Team Sport Report: King Tut and Coach Gurity

This is the first in a series of "team sport reports" in which I will share stories about people I have met who inspired me (and many others undoubtedly) to love the sport and keep at it.

King Tut and the Sand

"King Tut" is coach Gary Tuttle, my cross country running coach at Dover (NH) High School for four years. Gary is the first (official) running coach I had, after my dad helped me get started by running with me when I was middle school age.

I remember coach following us around on his bike during my freshman season, making sure nobody cut any corners. A few of us guys fools on the team did. His most memorable workouts were hills. We would run on our XC course starting at the high school, going on trails through the woods and then encircling a sand pit. On certain other training runs this might be where some would decide to skip a loop. But here there was no such escape. We entered the sand pit, and ran repeats up and down the soft sand wall, all under the careful and expert supervision of coach! I know, I know, this sounds like a great deal of fun (by the way - who wants to try this with me some time? I'm pretty sure coach would host a group training run). Everyone who's ever been coached by King Tut talks about these workouts to this day!

Coach recently posted a number of photographs of teams and individuals he has coached over several years. It is a real pleasure to see these photos and the gratitude expressed by his former athletes. And it is a real testament to his commitment to coaching.

Tut and Cid Leading Us to Victory
 
Cid Gurity joined the XC team as an assistant coach during my final year at DHS. He was just getting started in coaching and was about to begin a family, learning that year he would become a father. What I remember generally about Cid is his pure enthusiasm for the sport and for coaching us fools young adults to improve. I also remember seeing how much my parents appreciated how much he put into helping the team - now that is some high praise coach! Specifically I remember a race that year and my coaches' roles in helping us win.

My senior year was my best season, and really my only one as an above average runner (while not "great" by any stretch). We were also becoming a more competitive as a team. We had a three team meet vs. Alvirne and Portsmouth (at Alvirne). I had the overall lead late in the race and remember passing by coach Tut who could see the situation (I was likely to win, a first for me) and told me to make sure to keep it going and push all the way. I followed coach's advice as I powered along the school track about 3/4 of a lap to the finish. What an awesome feeling it was to head down the final stretch and see a beaming coach Cid just beyond the stripe. He held out his arms as I crossed the line and gave a giant hug! He was obviously happy for my individual achievement, winning and breaking 18 minutes, but must certainly have been pleased with his role in helping our team improve. We had some more strong performances by our teammates that day and we all waited with baited breath while the final team scores were tallied. We won by a very narrow margin (also a first in a long time for our squad)!

I recently reconnected with coach Cid by email. He updated me on some highlights since we were at DHS, and talked about why he coaches. I find it very encouraging to hear how hard he has worked as a volunteer, part time, etc. building up teams from very meager beginnings to achieve success. And to sense the pride he feels in the accomplishments of his athletes and how important this work is to him.

Coach Cid Gurity