Spring Break
Running with a melody
Eastern music department chair trains for the Napa Valley Marathon
Nicole Nicolas/ Features Reporter
Issue date: 12/8/04 Section: News
A new day for a fresh start for training awaits.
On an autumn day, he stretches up against the plain white garage door of his house to warm up his muscles.
He quickly sets his watch, and he's off. Golden brown leaves fall down and cars speed by as Stoner runs on a trail that is exactly 26. 2 miles, a marathon's distance. He keeps an even pace shifting his shoulder, which is held together with screws and plates, and arms to propel his legs forward one step at a time on a right knee that's healing.
"3:45, we're in good shape," he said while setting his pace for his long run.
He occasionally glances at his watch to check if he has reached nine minutes, which is the time where he stops running to walk for a minute. This keeps the muscles from breaking down and does not affect his time at the end of the race, he said.
While running, time goes by quickly when he thinks about situations in which he can help a student with their college career, since he is a former trumpet teacher from the University of Kansas.
Stoner works from 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. to make sure the operation of the music department runs smoothly, and he also plans for music department's future.
After working his regular hours, he goes home for a short period of time and then returns to watch a recital at 7 or 7:30 p.m.
He works very hard and always puts his faculty and students before himself, said Anita Shelton, the chair of the history department.
Despite working long hours, Stoner still has time to run races anywhere from a 5K to marathons. Stoner and his friend Newton Key, an Eastern history professor, remember fondly a time when they ran a half of a marathon, the Turkey Run in Danville, a couple years back.
"He's very easy to talk to when we're running races that are a half of a marathon," Key said. "What I like about him is he's had an interesting life. He was a trumpeter with the U.S. Marine band (that) played in the White House lots of times."
Right on track, Stoner is now running a 12-mile run this weekend. With his determination, Stoner focuses on running to prepare for two moments: the Napa Valley Marathon and the Boston Marathon.
"A race is very similar to performing. You've done your preparation, and now it's time to relax and focus on the business matter ahead," Stoner said.
On an autumn day, he stretches up against the plain white garage door of his house to warm up his muscles.
He quickly sets his watch, and he's off. Golden brown leaves fall down and cars speed by as Stoner runs on a trail that is exactly 26. 2 miles, a marathon's distance. He keeps an even pace shifting his shoulder, which is held together with screws and plates, and arms to propel his legs forward one step at a time on a right knee that's healing.
"3:45, we're in good shape," he said while setting his pace for his long run.
He occasionally glances at his watch to check if he has reached nine minutes, which is the time where he stops running to walk for a minute. This keeps the muscles from breaking down and does not affect his time at the end of the race, he said.
While running, time goes by quickly when he thinks about situations in which he can help a student with their college career, since he is a former trumpet teacher from the University of Kansas.
Stoner works from 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. to make sure the operation of the music department runs smoothly, and he also plans for music department's future.
After working his regular hours, he goes home for a short period of time and then returns to watch a recital at 7 or 7:30 p.m.
He works very hard and always puts his faculty and students before himself, said Anita Shelton, the chair of the history department.
Despite working long hours, Stoner still has time to run races anywhere from a 5K to marathons. Stoner and his friend Newton Key, an Eastern history professor, remember fondly a time when they ran a half of a marathon, the Turkey Run in Danville, a couple years back.
"He's very easy to talk to when we're running races that are a half of a marathon," Key said. "What I like about him is he's had an interesting life. He was a trumpeter with the U.S. Marine band (that) played in the White House lots of times."
Right on track, Stoner is now running a 12-mile run this weekend. With his determination, Stoner focuses on running to prepare for two moments: the Napa Valley Marathon and the Boston Marathon.
"A race is very similar to performing. You've done your preparation, and now it's time to relax and focus on the business matter ahead," Stoner said.
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