“I love running cross country… On a track I feel like a hamster.”

Those words came from the late Robin Williams many years ago.

We all know him as the man who would make us laugh as Mrs. Doubtfire, explode as Genie, and heal as Patch Adams. Williams came into the spotlight as the alien Mork in the TV series Happy Days. Since then he’s shined brighter and brighter over the years.

But Williams had an even more distant history of success ━ as a runner.

The Glory Days

Robin Williams ran cross country and track in his youth. Some of his best times include 1:58.8 in the 800 meters, and around a 52 split in what was then the 4x400 meter relay school record of 3:21.2 in 1969. (Listed as 3:22.9 in 1991) He ran for Redwood High School in Larkspur, California.

As left the 5000 meter and 800 meters to be part of school history, Williams still stayed very much in the running community.

He still ran races, but not as fast or as short as his pinnacle days at Redwood. He ran in the Dipsea Race in 1984, and even participated in triathlons with disabled athletes.

“It’s like coming back to family,” said Williams while at one of the CAF’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge in regards to the working with the disabled athletes.

His 20-year involvement with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization that provides opportunities and support to athletes with physical disabilities, included teaming up with disabled athletes to participate in triathlons. One of his teammates, double-amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson went on the Oprah Winfrey show with Williams to talk about the achievements of athletes with disabilities.

Founding members of the Challenged Athletes Foundation said the actor's presence brought attention and credibility to their cause. "He truly found joy in participating side-by-side with our challenged athletes and we cannot thank him enough for the support and energy he brought to our organization," they said in a statement on the Challenged Athletes Foundation website.

Williams participated in the San Diego challenge for the past 11 years, and has rode with many of their cyclist.

Williams will always be remembered for his out of this world comedic roles and stand up performances, which occasionally touched on the subject of running.

"One of my favorite runners of all time was Abebe Bikila,” said Williams. “He was an Ethiopian distance runner, and he won the Rome Olympics running barefoot. He was then sponsored by Adidas. He ran the next Olympics, he carried the freakin’¹ shoes!"

Robin Williams will be remembered and missed as the actor who filled our hearts with joy time after time, and who contributed so much to the running community.

¹___________________________________________________

Williams actually used profanity. It was taken out for respective purposes.