Dave Terry: Tributes and Memories
September 24, 2009 by Bryon Powell · 5 Comments
I never got the chance to know Dave Terry, but he touched the lives of many of my closest ultrarunning friends. Unfortunately with Dave’s untimely passing last weekend, I’ll never get to know him in person. However, I’ve since learned of what a remarkable man he was from the many tributes that my friends and others have written about him. For those of you who don’t know or have never heard of Dave, he was an integral member of the ultrarunning community for seemingly forever. He was a loyal Montrail team runner for over a decade and logged 10 finishes at both the Western States and Wasatch 100 milers. That’s all I’ll say, except that you should read what Dave’s friend have to say about him. I’ve collected their stories below.
Tributes to Dave Terry
- Sean Meissner talks about meeting Dave, running with him at Zane Grey in 2005, and seeing him at Western States this year.
- Krissy Moehl remembers pacing Dave at the first 100 miler she attended (Wasatch 100 2002), his help in her learning about the Montrail team she managed, and his help after her run at Western States this year.
- Andy Jones-Wilkins shares many Western States memories of Dave (’01, ’06, ’07, & 09) and Dave’s words of encouragement during Wasatch in 2006.
- Craig Thornley evokes memories of Dr. Terry during the 2002 WS100. Check out the comments on Craig’s post for many more stories about Dave.
- Terri Schneider calls for us to talk about suicide in the wake of Dave’s death.
- Howard Cohen posts some great pictures of Dave.
- Others who provide insight into the great Dave Terry include:
- Rogue Valley Runners
- Tonya Olson
- Dom Repta on Team Montrail Canada’s blog
- Seattle Times obituary
Please let me know of other tributes and memories of Dave and I’ll post them. Feel free to share your stories in the comments as well.
Dave Terry was a long time part of the Montrail family.(Source: Ty Draney’s memorial post)
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- 2012 Western States 100 Pre-Race Story Roundup A round up of 2012 pre-race Western States 100 stories and interviews....
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Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell
Bryon,
My first encounter with Dave was at the 2001 Winterhawk 50k, my first ultra. In a desperate (and idiotic) move to try and win I bolted from the lead pack at about mile 23 and promptly got lost…only a rookie could get lost in Forest Park. After putting in a few bonus miles my anger turned into dejection as two "old guys" Smucker and Dave blitzed by my on the way up the last hill before the Portland zoo. Dave was always a lot of fun to be around. My wife and I spent some time with him when we all stayed at Krissy's parents house before Chuckanut in 2007. Dave had a special gift to make everyone feel special. He will be missed. I'm saddened to know we won't be seeing him on the trails but grateful to have known him as a friend and a teammate.
I met Dave Terry when Dave, Scott, Kyle and I ran the wonderland trail in 2006. It was the weekend after Dave ran wasatch. I threw up the last 27 miles of the wonderland, and Dave continually nursed me along with positive energy. Dave's energy was truly infectious. I caught up to him early at the seattle marathon a couple months later and, keeping up with dave led me to my fastest marathon to date. When I was sick at wasatch he slowed down to offer me support and advice. When I was injured, he consulted me as a doctor and friend. Dave was an incredibly genuine and real person. This weekend we ran the wonderland trail in Dr. DT's honor. My thoughts and memories of Dave gave me the same inspiration to charge as if he was right there. Thanks Dave. You are the man and you will be missed.
Brock
Ty and Brock,
Thanks for sharing your memories of Dave.
Bryon:
Our trip on the wonderland in honor of Dr. DT can be read at http://www.seesamrun.com/blog.
Thanks for your tribute to a wonderful man.
Brock
I think about Dave every day. It is great to see others thinking of him as well. I grew up ski racing with Dave at Crystal Mountain, the site of the White River 50. This was the first ultra we ever ran and the sport contributed greatly to our friendship ever since. Every year it feels great to carry on the legacy of our first ultra in a place that introduced us and established Dave as my best of friends!!
Scott