Don Lawrence's desire to give back to community leads to Lockport mass cross country reunion
Sep. 15—Racing allowed Don Lawrence to travel the globe before he returned to Lockport to help advance the next generation.
Lawrence admittedly wasn't much of a runner for the Lions in high school, but he received a scholarship to NAIA Wisconsin-Parkside as a racewalker. He moved to Colorado Springs in 1984 to workout at the Olympic Training Center, competing in three Olympic trials.
He never made the Olympics, but he was a manager for the United States for the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Games and helped his ex-wife, Debbi, became a three-time Olympian in the sport after a knee injury derailed her running career.
Lawrence has worked as a consultant for Nike, helping design walking shoes. He lived in Albany, working for Marriott while serving as a commentator for NBC Sports Gold track and field coverage.
He moved back to Lockport in 2018 and has been coaching high school racewalkers in Western New York, while assisting at times with the Lockport cross country team.
In a further effort to help the local racing community, Lawrence has been the catalyst for a mass Lockport cross country reunion from Oct. 7-9. The reunion is open for any Lockport runner since 1966, while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Lions' 1972 and 1973 state championship teams and honoring the 1968 world-record 100-mile relay team.
"Part of it's out of the love of what Ron Main and Max Lederer did for all of us," Lawrence said. "They treated us like adults when we were kids. They gave us direction, they gave us a sense of discipline. ... Now we're that all adults and know much time goes into being a coach and how little pay they actually get for the amount time they put in, if nothing else, you can give an appreciation how it's shaped Lockport kids."
In high school, Lawrence struggled to crack 6 minutes in the mile, but he was friends with the sons Lederer, a Lockport coaching legend. They went to an AAU meet and Lawrence noticed there were only two entrants in the racewalk mile.
Lederer's wife, Mary, signed him up for the event and Lawrence finished last. But a meet official approached him, complimented his form and encouraged him to continue improving in the event, and he eventually won a Section VI championship by 32 seconds. Those brief, kind words are still cherished by Lawrence and a reason why he feels compelled to share his knowledge.
Lawrence eventually became good enough to racewalk a mile faster than he could run, with his top time of 5 minutes, 57 seconds coming in 1991, surpassing his best Lockport running time of 5:59. He's still racewaking today and the 63-year-old became a USA Track and Field grand master champion in the 60-64 age group, finishing in 10 minutes.
"That's why I spend so much time with youth who are just starting out with track," Lawrence said. "I was given the time of day by an official who said you don't have the fastest time, but you have the best technique. It's amazing what words can change someone's direction or enhance their reason for what they're doing."
The Lockport cross country reunion will consist of an informal gathering at Davidson Road Inn at 6 p.m. Oct. 7. On Saturday, Oct. 8, there will be a walk/jog along the old Lockport cross country course at 10 a.m. at the Outwater Park tower. At 1 p.m., there will be a tour of the Flight of Five locks.
At 5:30 p.m., there will be a reception at Lockport High School, followed by a reunion dinner at 6 p.m. and a celebratory awards dinner at 7 p.m. The Ronald C. Main and Deborah L. Qualiana Franco Scholarships.
The weekend will conclude with a golf outing at at 9 a.m. Oct. 10 at Gothic Hill Golf Course.
For questions, email lockportxcchamps@gmail.com or call 716-444-7666.
Nick Sabato can be reached via email at nick.sabato@gnnewspaper.com or on Twitter @NickSabatoGNN.
