name: Alexander Thomas
age: 50 profession: pool maintenance worker location: big lake trail
Every time I try to take a picture of Alex Thomas stretching, he
gets a serious look on his face. “I can’t help it!” he protests. Indeed, Thomas is a serious runner, formerly one of the city’s best; after Katrina and an injury, he’s getting his mojo back. He’s become a bit of a City Park legend, known for running all corners of the park, day and night. As we chat, a man approaches him to pay his respects. Thomas says that happens all the time. “I love this park because you get so much en- couragement,” he tells me. They know him as the run- ning guy, but usually he’s never met them before. They tell him how much he inspires them. “I try to give them some info,” he says, “some advice on how they can go forward in life.”
“I’ve run this park for over 25 years. I love the morning runs. You watch the day come to life. A slightly foggy morning, the coolness in the air. It’s a calmness—more of an innocence. Then you see the lights of golf course workers trimming the grass. I run different courses—a five-mile loop farther in the park, or some- times I finish here at Big Lake. I used to train for marathons with five to
eight guys. I’d run in the morning and evening. After Katrina, our group dispersed. Some moved away. But the park has come a long way since Katrina—it’s come back from nothing. The improvement has been amazing—a remark- able feat. It’s now a social scene; [the restora- tion] really helped bring out the community. Before, there weren’t as many blacks walking and exercising. For me, one of the greatest moments was
when the park workers installed the new lights. The whole park became illuminated. I called my friend in Dallas and said, ‘The park is lit up!’ It was just that kind of a moment. On hot summer days, this is where you want to be. The number-one place. The park is our safe haven. The beauty, the serenity you get from running underneath the trees. And you meet a lot of great people. It’s not easy being self-motivated all the time, and days when I’m feeling tired, they help me go forward. I tell them, ‘It’s not what you can’t do, it’s what you can do.’ That’s what all of these people out here do for me.”
36 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013
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