Doug Hawley: Galyon leads by example

Published 9:37 pm Sunday, November 8, 2009

Karen Galyon practices what she preaches as a successful coach of Dalton High’s cross country teams. And Galyon’s coaching prowess is evident by the fact that both Dalton squads competed in the Class 4A state meet Saturday in Carrollton, where the Catamounts finished seventh in their field and the Lady Cats were 13th.

One week prior, the Cats qualified by winning the Region 7-4A championship as the Lady Cats finished third.

Galyon prepares her teams for the basic 5-kilometer high school distance (3.1 miles). But at age 51, she often runs longer distances and has completed four marathons at the standard distance of 26.2 miles.

“I think that it’s influenced some of (Dalton’s runners),” she said. “That’s particularly true for some of the new ones. There’s one girl who in the beginning simply couldn’t finish. Now she has no problem.”

Galyon has been competing off and on as a distance runner since her high school track days in Charlotte, N.C., some 35 years ago (she took time out to have three children). As a student at the University of Tennessee, she began running in road races.

“I’m certainly not a real speedster,” Galyon said. “However, I enjoy doing it. It keeps me fit.”

She usually wins or places high at various races in her age division.

Galyon’s best marathon time of 4 hours, 17 minutes came at the annual Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in Fort Oglethorpe, an event she has run twice. Otherwise, her top 5K and 10K road race times are in the high 23 and 50-minute ranges, respectively.

She plans to compete on Thanksgiving Day in Chattanooga in the 5-mile Turkey Trot. That is to be followed by the local Carpet Capital 10-mile race in Varnell on Dec. 12.

“I encourage my runners to participate in the road races such as the Silver Bell Sprint,” Galyon said of the race scheduled for the evening of Dec. 4 in downtown Dalton. “It helps them stay in shape and keeps them competitive.”

Several of the boys have made it a tradition to run the Atlanta Half-Marathon on Thanksgiving Day.

“The boys normally do a lot of 7- and 8-mile runs in training,” Galyon said. “They don’t have any trouble covering the half-marathon.”

Galyon admittedly is not a one-person coaching staff. She receives assistance from some proven veteran runners, all of whom are in their 40s.

Michael Green, who works primarily with the boys, has competed in ultra-marathons, such as 50-kilometer (31-mile) trail runs. When at the top of his physical game, the Cats are hard-pressed to follow his pace.

Margie Bruner, a former Auburn University runner, serves as a full-time assistant. Wendy Houston, who has claimed various area female masters (40-and-over) titles, provides help. Lady Cats track coach Pam Brackett also assists, as does Bryan Cobb.

“They’ve been great,” Galyon said. “They have made all the difference in the world.”

When a cross country program loses 22 seniors (15 girls and seven boys) like Dalton, it seemingly would mean doom.

No problem. For the past two years at Dalton, there have been some 75 participants, with about an equal number of girls and boys.

“In my first year as an assistant coach, we had maybe 30 kids,” Galyon said, referring to her start four years ago. “Then maybe 55 the second year.”

Why such a turnout that rivals some football programs?

“We started getting some soccer players and their friends who wanted to get in shape,” said Galyon, who’s been the head coach for three seasons. “We also got some swimmers and wrestlers.”

Galyon also tries to “do a lot of fun stuff” with practice, such as scavenger hunts and an annual Halloween run in costumes. She obviously has developed an excellent rapport with her runners.

“Several of our past runners came to the region meet,” Galyon said. “That support really meant a lot to us.”

During the regular season, Dalton competed in the tough Chattanooga Area Cross Country League, which served well for region and state competition. Galyon had some distinct family ties in that activity.

Her husband, Lester — the Gordon Lee High girls basketball coach in Chickamauga — started the school’s cross country program he has coached for the past two years. A brother-in-law, Louie DeLorenzo, coaches the runners at Tennessee’s Cumberland County High.

“We always have good philosophical discussions about running,” Galyon said.

“Our runners realize that the running is something that they can do for the rest of their lives.”

Karen Galyon is prime evidence of that belief.

Doug Hawley, a competitive distance runner for more than 50 years, can be reached at Dhawley@optilink.us.