Professional: Edge Member Spotlight

American Fitness, May, 1999 by Mark Barrett

DONETTA LANGSTAFF

As Donetta Langstaff drove under St. John's Bridge on November 14, 1996, she recalled how well she ran in the Portland Marathon the year before and planned to run even better this time. That bridge was one of the last things she remembers before losing consciousness. Langstaff awoke in a bed at Emanuel Hospital and inquired about what had happened. She was told she had been in an auto accident and was severely injured--a fractured right fibula, broken nose and facial lacerations. Her response was simple: "How soon can I run again?" Her accident wasn't the first challenge or tragedy she'd faced in her life. It wasn't surprising that her first thoughts were about running--her "therapy and best friend."

As a teenager in the 1950s, Langstaff, like many other teenage girls, wasn't encouraged to play sports. However, she practiced swimming and skiing and later raised four active children. Jon was involved in football, track and wrestling. Curtis ran track, taught skiing and practiced weight training. Ina was a skier and rock climber. Robert ran cross-country and track while in high school and in the Air Force Academy. When he qualified for the 1984 Olympic trials in the 1500-meter event, Langstaff took her first steps as a runner. She had already been swimming and body building, therefore, it wasn't too hard for her to begin. She set a goal of finishing a 10K road race. She trained for eight months to compete in her first race at Jantzen Beach in 1983. At 42 years old, she completed the race in about 56 minutes, but it would certainly not be her last.

She moved to Hawaii in 1984 and expanded her athletic pursuits to include biathlons (10K run and half-mile swim), half marathons and the Honolulu Marathon in 1986, which she finished in five hours. Langstaff wasn't the fastest runner but she always finished feeling great. "I love the way I feel when I'm done," she says. "I just remember that feeling and it gets me going." Running became therapy for her body, mind and spirit. It became one of her "best friends." In time, she would need all of her strength to face horrible upheaval.

On November 7, 1987, the police came to Langstaff's doorstep. They told her the news--her daughter Ina had been found dead in Flagstaff, Arizona. She immediately called her sons and they came to support her. Ina had apparently been last seen walking her cat the night before. A neighbor found her lifeless body outside her apartment the next morning--savagely stabbed 29 times. The police had a lead on a suspect but insufficient evidence for an arrest. Ina was buried on Friday, November 13, 1987, in Portland, Oregon.

Langstaff moved back to Portland shortly after the homicide. She was devastated due to the loss of her "baby girl," who had grown to be a smart and beautiful woman. For a long time, she truly wanted to die. She never contemplated suicide, but at times the pain of her loss was too intense to keep living. However, she refused to give up. She says, "The greatest thing I could do was keep living."

She found support through her sons and running. "My sons were my support group," she says. "They were always willing to listen." She increasingly began running as therapy for her loss. She would run even in the rain as her tears ran down her face. It was a baptism, a cleansing of her pain. She especially enjoyed running in Tryon Creek Park and Wildwood Trail. "We ran through the trails of the woods together." She was healing her mind and spirit through exercise.

After several years, Langstaff's life was almost "back to normal." Grief was no longer her life's focus. In 1992, she visited her daughter's murder site. The homicide remained unsolved, but she didn't obsess about it. She continued running and teaching aerobics.

Headed northbound for Scapposse on Highway 30 while driving under St. John's Bridge in her Honda CRX, Langstaff's life turned again. It happened so fast, she didn't even see it coming. A man driving southbound apparently attempted to make a U-turn in the middle of the highway. He spun into the northbound lane, colliding with Langstaff's vehicle. She was badly injured, but the female passenger in the other car was killed. With the help of a trauma nurse who was fortunately driving behind Langstaff, paramedics were able to stabilize her in two hours. She was airlifted to the hospital.

Her broken fibula would heal, but most of the cartilage on one leg was gone, making running impossible. Doctors told her she'd walk again but would probably never run. But she refused to surrender. After months of surgery and physical therapy, Langstaff started walking again in March, 1997. She returned to the trails of Wildwood, finding it painful to walk up the hills she once ran. She can still reach the top, even if she has to walk sideways. Before, exercise helped Langstaff heal her broken spirit. This time, her spirit and mind are fueling the healing of her body. In time, her "best friend" will mend. "If anyone can run again, I can," she insists.