It runs in the family

Since he was in high school, Lance Winders has had a passion for running. But he never expected his passion to become a family legacy.

Born in Oregon, Winders moved to Paris at a young age and has lived in Mansfield for most of his life. Lance first discovered his passion for running when he was a sophomore in high school.

“I had Mrs. Lamar Roberts, who was my favorite teacher, and she got us running in our P.E. class,” he said. “We had to run a mile-and-a-half loop, and I found out that I liked it and was halfway decent at it.

“So from that point on, I was always running off and on. It was when I was 18 that I started running more seriously.”

Lance graduated from Murray State University in 1988 and took a job as a physical director at a YMCA in Ohio. But soon, he realized he wanted something more.

“During the summer, a lot of my friends were teachers, and they would be gone. So, I decided I wanted to go back and teach,” he said.

Lance then went back to Murray State to get a degree in physical education. While there, he would meet the love of his life.

“Stephanie (then Evans) was finishing up at Murray and ran track and cross country there. So, I would naturally go down there [the track] because I still competed and actually trained some of those guys [runners], and that’s where I met Stephanie,” he said.

Stephanie was studying exercise physiology at the time, and both ran competitively. They ran in numerous cross country events each season during their college careers.

Individually, Lance has competed in around 600 road races alone, not counting cross-country or track events.

After college, the couple married and continued to run competitively. 

Stephanie ran competitively until the couple’s oldest son, Javan, 18, was born.

“She actually ran that morning he was born,” Lance said with a laugh. “She ran every day. She got up and ran Aug. 5, 1997. I saw her take off running. 

“She came back home. We were building a garage at the time, and she walked out and said, ‘Uh oh. I think it’s time.’” 

Over the next few years, Lance and Stephanie would also welcome their sons, Titus and Silas, and daughter, Dinah, into the family.

Little did they know that their children would take an interest in running as well.

“For me, of course, I’ve been around it my whole life,” Javan said. “I was in kindergarten at Lakewood, and he [Lance] is the P.E. teacher there. Every year, they would have to run a mile run for some state standard, and one day, I came down to the gym early, before it was time to leave.

“He was outside, and some kid was running the mile, so I asked dad what he was doing. He said, ‘Well, we have to run a mile.’ So I said, ‘Well, I think I can do a mile.’ Dad said, ‘When we get home, we can see if you can.’ So, we got home, and I ran a mile. And I’ve always been running.”

Later, Titus, 16; Silas, 14; and Dinah, 12, would all follow.

“They [Lance and Stephanie] were always running, and he [Javan] was always running. And you know you want to be like big brother or whatever, so why not,” Titus said jokingly. “So I ran, and I decided I liked it.”

“I saw it as I was growing up and pretty much decided I wanted to do it too,” Silas added.

“My whole family are runners, so…,” Dinah said with a laugh.

The decision to start running was always their own.

“Any little thing that we could do to show them the positive sides of running, we never made them run,” Lance said.

“It was always, ‘This is our lifestyle we do. If you choose to continue this, let me show you all the positive things that come with it.’”

Running, like most other sports or activities, comes with a price, according to Lance.

“There are some things that are sacrifices you have to make, so there are negative things, if you look at it like that,” he said. 

“I might go do the 5K, the 10K or something, but they would have a little kids’ one-mile fun run.

“So, I would always ask if they wanted to run it, and most of the time, they would. They got their feet wet with short races like that when they were in first, second or third grade.”

Lance and Stephanie are extremely proud to see all four kids follow in their footsteps.

“For me it’s something that I think is a pure sport,” Lance says. “There’s no gray area. It’s based off time and place. In some team sports, you look at who your starters are, who’s getting to play, and it’s kind of a gray area.

“But in running, it’s clear-cut. You know who’s the best and who’s not the best. And it’s my favorite sport. For them to want to follow that and do what we’re doing, it makes it a lot easier for me, because I understand it and don’t have to learn it.”

“I just always loved it,” Stephanie says. “In high school, it was something that always kept me on the straight and narrow. We made lots of bonds and friendships that way and had lots of experiences. It helped pay for my college. 

“When I watch them, I always love it. My mom would always run around and cheer for me, and I do the same for them.”

Being the head coach for both the Henry County High School cross country team and the Henry County Patriot middle school cross country team, Lance has also had the pleasure of getting to coach all four of his children. 

