Running is his life

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 23, 2001

Cascade’s Fader was near death 43 months ago

EVERETT — It’s weird, Andy Fader said, to think about not growing up.

To slip into a coma and never come out of it.

To die at 14.

To never be able to sprint down the front side of a track as he was doing at this moment, his stride long, smooth and strong.

”That’s a kick," shouted his coach, Herm Atkins, as Fader hit the imaginary finish line in practice this week. "FAN-tas-tic. You’re ready to go run in a race."

The Cascade High School senior will run in two races this weekend in the Class 4A state track and field meet at the Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma — the 1,600 meters (mile) on Friday, the 3,200 (2-mile) on Saturday.

"Who knows what he’s going to do in state," Atkins mused. "Whether he wins or loses, that’s not the end of his career. The state meet is not the last race."

Forty-three months ago, Jerry Fader worried not about whether his son would ever race again, but whether he would live.

"He was within hours of death," Jerry said.

Andy, a 14-year-old freshman, had contracted meningococcal meningitis, a disease that infects the lining of the brain. For 3 1/2 days, he lay in a coma at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle.

When he finally woke up, he gave correct answers to some questions, but was confused about why he was in the hospital. "It was so weird because I didn’t really experience any of it," he said. "I was out. I don’t remember anything."

He is sitting on a small set of bleachers on the infield of the track at Everett Memorial Stadium. He is sweating from a short, but demanding workout. He is reliving that traumatic time during the fall of 1997. "It was a lot worse on my family than it was on me," he said. "They had to go through all the emotional stuff."

It was Fader, though, who had to miss two months of school and then, when he returned, a couple weeks of half-days. Falling behind in his schoolwork, his GPA took a beating.

The nearly four days he spent in the hospital took a heavy toll on his body. "They had to dehydrate him so that his brain wouldn’t swell," Jerry said, "and he went from 130 pounds to 101."

By spring, Andy had regained strength and turned out for the Cascade track team. "He worked really hard as a freshman," said head coach Craig Bekins, "and became a decent but by no means one of our best (runners). It wasn’t until after he made a commitment that he was going to be a distance runner that he began having some success as a sophomore."

His second year, he qualified for state in the 3,200 and "got his socks blown off," according to Atkins, an Everett police officer who works out of Cascade during the school year and, as a former world-ranked marathoner, assists Bekins with the distance runners in the spring.

Last year, Fader again made it to state, finishing ninth in the 1,600 and eighth in the 3,200. "He improved," Atkins said, "but he still made mistakes."

Atkins could look at Fader and see himself as a high school runner. "The first time I went to state, I got dead last (in the 1,600)," he recalled. "I was in a total fog.

"My senior year, I was fifth. I knew where I was. Same thing with him. He’s matured a lot."

Bekins described Fader’s fortitude as "amazing" and that was never more apparent than in the 4A bi-district meet last week. Fader was fighting the flu when he ran the 1,600 on Wednesday. Bekins was concerned that he might not even be able to finish the race. "I didn’t feel like I had any energy," Fader said.

He had enough energy, though, to finish second and qualify for state. By Friday, and after some antibiotics, he was feeling better, but still not completely restored as he got ready for the 3,200. He called on whatever resources he had and they didn’t fail him: He won in 9:28.18.

Then he collapsed. "He couldn’t walk after the 3,200," Bekins said. "He was literally on his hands and knees afterwards." That he completed both races and finished strongly didn’t surprise his father. Jerry Fader knows his son as a "very competitive, stubborn and determined" young man.

He must get his resolve from his father. When Andy was 3, his mother died of complications from surgery. Jerry was left with two sons to raise, Andy and Joel, who was 1 1/2 at the time. Then, 11 years later, Andy went to sleep one night on the couch watching TV and didn’t wake up for nearly four days. Finally, two years ago, Joel had to have two steel rods inserted to help straighten out his spine. "I think all of this just made us a stronger family," Jerry said.

The strength of the oldest son "set a tone" for the Cascade team in the district meet, Bekins said, and the Bruins surprised some people with a three-point victory over Lake Washington. "Andy’s a special kid," the coach said. "He’s the best distance runner Cascade has ever seen. We didn’t have any idea he would become the talent he has become."

You achieve excellence in distance running through hard work and self-discipline.

"He’s as hard a worker as any kid I’ve ever had in any sport," Bekins said, "and that’s 31 years in track, almost as many in football and 25 in basketball."

Both Bekins and Atkins think Fader’s best running years are ahead of him, and not necessarily just in college. "I figure give him six years, when he’s out of college," Atkins said, "and you’re really going to hear about Andy Fader."

With this stipulation: He must receive the right coaching. "So many college coaches grind ‘em up and grind ‘em out," Bekins said, referring to distance runners. "It’s critical that he be handled by the right people."

Right now, Fader, who has brought his GPA up to 3.2, is leaning toward the University of Washington, but hasn’t signed anything. A strong finish at state might attract some more suitors, perhaps a University of Oregon or a Washington State, both of which have turned out some superb distance runners.

"If Andy is of a mind that he wants to become a great distance runner, he has the potential to do that," Bekins said, "and his best years will be after college."

For now, he has only one thing in mind: to dominate this weekend.

After the workout the other day, Fader was reminded of his past state meets.

"Remember the first year you got blown away," Atkins said, "and every year after that you got better and better. That’s what it’s all about.

"Now, go out and kick butt."