficult to bring down.  She may power out a few extra yards. 

Lots of Outlaws trying to bring this big woman down.  She is strong.  Using her strength to grind out
maybe on more yard.  What made this picture special for me is the runner grasping the jersey of
her teammate, Newkirk, and hoping to get a little help.  I've never seen anything like this before.

The scientists among us may be able to supply a formula for calculating mass times speed equals how much force at impact.  I haven't the faintest idea of the impact when a really big runner hits a defensive line.  Apparently it isn't quite as effective as it sounds because there aren't many really big linewomen being converting to running backs.

But there is a certain Outlaws linebacker who has worked a season or two as a runner.  We'll talk about her in a near-future posting.

Random Fan Photo

Runners - Part 3 - Grounded

The running backs get the glory.  Their names are called by the public address announcer.  Their romps down the field win the approval of the crowd.  They get the cheers.  They gain yards, score points. 

Under NFL rules this runner can get up and run
some more, provided it wasn't a player from the
other team who caused her to hit the ground.
We can't tell here whether the runner was knocked
down or fell on her own.

Looks like the best job in football.  But there's a down side. 

In two prior posts I've shown the glory of running free, then the annoyance of getting caught (it is hard to run with someone hanging onto your leg).  Today let's talk about the real down side of being a running back.  Going down.  Most runs end with the going down. That's the downside of running.

If you've been wishing to be a runner, remember the caution - be careful of what you wish for. 


Searching my Outlaw photos for examples of runners being tackled, I was amazed at just how much punishment the runners take.  These ladies who carry the ball are not only fast and elusive, they are tough.  They take some serious abuse.

In college ball, a runner is down when any part of his body (other than foot or hand) touches the ground.  Even if it is just the result of a trip or loss of balance.  The Outlaws play by NFL (National Football League) rules.  In the NFL a runner is ruled "down" when any part of his/her body touches the ground (other than hand or foot) AND that grounding is caused by an opposing player.  Or, if the runner just loses balance on her own, she touched by a defender while down. 

Note: A runner is permitted to touch a hand to the ground for balance, without being considered down.  

In the photo above it isn't clear whether the runner was knocked down by an opponent or somehow fell on her own.  In most of the photos below, there is no question the runner is down by contact with an opposing player. 

Often too much contact. 

Clearly this runner is "down by contact".

Again plenty of contact.  Where's the football?  If you've ever
landed on a football, you know that's unpleasant.  Running has downsides.



Most of the time the "contact" is the cause of going down.  We did another
segment in this  blog about tackling.  Tackling is heavy on contact
 but sometimes light on style.  But either way the runner is down.



The down side of being a runner - landing hard.

Ouch.  A small runner is brought down by a large tackler.  Having a 300 pound tackler coming
down on top of you must  be unpleasant?

On the ground, contact established.  Play is over.  Hopefully
the official blows the whistle before those other three
defenders pile on. 

The view from the ground.  Socks.  

Every time I look at this photo I wonder if the tackler at the right
is trying to steal the runner's helmet. 

A case of too much contact.  Have to hang onto that football.  NFL rules state that if the runner has
possession when she first hits the ground, she can't lose possession to a fumble.  The ground
cannot cause a fumble.

Ouch. 

What is worse than having a 300 pound tackler landing on you?  Having four 300 pound tacklers
landing on you.  Small runner.   I count four heavyweights helping to assure the she doesn't
get up.   Nice socks.

 I wanted to include a photo where Outlaws are making the tackle.  The goal of this blog
is to celebrate the Austin Outlaws.  Somehow showing Outlaws being tackled seems to fail in that
goal - except to give you enormous respect for just how tough our runners are. 
Showing the Outlaws making the tackle seems better, like the good guys are winning. 
And it still makes the point - there is a downside to being a running back.

There's a funny rule in the NFL.  Or more accurately a funny result of a rule I've already discussed.  A runner isn't "down" until some part of her body touches the ground - other than hand or foot.   Pretty simple concept. 

But the situation gets funny when a runner lands totally on top of another player.  For all intents and purposes she appears to be down but no part of her body has touched the ground.  So she isn't "down" in the strict sense of the word as defined in the rules.  Sometimes you'll see an NFL game where the runner looks down but pops back up and continues the romp toward the end zone.  So it is important for tacklers to make certain the runner actually touches the ground.

Count on me to look for a funny photo to include in any posting.  The ground is hard.  If you can find a softer
landing by all means do so.  This runner has certainly found a soft place to land.
According to NFL rules, this runner isn't down yet.  No part of her body
has touched the ground.

Tackling isn't always elegant.  Sometimes, as in the photo above, tackling is more like wrestling where the tackler grasps the runner and goes to the ground dragging the runner with her.  In those cases it is important for the tackler to make certain the runner actually does hit the ground. 

How can she be certain? 

The whistle. 

A rule of thumb in football is to keep playing until you hear the whistle.  If the official doesn't blow the whistle, the runner can keep running (or bounce up and run again).  

Running is the glamour job in football but it definitely has it's downside. 

Coming soon:  I have deliberately not included photos of Shadana Hurd in this series about running.  She deserves a posting dedicated to her alone.  And I'll do a Shadana profile soon.  But before Shadana I'm working on a segment involving a couple very unlikely runners. 

Note: a couple references to socks in this posting refer back to an earlier funny posting titled "Socks."