Fridays with Mac: "Our Gifts"

Memorial Day 2022. Uvalde angst and anger, crazy Putin’s war and continued Covid calamity take most air time on the news but inflation’s bite is battling for headlines as well. Unsettling times. America must figure out a better way.

But there is good news to report. Memorial Day also means the Bolder Boulder race event in Boulder. Back in my sportscasting days at KCNC-TV, Channel 4 in Denver, I was blessed to be tabbed by the station to run along the course and interview folks running, walking, wheeling or other modalities through the streets of Boulder on way to a roaring finish inside a crowded Folsom Field. Looking for an uplifting experience? Participant in this event. You’ll get a real jolt of energy running into the stadium and circling the field to the roar and exaltation of thousands. Way cool. Put it on your bucket list.

Anyway, back to the story. It was my job, accompanied by a photog and cart driver, to jog through the large throng, more than 34,000 participated this year, and find fun, inspiring or interesting human interest stories from folks not huffing and puffing too badly. At that time in life I was a runner. It was an easy and fun gig. Blessed to have had it.

KCNC-TV was the official “Home of the Bolder Boulder.” We took pride in broadcasting the race live. It was a huge station undertaking that no local stations even try to pull off these days. All hands on deck from production, engineering, talent, producers, photogs and others. These station events, and televising CU Buff football games, were always gratifying. Nobody was doing big local live stuff like KCNC did back in the day. It takes a lot of team work to pull them off. Live television is like playing sports. One heart beat. Show time. No do overs.

Each year before the race I’d host short stories offering tips for people wanting to get in shape for the Bolder Boulder. One of the station’s partners in race promotion was the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. These pieces were meant to inspire folks to participate but also to showcase to viewers the services and benefits of the respected sports health and performance organization.

One year the staff put me through a “VO2 Test.” Basically, I jumped on a treadmill with a mouthpiece attached to a tube that was connected to a monitor. The sports medicine person kept increasing the speed of the treadmill. Again, this was a time your knucklehead scribe was running a lot and in good shape. The test, simplifying greatly here, basically is testing how your body transports oxygen around the system. All parts of our body need oxygen. As the technician continued to increase speed it became apparent that my body transported oxygen pretty darn well.

I don’t know if it was five minutes or ten minutes but finally the test was complete. What this fella said is something I pray to never forget. “Impressive. You’ve got the VO2 numbers of elite Olympic athletes. Congrats. God gifted you with incredible lungs.” Later, contemplating the tech’s remark about God’s gift, it all began to make sense. Since early in life this ol’ jock’s had the ability to run far and fast. My lungs are uniquely and wonderfully designed. Grateful. Now, it’s my responsibility to take care of those gifts. Both parents destroyed their lungs with cigarette smoke and it killed them. Shame on me if I don’t do my best to preserve this benefit to health and wellness mom and dad combined to bless me with.

That’s the point of this Friday with Mac. Ya know, each and everyone of us - my opinion - were born with gifts. The first, and perhaps largest, obstacle to utilizing those gifts in healthy and productive fashion? The person in the mirror. Do we acknowledge and accept those gifts? That’s just the start. Then, the challenge becomes factoring in the environment we’re marinating within. Is it recognizing our gifts? Encouraging us to express them in ways that honor, nurture and add value? Sure hope so.

This much I know. The Bolder Boulder is a gift. Check it out next year!