ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 15, 1996 TAG: 9612160074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
MICHAEL ASHBY ran in a Santa suit, pushing his son in a decorated, department store shopping cart.
If Michael Ashby didn't go out Saturday and demonstrate his family's unusual tradition, his story might come across as too fanciful to be true.
But seeing him dressed in a red Santa's cap, pushing a department store cart down the middle of Jefferson Avenue in downtown Roanoke, it's hard to imagine he dreamed it all up.
Ashby finished last of nearly 500 participants in this weekend's Jingle Bell Run & Walk for Arthritis.
Many participants wore shorts or stretch outfits, but Ashby jogged behind a silver Wal-Mart cart bearing his son.
Long before sporting goods stores sold wheeled runners' strollers, Ashby said his father jogged in charity runs pushing him in a grocery cart. The first time, young Michael went along because his dad - a Marine stationed in Miami - couldn't find a baby sitter. A cart happened to be a handy form of transportation.
The novel approach was such a hit with event organizers and with fans, the father-son team returned the next year. From when he was 4 in 1973 until he was 11, Ashby said his father, Robert, now in his 60s, pushed him in dozens of charity events, including marathons.
Ashby estimates they wheeled over 1,300 miles and raised more than $100,000 for various causes.
"We lost a wheel the first time we ever did it," Ashby said. "We finished 25 miles with three wheels. He said he'd never do it again. And March of Dimes came along the next year and said, `Would you do it one more time?' He said `Yea.'
"We've done it in freezing snow and rain. The last time, I was 11 years old, he had an oxygen tank right here," pointing to the side of the cart.
That was their last race. "He was getting on the older side, and I was getting on the heavy side," Ashby said.
When they stopped, he said they had become virtual celebrities on the charity run circuit. They were featured on "Real People" and "That's Incredible," Ashby said.
One night last week, Ashby said he decided to revive the tradition while off duty from his part-time job as a bartender at the Elks Lodge on Persinger Road. His other pursuit is as a country singer and songwriter. His wife, Sara, a student and part-time telemarketing business employee, grew up in Roanoke.
After seeing an ad on television for the Jingle Bell 5-kilometer run, he put his plan in motion: He approached Wal-Mart, which supplied a cart and red foil paper for decorating its sides and gold tinsel for the edges. He enlisted the lodge as a sponsor and set a goal of making a generous donation that would include some of his own funds.
The Jingle Bell event's connection with arthritis prevention and management caught his eye because his mother, Corrine, of Wellsville, Ohio, is a sufferer.
He appeared at the Jingle Bell event starting line in a white suit and red Santa's cap with bells dangling from his shoelaces. Son Matthew, 2, wore red, sat on cushions and carried chocolate cookies. Two flags showing the big-nosed Elmo from "Sesame Street" flew from the cart.
Ashby, not a regular runner, said the cart and its contents quickly tired his shoulders and back. Nearly 45 minutes after the race began, he finished, trailed by a police van, blue lights flashing.
"Well, it was worth it," he said between pants.
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY\Staff. A puffing Michael Ashby and sonby CNBMatthew make their way down Jefferson Street. Their run in the
Jingle Bell Run & Walk for Arthritis kept a family tradition alive.
color.