TRENTON, Ga. — Travis Core knows something the rest of us have suspected for some time: Glen Hicks is off his rocker.
It’s not that unusual for a 53-year-old running enthusiast to train to qualify for the mecca of marathons in Boston, but when that 53-year-old basketball coach partially tore both his Achilles’ tendons the last time he tried … well, we’ll let Core, Hicks’ Dade County High School all-star senior point guard, explain Hicks’ thinking.
“He’s nuts,” said the laughing Core, who has endured three years of Hicks’ preseason training regimen of running hills in 95-degree heat. “When Coach Hicks sets his mind on something, he won’t settle for anything less. Most people — I know I would — would have given it up after tearing both Achilles’ tendons, but he’s not normal. He’s always wanted to run in the Boston Marathon, and I think he’ll do it eventually.
“He may be 103, but he’ll run it.”
Hicks underwent surgeries in May and September to repair his tendons. Dr. C. Jason Wamack, who performed the surgeries at Memorial Hospital, gave Hicks a bit of advice.
“He told me there was no way I could run a marathon,” Hick recalled, “but, as most people who know me realize, I’m not going to listen to a whole of lot of folks. I told him I couldn’t live like a couch potato, so I sat out to prove him wrong.”
There are two basic types of Achilles’ injuries: basic tendinitis, which nearly ever runner will experience at some point, and the more serious tendonosis, which is caused by repetitive trauma to the tendon and leads to a thickening and tearing of the tendon. This is what Hicks had. Times two.
Wamack, a partner at the Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopedics, is amazed at what Hicks has been able to do. Wamack, along with D-1 Sports trainer Pedro Alvarez, mapped out a plan to get Hicks back on his marathon track, which included several weeks of painful rehabilitation.
“The surgery involves a cadaver graft and it actually weakens the tendon,” said Wamack, who made a deal with Hicks that if the coach runs in the marathon he will greet him at the finish line. “With this injury, our main goal is just to get the person back walking without pain. I told him I was more concerned with getting him walking and coaching again, but he was set on being able to run.
“I’m not going to say he’s hard-headed, but let’s call him determined. I’ve done this procedure quite a few times, and he’s the most athletic person of his age I’ve seen. And he’s just been a great patient, though I have to keep reminding him not to overdo it. That’s what got him here in the first place.”
Hicks has qualified for the Boston Marathon twice but has yet to compete in it. The first time he just elected not to go. He had to skip the second because of the injuries. During a life in which he admits to being blessed to have accomplished most of his goals, this one stands out as unfinished business.
“It’s been one of my goals, and I don’t want to be 60 when I do it,” he said. “I’m just trying to be smarter this time around instead of being hard-headed. It’s been a slow process, but I think I’m getting there.”
There have been setbacks — Hicks currently has a “tweaked” hamstring — but the veteran coach has completed seven 5-kilometer runs and the 8k Chattanooga Chase since the first of the year. He even put in nine miles recently on a training run.
His immediate goal is to run the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in November, though he doubts he’ll be able to meet the Boston qualifying time (3 hours, 35 minutes, 59 seconds) right away.
“First off, I just want to finish at Chickamauga without tearing anything,” Hicks joked before pausing. “Hey, if it happens, that would be great. If not, I hope I can do it before spring.”
Meanwhile, his Dade County players will offer very little sympathy, even after they often made fun of their coach when he was wearing boot casts last season.
“We pick and choose our times to pick on him, depending on his mood,” Core said. “Of course, he gets us right back. You know, saying stuff like, ‘Hey, I run and I tore two Achilles’ tendons. You guys can run a few more hills.’ Seriously, I think he enjoys running more than he does coaching basketball.”
Hicks already has a plan in case he isn’t able to qualify for the marathon in the near future.
“You know, I think the (qualifying) time goes up two minutes when you turn 55,” he said. “Hopefully I can get it before then.”
Wonder what the requirements are at 103?