Jay
Unver Interviews Zane Hodge (Part I)
I
conducted this interview with Zane Hodge on Thursday morning, December 22,
2011. The purpose of our chat was two-fold, one of which was to discuss the
Fasttrack Fatties Athletic Club along with the new Association of Sports
Strikers. We sat in his living room talking and drinking coffee while outside
the December rain watered the earth.
Unver:
Good morning. Should I call you Dr. Hodge?
Hodge:
No. Call me Zane, please.
Unver:
Zane, the first thing I wanted to ask you about is The Fasttrack Fatties Athletic
Club. And by the way, is it The Fast Track Fatties or The Fasttrack Fatties?
Hodge:
Both, either or. You find it in our literature both ways. As informal as we are,
I don’t think it really matters. Personally, I like Fasttrack better, but Fast
Track has better initials. That way we are FTF athletes.
Unver:
I understand you founded this organization?
Hodge:
I did, several years age. I was overweight and trying to get back into shape.
We are a very loose-knit group. It started with a relay triathlon team. We were
looking for a name, and since I was the one who registered us, I came up with
the name The Fasttrack Fatties.
Unver:
So it’s just a name, it’s not a real group.
Hodge:
Oh no, we are a real group. I expanded the idea after the triathlon to garner
support for my weight loss and general fitness goals. We became a group, mostly
of former fat people, who control their weight and improve their health through
endurance athletics.
Unver:
So what do y’all do?
Hodge:
We meet up and have eating contests. No, just kidding. We encourage one
another through e-mails, phone calls, text messages, and Facebook. Not only
that but we get together and train. An e-mail might go out calling for a Fattie
bike ride or a Fattie swim or a Fattie run. We even lift weights sometimes.
Unver:
How fat do you have to be to join?
Hodge:
Actually, you don’t have to be fat at all. If you’re even concerned about the
possibility of getting fat you can become a member. My son falls into that
latter category. He’s never been fat, but he doesn’t want to become another
porky man. So he joined and is an active, loyal member.
Unver:
That’s interesting. How many members do y’all have?
Hodge:
Oh gee, I don’t know. I never made a list. I guess I need to, but like I
said we are very informal. There are no dues, you just say you want to be a
Fattie and we claim you as one of our own. Off the top of my head, besides me
and my son, there is Randal Beets, Petya Petrova, Robin Bond, and Harris
Powers. Maybe there are some more. I suppose I should work on our membership
this summer and maybe come up with a few rules.
Unver:
What have y’all been doing lately?
Hodge:
Running and a lot of weight lifting.
We have our own gym.
Unver:
Really?
Hodge:
Yes. It’s called Plate City Gym and it’s located in my back yard.
Unver:
Wonderful. I find it interesting that endurance athletes now more than ever
include resistance training in their workouts.
Hodge:
I think strength work is very important. We have a super time doing whatever we
do together. Almost all of us get along really well.
Unver:
Almost all of you?
Hodge:
Well you know how it is. You get a group of people together and there will
often be tensions and bad blood.
Unver:
Bad blood?
Hodge:
Maybe I overstated that a little.
Unver:
So you have an issue with somebody in the club?
Hodge:
I didn’t say that.
Unver:
Who is it?
Hodge:
Nobody, really.
Unver:
You can tell me.
Hodge:
Stop, please.
Unver:
Is it Beets? At
this point Hodge looked uncomfortable, squirmed a little in his chair, and
took a long sip from his coffee mug.
Hodge:
Who?
Unver:
Randal Beets. Hodge
turned slightly red and didn’t say anything for a moment.
Hodge:
You mean that tall guy?
Unver:
Yeah that tall guy. The one you raced in Chattanooga. The one you have a
match race with this June. Hodge
looked most distressed, squirmed some more, and his eyes shifted from side to side.
Hodge:
No comment.
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