Mark Jolley never thought he would still be involved in running after all these years. He picked up the sport in elementary school when he realized he could outrun the other boys who were beating him up rather than take the daily pummeling’s. Those mad dashes of fear turned out to not only save his life, but to eventually help him break the 6 minute mile barrier when he was just a junior in high school. After graduation, Mark begged his way onto the Weber State University track team where he spent the first 2 years timing the varsity runners and fetching a coke and a snickers bar for his coach. “I knew if I hung in there and kept practicing I would eventually make the squad” said Mark after finally getting the proverbial nod (a dog chain thrown at him) by coach Chick Hislop. “Not a day goes by that I don’t reflect on the moment when I was presented with a WSU letterman’s jacket. I knew then I could finally quit wearing my high school one around campus.” Today Mark is still involved in distance running. He coaches track and cross-country at Northridge High School and occasionally suffers through a grueling marathon. He enjoys timing races because it allows him to continue in the local running community without all the hard work of actually running the races.
Click here to see Kurt Black’s Biography.
