Lawrence resident a powerful resource for running community
Lawrence resident Stanley “Stush” Sadowski is a regular on the area running circuit. He’s completed two marathons and participates in about 40 races per year.
Lawrence resident Stanley “Stush” Sadowski will be recognized as a Power of Running nominee by Fleet Feet Sports Pittsburgh tonight at the South Hills store.
Stanley Sadowski thought he planned the perfect winter weekend getaway.
Sadowski, a Lawrence resident better known as “Stush” to his lengthy list of friends, took his wife, Nancy, to Emlenton, a borough located in Venango and Clarion counties, where a nearby hotel, chocolate factory and winery made the location ideal. Of course, being a weekend, Sadowski made plans to run a race, something he does 40 to 45 times each year.
This race, however, was going to be different. Sadowski planned to wear an outfit Nancy purchased.
“The outfit was nice. It was black with red stripes, real sharp,” Sadowski said. “So, I’m getting ready for the race, and as I’m headed toward the start, my wife said, ‘You might want to rethink that outfit.'”
Near the start line were other Pittsburgh-area runners. Upon spotting Sadowski, they needed a double take because he wasn’t shirtless or wearing short shorts. Over 12 years of racing, going shirtless – no matter the conditions – is Sadowski’s signature look. Despite being 5 feet, 3 inches tall, it makes Sadowski stand out.
“I told her I didn’t want to go shirtless because it was only 9 degrees, but (Nancy) told me, ‘It’s in your hands now,” Sadowski said. “Off went the shirt, and it was a 10-mile run. … The funny thing is, I finished ninth overall but didn’t place in my age group. There was some good, old geezers running in that race.”
Sadowski, 58, plans to wear a shirt tonight when he is one of three regional nominees for Power of Running, a national campaign launched during the summer by Fleet Feet Sports to recognize inspirational athletes. Sadowski, James Wolf and Vaughn Schmid will be recognized at 7:15 p.m. at Fleet Feet Sports Pittsburgh, 1751 N. Highland Road, in the South Hills, for their contributions to the running community. Each nominee will give a speech, followed by an award ceremony and a toast.
“I’ll bring my shirt,” said Sadowski, a two-time marathon finisher who regularly finishes at or near the top of his age group in events. “Maybe I’ll have to take it off if they ask.”
Sadowski began running at 46, when he developed a “beer belly without being a big beer drinker.” Over the last 12 years, he’s become one of Western Pennsylvania’s more well-known and easily recognizable runners.
But Sadowski’s running wardrobe – or lack of one – isn’t why Bob Pikelis, a Canonsburg resident, longtime distance runner and Fleet Feet employee, nominated Sadowski.
“I’ve known Stush about the last 10 years, and one of the things about him is he will run his race, and he runs well, and go back out and find someone struggling or not having a good day, and he’ll help them out and encourage them,” Pikelis said. “If he’s not running with someone, he’s on the sidelines encouraging others. He’s somebody who loves to inspire others.”
Sadowski once approached Pikelis in hopes of becoming a better distance runner. The two now run races together when the schedule permits.
“There was a half marathon on a cold day. It was about 25 degrees,” Pikelis said. “Warming up, I’ve got long sleeves, long pants and probably a vest on. He’s in no shirt and shorts. A woman turned around and said if he’s running like this in this weather, what’s he do when it’s warm out. I told her, ‘You don’t want to go there.'”
Despite the late start in the sport, running has taken Sadowski plenty of places, not that he was in search of a hobby when he started.
An auto repair shop owner and father of two, Sadowski manages 18 rental properties, runs various seasonal side businesses and boards 50 free-range chickens, seven horses, a goat and a rabbit at a farm in Hendersonville. Oh, and he’s been a volunteer firefighter for 39 years.
“I tell people all the time, if I can do all this, you can do it, too,” Sadowski said. “I know what it means to me to just finish a race, whether I run well or not. When I started (going back and helping runners), my kids told me to quit. They were embarrassed. But then, people started saying, ‘Hey dude, thanks for that little bit of encouragement.’ Everybody needs to know they can do it, and I’ll yell at everybody if I have to.”