Most people just kill time between college and grad school but not Tom Richardson. After completing his BS at Arizona State, Tom and some buddies started a six-month hike along the Appalachian Trail. The 2,100-mile trail begins in Georgia and ends in Maine. That journey could probably be a book in itself. Still having fresh legs, Tom and a buddy decided to bike cross-country. They pedaled from Oregon to Tennessee. All along the journey they found themselves talking favorably about their stopover in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. By the time they reached Tennessee the desire to return to Jackson Hole was overwhelming. No, they didn’t sell their bikes and fly to Jackson Hole, they simply rode back. Once there, Tom and his friend supported themselves with a number of odd jobs, ending up as ranch hands. Tom worked on the ranch for a year fixing fences, herding cattle, and all the other activities one might imagine. When we see Tom sporting around in his white Volkswagen convertible, it’s hard to imagine that if we had known him in 1975 he would have been a cowboy. I picture the Marlborough man without a cigarette.
All of these adventures after college probably wouldn’t surprise any of his childhood friends in Babson Park, Florida. When Tom talks about his youth, it involves hiking, camping and canoeing in one of the prettiest spots in Florida. His small high school needed him to play every sport, but it was swimming that he took with him to Arizona State.
To take advantage of one of the best forestry programs around, Tom did his graduate work at Southern Mississippi. After completing his MS, he stayed on to teach a course for the university that he designed. It involved taking 13 students (11 women) on a three-month Appalachian Trail hike. Each student received course credit in a number of curriculums. Tom required the students to do a wide range of scientific projects, but many kept journals to fulfill English requirements.
Tom had been away from Florida long enough, so he returned home to start a peat and potting soil business turning it into the largest in Florida. After the sale of his business, Tom was recruited by a number of major companies to market their products. He covered South America for Tropicana, the nation for Jimmy Dean Sausage and currently Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzels. Even though Tom always introduces himself now as a “pretzel salesman,” we all know he is the East Coast Sales Manager. Don’t let Tom fool you as he’s passing out pretzels to all of us on Tuesday nights, he’s really a pretty important guy.
Tom’s current passion is The Florida Trail; currently he is serving as Director of the Florida Trail Association. He is in the process of walking each mile of the 1,300-mile trail that begins in the Everglades, ending at the Alabama line near Pensacola. If Tom is unable to find someone to accompany him on a hike, he simply heads out alone to cover a new stretch of a Florida trail. I think you’re probably getting the idea; Tom is a very surprising guy! I’m constantly surprised when he modestly reveals something amazing he has either done in his youth or is involved in now.
Running has always been a part of Tom’s life. Even while hiking the Appalachian Trail, he’d go on early morning trail runs while others were still asleep. He’s run 9 or 10 marathons, including a couple of Marine Corps, three New Yorks, Alaska, and his latest in Athens, Greece. His marathon PR of 2:50 was a few years ago, but many of us think he’ll be back there soon. He’s run a 35:40 10K and a 16:50 5K. As you may have noticed, Tom works harder on training runs than he does during races. He ran the Hops Half Marathon this year as a social run talking to a couple of us for 13 miles. At the Clearwater 10K he ran with another friend with no concern as to his time.
Lee, Tom’s oldest son, graduates from Manatee High this year and will be attending USF in the fall. His other son Zach will be a freshman at Manatee High next school year. Conversations with Tom often lead to these two guys. Tom’s next activity is a four-day canoe/camping trip with Zach. He took Lee a number of years ago, now it’s Zach’s turn. We’re not sure how his family keeps track of him. We know we all find it difficult!!!