The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Running ‘life-changing’ for Riverside’s Condon
Spectators thinned on the Madison High School grounds late in the morning Sept. 29. The U Wanna Come Back Invitational’s main events, the varsity boys and girls races, ended shortly after 10 a.m.
Yet, nearly two hours after the boys varsity race won by Riverside’s AJ Haffa began at 9 a.m., nothing superseded the Beavers’ excitement during the morning’s open race.
One hundred and eighteen of the 121 runners who participated in the boys open race crossed the finish line before a stir arose some 50 yards from it. Riverside’s boys and girls teams gathered along the course’s home stretch to cheer their teammate as he rounded into the race’s final meters.
Senior Jack Condon, sighting the finish line, increased his pace and ran underneath the yellow-and-blue arch. The sensor laid in the grass below communicated with the chip implanted on Condon’s bib, numbered 5582, and logged his time at 26 minutes, 48 seconds.
Dustin Ettinger, essentially Condon’s personal coach, sprinted toward the finisher’s area and high-fived Condon over the short, chain-link fence that separated the adjacent baseball diamond. Condon’s 26:48 race denoted a personal-best time.
Celebrations of PRs aren’t uncommon on a Saturday during cross country season. Condon’s meant more.
His PR at Madison signified a pinnacle in the relationship between the senior studentathlete and running.
Condon’s accomplishment denoted his improvement as a runner and, more importantly, progression off the course made possible by a sport Condon’s mother calls life-changing.
Condon’s parents, Amanda and Pat, noticed an abnormality in their son when he was 18 months old. Jack Condon could already read but struggled with communication. At the time, he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder — a diagnosis now included under the umbrella of autism spectrum disorder since 2013. According to Autism Speaks, autism refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and non-verbal communication. Autism affects an estimated 1 in 59 children.
The Condons are a running family. Amanda ran in high school and continues to train. Pat played football in high school but picked up the hobby, too. Jack’s younger brother, Brady, runs on University’s cross country team. Jack began running in sixth grade for a succinct reason.
“Just because,” Condon said. “I just love to run.”
Condon began running in sixth grade as a student at Riverside Local Schools’ LaMuth Middle School. LaMuth is one of many Lake County elementary and middle schools that are members of the JUST RUN program. JUST RUN promotes fitness and healthy lifestyle choices while combating childhood obesity.
Condon’s participation in the program required one of his parents to run with him. They willingly obliged, and Condon finished his sixthgrade program, accompanied by Amanda, running a race at Fairport Harbor.
Once Jack Condon began running, his mother noticed a difference. He spoke more easily and improved his ability to regulate his emotions.
“He can start a conversation after he’s done,” Amanda Condon said. “He’ll get in the car and tell me all this stuff he talked about when he was running, the stuff he did during the day. A day when he’s not running, he doesn’t do that. I have to piecemeal stuff out of him.”
Condon participated in JUST RUN during seventh grade, which went well enough that he wanted to join the middle school’s cross country team as an eighth-grader. Condon’s parents weren’t ready to allow their son to take the step, but looked ahead to his next school year.
At Riverside High School, they believed the necessary support would be in place. Matt Ozinga, the boys cross country coach at the time, worked as an intervention specialist in the district. Girls coach Chris Basich also had experience working with special needs students.
After a few hiccups during the team’s early-season training, the school district enlisted the services of special needs aide Kathy Babcock to work with Condon in practices. Condon ran his first race at Ashtabula’s War on the Shore.
Amanda Condon recalls her anxiety before the race, wondering if her son would
manage to find his way on the course and self-regulate while he ran without her. She estimates Jack finished the race in 38 minutes. When he neared the finish line on the beach alongside Lake Erie, his teammates ran alongside him while he completed the race.
The Condons’ stress was replaced by joyful amazement while they watched their son simply participate with his teammates.
“It was life-changing for us and for him,” Amanda Condon said, “because he finally was a part of something. He could just be another kid and he could be another kid with all the other kids.”
Jack Condon doesn’t run in the varsity races during meets, but he has a meaningful role in the program.
“He really holds the team together,” Haffa said. “He’s like the basis of the team. He shows courage doing this the past four years. It’s always fun to have him around.”
Ettinger, in his second year working with Condon, has been more than impressed with the Beavers’ inclusion of their teammate.
