Gerald L. Anderson

Gerald L. Anderson was the second of 5 children:  3 boys and 2 girls.  Gerald and his wife Barbara have 10 kids: Shelly, Brent, Shauna, Paul, Becky, David, Brad, Scott, Mark and Emily.  58 (Forever) Actually 66.  Gerald's hometown is Morgan, UT and he worked in Life Insurance.

We asked one of Gerald's son's, Brad to tell us a little about Gerald's running career:

Years running: 20

Weekly mileage: Between 20-50

Favorite race distance or race: 10K

PR's - (5K, 10K, ½, mara, Ultra) or proudest running accomplishment: Running his first marathon. Said it was one of the best things he ever did.

Favorite training run:

"Pipe Run" on Ogden Trails. From Weber State Stadium to Pipe at Ogden, Canyon and back. He loved the trails on the East Bench.

Why run - (motivation, inspiration): He always said he loved the feeling of working hard. He loved the competitiveness of it. It was always a race with Dad. We would stager start our runs.

             He also said he just felt better when he ran.

He started running in his late 30's, when a guy he knew where we were living in Arizona ran a 7 minute mile in some Luke Air Force run. He thought: "I can run faster than that." And from then on, he was a runner.

Goals: Come back to life.

Favorite music to run to: The sound of foot steps.

Favorite running gear - (shoes, apparel, etc.): Saucony shoes.

Best advice that he was given as a runner: Some great advice he gave me before I ran races was: "Don't give up the last 100 meters if you're getting beat because you never know when the guy is fist is going to trip." It doesn't sound like much, but I always took it to heart. Essentially he was saying that you should always be running for the win because the race isn't over until everyone has crossed the finish line. If the guy in first falters make sure you are in position to do something about it.

Best motivational quote: Probably something someone motivating said.

Your role model: Winston Churchill was someone he really liked.

Favorite food: Tomatoes, Avocados, Corn on the cob.

Hobbies or interests other than running: Hiking, History, the Pioneer Trail, Camping and being with family.

Anything else the world might want to know about him: He was one hell of a guy. Gerald read and remembered a lot. He loved history. He knew a lot about everything. When he got in to something, he went in head first and learned all he could about it. He knew running really well. He had a locker in the Weber State Cross Country locker room, and loved following Weber State's Track and XC teams. He was good friends with their coaches, and he bled purple.

He also used to write an article for the Morgan County News called "Road Work". It started as an article on running, but soon turned into an article about funny running stories, and soon into funny stories about our family.

He also re-started the Morgan High XC program. When I, got into High School there was no team, so he started it again, and coached it.

But most of all he loved his family. He loved having the family around.