Member of the Month: Jose Mendez!

"Crazy but fun" is the way Jose Mendez describes himself, and certainly the Long Island running community will agree he is exactly that. Anyone who has ever been to a race in the area has certainly seen Jose in his (often shredded) "Brentwood Green" outfit, has heard his distinctive "whistling" breath during a race, or been inspired and charmed by his warm, open personality. A veteran of many hundreds of races, a winner of seemingly countless awards, and an extremely friendly and social individual, this local legend has recently turned sixty and has just been inducted into Bohemia Track Club's Hall of Fame.

In sixty years Jose has had some interesting experiences and has traveled to many places, but has always wound up back on Long Island. Born in Puerto Rico in 1938, Jose first moved with his family to New York City before settling in our area. He decided to quit school at sixteen to work (for just one dollar an hour) at a school furniture factory instead. A couple of years later, and with the help of a friend, he became a nurse's assistant at the Northport Veteran's Administration Hospital. Although detoured along the way, it was from this job that Jose retired 37 years later.

Several years after his start at the hospital Jose found time to be drafted into the United States Army. A "good soldier" while stationed at Fort Dix, and eventually a squad leader at Fort Reilly, Kansas, he eventually landed a 13-month tour-of-duty in Korea as a machine gunner guarding the DMC. Upon his return to the States, and for no apparent reason, he requested a six month extension and was sent to Fort Devins, Massachusetts.

Close enough Long Island, Jose would often drive from the base in Massachusetts to be with a young woman named Daisy who had caught his eye. Every weekend the two would go out to clubs with friends and literally dance the night away. Jose, being an excellent dancer, dazzled Daisy into marrying him in 1962. They raised three wonderful kids (Jose, Ralph and Theresa), have had many trips to Puerto Rico and Florida, and currently have four grandkids added to the family total.

It was twenty years ago that Jose drove his oldest son and some friends to Northport for the Cow Harbor 10K race. Jose watched from the sidelines, fell in love with road races, and immediately went home and ran three miles. Although athletic, having played paddleball, handball and basketball, this was Jose's first organized attempt at running. The following weekend he signed up and ran in his first race. Because his son and friends beat him, and because he was very competitive in nature, Jose simply began training harder during his neighborhood runs, and was soon beating the younger folk. Six months later, after running and racing right through the winter, Jose ran the Long Island Marathon. Without proper training techniques, but with plenty of spirit, he finished just a minute off of his goal of four hours.

Since then, he has always loved to train with friends. He began meeting ex-BTC member Danny Delvalle for runs through Brentwood and the surrounding communities. Later Jose ran for many years with friend and "nemesis" Mike Service, the two often enjoying playful battles during races. One night at a party Jose met BTC member Charlie Silva, who convinced him to join the running club. Since then, Jose has always been one of the most active club members- always at meetings, always organizing teams and motivating people for races, and always volunteering for events.

In the years since he began running, Jose has usually run 30 to 40 races a year, has accumulated tons of awards and plaques, and has also gathered many race shirts. He has found that wherever he goes, people love these race items. He has given them out to kids in Puerto Rico and locals in Russia (where he ran the late-evening White Nights Marathon with several BTC members). He has been known do to some silly things at races, such as running barefoot, finishing backwards or handing out plantains, but whatever he does, Jose has always defined himself as a crowd-pleaser and has been quick to make friends.

Now retired, Jose still loves to compete, and always seeks out interesting new races to conquer. He claims he has "never met a race he didn't like" and relishes the last quarter-mile. He particularly enjoys socializing with familiar and often unfamiliar people at races, who he says are especially friendly. Jose's weekly routine totals about 45-50 miles a week, in which he mixes in some hill training, speed work, and often a long run on Sunday. At age sixty he still totals around 2300 miles a year, and has kept a running log for nearly the past twelve. Socializing with neighbors during his runs from home, Jose has become an icon in his own community as well as the running community, and is able to stop at almost any house to get water. These days he often runs with his latest running partner, BTC member Armando Velasquez,. Armoando joined the club with no running experience and asked Jose to "teach him how to run". Always the motivator, and without showing any pity, Jose has whipped Armando into an excellent runner of all distances.

As was said, Jose is the first to admit that his methods are "crazy", but is quick to add that they are in the interest of having fun. His adventurous spirit, extremely friendliness and motivating attitude could make anyone want to participate in, or simply watch, a running race. An obvious choice for the Bohemia Track Club Hall of Fame, and an important part of the club for many years, Jose is admired for his ceaseless devotion to our organization. And although his color may be green, his personality alone adds a rainbow of colors to the running community.