Before, Ettinger would need to remind Riverside’s boys and girls teams to stand near the course and cheer Condon through the home stretch. This fall, the Beavers’ enthusiasm during the end of the boys open race at Madison was a weekly occurrence that didn’t require Ettinger’s urging.
“They treat him how they should treat anyone else,” Ettinger said, “like a normal student and they give him every opportunity in the world to succeed and let him know he’s doing a great job with his running. They treat him very well, and I love that.”
After Condon’s sophomore year, Babcock was unable to continue in her stead as Condon’s aide due to the activity schedules of her own children. Ettinger, a 2016 Riverside graduate, heard of the vacant post when his track and field coach at Lake Erie College emailed the job posting to his team.
Ettinger, now 20, studies special education at Lake Erie and plans to begin teaching when he graduates. He wants to attain a master’s degree and pursue a career as an administrator within a school district. His drive to work with special needs students derived from his experience growing up with his cousin, a special needs student who attended Madison High School.
Condon met Ettinger on Aug. 1, 2017. Their connection was immediate. Condon didn’t always take well to new people, but talked Ettinger’s ear off while they ran at their first practices together.
Condon opened up to Ettinger, especially about his chief interest — Cedar Point. His knowledge of the park’s roller coasters is encyclopedic and rapidly recalled. Condon knows a good deal about the city of Mentor, particularly when many of the city’s buildings were built and what time they open or close. When the pair run through parks like Lake Erie Bluffs or cemeteries, Condon will immediately memorize information he reads on signs or headstones then share it with Ettinger later.
Condon enjoys businesses in general, especially his favorite fast food establishments. He knows when they were opened, by whom and the address of certain locations. During practices,
Condon shares the latest NASDAQ data with his teammates and coaches.
“He’s just a genius,” Ettinger said. “I’ve never met a smarter kid in my life.”
Off the course, Condon enjoys cartoons like “SpongeBob Squarepants” and those made by Hanna-Barbera decades ago. One of his favorite things to do is play catch with his 84-year-old grandfather, whom Amanda says is Jack’s best friend.
And, there is a certain establishment for which Condon has a distinct affinity.
“He loves Chuck E. Cheese as well,” Ettinger said. “That is one of his favorite things in the world. Even though he doesn’t go there, he just loves it.”
Amanda Condon calls Ettinger’s presence as a friend, peer and role model in her son’s life a godsend.
“Dustin is probably the closest thing to a best friend that’s close in age to Jack that he’s ever had,” Condon said. “They just mesh well.”
Ettinger ran closely beside Jack Condon when he first started working with him. As their training continued, he’s been able to run ahead or behind Condon during their sessions. Condon understands what expected of him, in races and practices. By the end of his senior year, Condon ran races by himself while Ettinger went to different checkpoints around the course as every other coach would.
Ettinger was thrilled when Condon set his PR at Madison. Some attempt to credit him for Condon’s progress, and Ettinger directs it to his ward.
“I’m like, ‘No, that’s him,’” Ettinger said. “He’s the one putting in the work, I’m just there talking with
him and running, having a good time. To me, it’s not even work, it’s more like I made a best friend. I love it, I can’t stress that enough.”
Amanda Condon says Jack will not go to college, as it’s not the right fit. He’s focused on his interests. The option exists for Condon to attend Riverside until he turns 22. As within cross country, the Condons want to find an opportunity for Jack to thrive — especially with his remarkable memory and intelligence.
From Jack’s story with cross country, Pat and Amanda Condon learned not to allow their fears hold their son back from something he wanted to do that ultimately proved phenomenal. It’s a lesson applicable to any parent.
Condon’s progress through his four-year process at Riverside may not have been possible in football, basketball or baseball — sports with a higher emphasis on team responsibility. Externally, cross country appears to be an individualized, solitary sport. Runners are responsible for their own training and performance.
Yet, running is an inherently inclusive pursuit. At nearly every high school, the programs are no-cut sports. Any student can become a team member, if he or she desires. On Saturdays during the fall, team tents at parks or running trails feature unparalleled camaraderie.
Through cross country, Condon found inclusion, friendship and achievement.
“I mean, that’s all you want for your kids,” Amanda Condon said, “is for them to be happy, to be accepted for who they are and to be able to be the best that they can be.”