“At times, it’s frustrating,” he said jokingly. “Most of the time, it’s a positive experience because every parent thinks that they know how to coach every sport, and I’m the same way if we were doing other sports.

“So, for me to actually have my hands in it, if something goes wrong, I have no one to blame but myself. I can’t blame the coach. I have to look at myself. But to get to coach them and to see them excel, it doesn’t end at the meet.”

“On the drive home, or while we’re sitting around at the table, we can talk about it, and I can see it more in depth because I know every aspect of their training,” he added.

“We can talk about it, and we try to be positive about it. It’s just rewarding. When you have one doing it, it’s pretty special, but when you have all four doing it… You can’t beat it.”

While coaching, Lance has had several, extremely proud moments for each of his children.

For Javan, he says his proudest running moment was a victory at the Brooks Twilight Classic in Memphis last season. 

“He won that meet in exciting fashion… he placed third in the state, so that’s exciting too, but I think when I just look at the wins, that was a marquee win.”

For Titus, his proudest moment thus far was in middle school. 

“There were nearly 400 people in the middle school state meet, and Titus made a strong move and pulled away from the other kids and won that meet. So that was exciting.” 

Two years later, Silas would win the same state meet. 

“Silas did the exact same thing, almost the identical move that he [Titus] made,” Lance said.

“He had been second his seventh-grade year, but he came back his eighth-grade year and won it.

“Dinah is still pretty young, so if I had to look at hers, there’s a second state meet that started this past year for the TMSAA, and we decided to run that with our middle school, and lo and behold, Dinah won that,” he said.

Lance’s children have a few proud moments of their own.

“My proudest moment was when I signed for college, because it’s like all the hard work has finally paid off,” Javan said.

Javan signed with the University of Southern Indiana and will begin his college career this fall.

“That middle school state meet was pretty good, but this past year in high school, I got eighth (in cross-country) in the state, so that was pretty cool,” Titus said. 

“It meant a lot to me. Even though it was eighth, it was all-state. That was better than I was hoping to do. 

“That was better than what my goal was, so I was really proud of that.”

Titus will be a junior in high school this year and has begun looking at different colleges.

Silas, who will be entering high school this year, said his proudest moment thus far has been winning at the state meet last year in cross-country.

Dinah, who will be in seventh grade, says she also enjoyed the state meet.

“I got all-state in my race, which I was really proud that I did,” she says.

With the success they’ve had comes hard work.

“They are hard workers,” Stephanie said. “People are always like, ‘Well, I’m so impressed.’ Well, that’s because they work really hard.”

“At 7 a.m. this morning, they’re already out there, running, and they’re doing a hard run on a hilly road,” Lance said.

“A lot of people don’t see that, because what’s summer all about? Summer is about kids being out of school, playing, kicking back and having fun, and they do that, but they get the run in first. They knock it out, and then they’re done.”

“My goal for these four is to continue to excel and represent Henry County well, and beyond that, to all go to college on scholarships so I can retire at a decent age,” Lance said laughingly. 

“I say that, but one thing that I’ve told my kids when they were younger was that I wanted them to work for college.

“They have jobs that they do. These boys mow yards, and she (Dinah) does what she can right now, but they’re going to use their brain and use their legs to pay for college.”

“I’ve been blessed just for them to keep continuing to be good students and good children,” Stephanie said. “If they make good choices along the way, then I’m happy.”

As for their plans for the future, the Winders family will continue to keep running.

Though he hasn’t decided on a major, Javan is excited for college and to start his college running career at Southern Indiana. 

After college, he wants to move back to Henry County and get a job. 

Titus wants to continue to do well in school and hopefully get a good score on the ACT, so he can get into a good college. 

Starting his high school career, Silas wants to make the most of high school, run well and get good grades.

Dinah wants to improve in running and progress in life.

“I’ve taught for 23 years, so according to the state of Tennessee, I have to teach for at least seven more years. At the end of seven years, I will look at how things are going, whether I want to retire or continue work,” Lance says. 

“When I retire, I retire. I won’t find another job, because I love my job. I’m at, what I consider, the best situation.

“There’s not another teacher in Henry County that has a job that I want. I love my job. 

“I’m at the school that I want to be at. I work with and for the people I want to work with, so I’m just happy and blessed.”