Learning from Ted
By Stephen Maher, Wenatchee World
July 29, 2010
Photo by Kelly Gillin/World file photo
Ted Finegold, foreground, and his wife, Lynda, skate ski at the Leavenworth Ski Hill in 2002. Ted Finegold died last week from cancer at the age of 43. He spent more than a decade organizing sporting events — and helping others — in the Wenatchee Valley and beyond.
Always moving. Always doing. Always showing.
Those are the images of Ted Finegold that come to mind.
Plans for swims, runs and rides flowed from Finegold like spring runoff on the Wenatchee River. Some remained, like an eddy, worthy of a plunge. Others he let drift by.
Trying to bag an interview with him at one of his events, say the Leavenworth Marathon, was akin to biking in a headwind. “Come on, follow me,” he’d say. And then we’d bounce about from one problem solved to another. “The race starts at 9.” “Here, let me you set up the booth over there.” “Hey, you got a second?”
When he raced himself, there was only one speed: Fast.
Skiing with Ted.
Running with Ted.
Riding with Ted.
And ultimately riding for Ted.
• • •
Last week, the motion stopped — at least momentarily. After dogging him for several years, the cancer finally caught up with Ted Finegold and he succumbed to the disease at the age of 43.
He leaves behind a loving family — his No. 1 passion by far; a multitude of friends, including this editor; fellow lawyers who admired his wit and keen mind; and clients who came to consider him as much a buddy as a legal voice.
He also leaves behind a track record unmatched in the local outdoor sports community.
Over the course of a decade, the events and clubs he started and nurtured helped put the Wenatchee Valley on the path to realizing its recreational sports potential.
“I don’t know of anyone who had his hands in as many events as he did,” says his friend, Todd Kiesz, adding Finegold was driven to showcase the area “because Wenatchee should and could.”
“He was instrumental in bringing our region to the forefront of multisport training and competitions,” adds Joel Rhyner, a co-founder of the RunWenatchee club and the Wenatchee Valley Trail Run Series. “His legacy will definitely live on through the events he loved.”
When Finegold and his wife, Lynda, moved from the East Coast to Wenatchee in 1994 to start his law career, the local sports calendar included the Ridge to River Relay, the Apple Century Ride, a fun run or two, and not much else.
Local athletes had to drive hundreds of miles for races. Tourist money went elsewhere.
For years, people had talked about turning the valley into a sports capital of sorts. The region’s mountains, lakes and rivers were ideal for holding nontraditional races. So was the seasonably good weather. Accommodations were in place.
Ted being Ted, he dove into it. In the late 1990s, he helped get the fledgling Wenatchee Valley Sports Council solidified, serving first as a board member and then as president, and focusing the group’s mission on driving tourism through sports events. He helped start the Wenatchee Valley Velo club, serving as president in its second year. He became a fixture on the YMCA board.
In 2000 came his first race, the Apple Capital Triathlon at Daroga State Park. That was soon followed by the Wenatchee Valley Duathlon at Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Then came the Wenatchee Marathon and Half-Marathon, then the Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon and Half-Marathon, then the Vela Bella bike ride at Lake Wenatchee, followed by the München Haus Bike Ride at Leavenworth.
Behind the scenes, Finegold helped with other events, including offering organizers free legal advice. He and his wife mapped and set up the courses for the Wenatchee Omnium bicycle road race and time trial near Malaga. Money raised from the marathons went to the Leavenworth Winter Sports Club and Wenatchee Valley Nordic Ski Education Foundation. He coached kids in soccer, swimming and tennis.
His enthusiasm was authentic; his energy contagious.
“He really thought the area was grossly underutilized for its potential,” says Kiesz.
“The recreational piece (of the events) was both to celebrate the valley and to bring people here,” says Ian Crossland, co-director of the Wenatchee and Leavenworth marathons. “But another part of it was to motivate people here who weren’t involved to get involved.”
• • •
Finegold, says Crossland, was really good at putting on events. He was organized and meticulous, drilling down to discover the last detail.
He also put himself in the shoes of the athletes.
“He’d always ask me, ‘If you were doing this event, what would you want,’ “ says Lynda Finegold.
It wasn’t just big events that Finegold had a hand in. In his north Wenatchee neighborhood, he set up kickball or games of tag for the kids, says next-door neighbor Shelley Granger.
“He just loved to see people succeed, beat their personal goals,” she says.
In turn, he even got to Granger, convincing her to run on a marathon relay team.
“I did 6 miles,” Granger says. “I wasn’t the fastest, but in my wildest dreams I never thought I could do that. He said I could.”
The idea for the Wenatchee Marathon had a similar good feel to it. One day in the early winter of 2004-05, Finegold and Crossland were talking about the recent death of Ian’s mother, Kris, from cancer. Before long, Finegold was hinting at starting a marathon and giving part of the proceeds to cancer research.
“Ted, in his classic way, was like, ‘Let’s roll that into a positive event,’” says Crossland.
The first marathon in the city’s history was held on April 16, 2005. It attracted about 350 runners.
This past April, the Wenatchee Marathon celebrated its sixth anniversary and drew 1,100 participants. Last fall, the Leavenworth Oktoberfest Marathon attracted a record 1,500 runners in its fifth year.
Crossland, who grew up and lives today in Cashmere, says “tens of thousands of dollars” have been donated to cancer research and to local charities by the two marathons.
A chunk of that came before Finegold was ever diagnosed himself with cancer.
• • •
The cancer news a few years ago was a stunner to all those who knew Finegold for the vibrant athlete and person he was. He fought the disease in much the same way he handled other tasks in life — finding out as much as could, determining what worked best and then taking it on with both tenacity and grace.
He never let up.
He rarely let on.
Although some in the community knew of his battle — T-shirts with the words, ‘Running with Ted’ emblazoned on them were sold as a cancer research fundraiser — he continued to live largely the way he had before. He kept knocking out new events; kept helping others with their events; kept encouraging his kids, Jake and Berkeley, in their activities; kept cheering on his beloved Florida Gators football team; kept up his trademark banter and honesty and laughter.
And he continued to ride, run and ski.
“Even when he was in chemo, I couldn’t keep up with him,” Kiesz says.
A year ago, he skydived with his wife out of a plane above Ritzville.
Just five weeks before his death, he completed a half-ironman triathlon in Boise, Idaho, in under six hours.
“Amazing, the strength and toughness of that man,” Granger reflects today.
As the days and hours slipped away, he implored Crossland to make sure a long-overdue award was mailed to a Bellingham runner who finished among the leaders at the Wenatchee Marathon. The guy had never placed before at a race and Finegold wanted to make sure he was recognized.
And finally he made his wife and Crossland promise something else.
They must continue the marathons.
Ted always doing.
“He was always thinking of the next adventure the kids would have or someone else would have,” Crossland says.
Ted always showing.
“Ted taught us a lot,” Lynda says. “Just take on what he taught.”
Stephen Maher: 664-7154
maher@wenatcheeworld.com
