| In order to better recognize runners in the running
community who truly embrace what running is all about, Runner
Art has instituted the "Worthy Strides" award program.
We are looking for someone who has overcome adversity, helped
spread the love of running, or just exemplifies that hard work
pays off. Each month, we'll select a runner to receive a free
Runner Art print of their choice. If you know of someone you
would like to nominate, please email us at worthystrides@runnerart.com.
The current recipient of the Runner Art Worthy Strides Award
is Nate Thiesfeld. Nates father, Gordon, captures the essense
of Nate in his nomination letter below:
 Nate
Thiesfeld, my son, was born in Calcutta, India in 1986. Due
to the circumstances of extreme poverty and desperation that
exist in some parts of Calcutta, his birth parents were unable
to care for him. He weighed 2 lbs. 6 oz. when he was admitted
to the hospital in Calcutta. We adopted Nate through an agency
called International Mission of Hope (IMH). When Nate arrived
here in the United States at 3 1/2 months old he still only
weighed 5 pounds even. It is hard to imagine a child that
small travelling half way around the world, we knew from the
moment he arrived that he was a fighter. He was hospitalized
for several days after spending his first night with his family
in Loup City, Ne. Nate continued to improve and transformed
from a frail baby into an active and happy young child. When
Nate was 10 or 11 years old he found that he was a good runner
and started to take an interest in running.
When Nate entered middle school he was a good athlete and
track was his best
sport. He was only defeated in middle school one time in his
two years of
competition. Setting school records in the 200m, 800m, 1600m,
and the
3200m. Everything was going great for him on the running front.
His
freshman year he qualified for the 5A (second largest class)
Kansas State
Track meet in the 800 meters and ran well for a freshman.
His sophomore year started well. He ran cross country all
four years of high
school and was all-state for three years. Nate was blessed
with speed from
100 meters up to the 5k in cross country and because of bad
allergies is
probably stronger in the middle distance races. His sophomore
year about
three meets into the track season, after a promising start,
he was diagnosed
with Cytomegalovirus and was told by the doctors that he could
not run for
at least 4 months due to the possibility of rupturing his
spleen. He did
not run from April until the first day of cross country practice
in August,
the start of his junior year. He was able to work his way
into shape and by
the end of the season was 17th in the state meet and our team
won the state
title.
During track season his junior year we thought all his health
problems were
over and he was very excited about being able to run track
again. Right at
the start of the season he had a terrible pain in his stomach
and after
taking him to the emergency room at the hospital for what
we now believe was
a kidney stone, though it was never diagnosed. After a liver
biopsy he was
soon diagnosed with a very rare and often times lethal disease
called
Wilsons disease. Fortunately, he was diagnosed before it had
done
irreperable harm to his liver. This all was happening during
the start of
the track season and it was an extremely stressful time. We
were so blessed
to find it out early. With medication the rest of his life,
Nate can live a
normal life. He was able to continue to run that season but
pulled his
hamstring during the diagnosis time period and could not run
the rest of the
season until the state meet where he had to fill in on the
4x400 meter team
when another teammate was injured during a previous race.
He gave his best
and ran a good leg on the relay team. He had started out very
well in the
season before he had the diagnosis of Wilson's Disease. In
one track meet
Invitational he won the 100m, 200m, 400m, and ran a leg on
the 4x800 relay
that took first place.
Finally, we come to Nate's senior year. He again ran cross
country and was
16th at the state meet, an all-state performer. Track came
and Nate really
ended up having a great year. He won almost all the 400 meter
races he
competed in and won the state 400 meters in 49.6 seconds.
He also won gold
medals on the 4x400 meter and 4x800 meter relay teams and
helped set school
records in those two events. His anchor leg on the 4x400 meter
race at
state was unbelievable. He came back from 20 meters behind
to edge out
another team by .16 of a second. He also set a school record
in the 400m.
Nate is now a freshman at Wichita State University and ran
cross country this fall and is preparing now for the indoor
and outdoor track seasons.
Sincerely,
Gordon Thiesfeld
|
