Tribute to my Father

I am really struggling with this post.

One of the people that had the most profound influence on my life, my father Egon Finnern has died last Saturday.

He was with a friend on his morning run. Following his suggestion they diverted twice from their usual route which lead to a chance encounter with another runner friend of theirs. They stopped for a couple of minutes and talked.

In the middle of the conversation he took a last breath and then fell flat on his back. The doctor later concluded that it was Cardiac Arrest (German: Ploetzlicher Herztod) and that he probably was dead before even touching the ground.

I miss him a lot, even though it only slowly sinks in that he is gone.    

There were a lot of friends and of course the whole family at the funeral in Germany. My parents have the great fortune of having many very good friends, which makes me happy for my mother. As I said at the funeral, please do me a favor and take her in your arms when you see her and hug her 4 times: Once for my brother Tom, sister Sabine and Nicole as well as once for me.

My father lives on in our memories in our hearts and if we take just one of his many positive sides and follow his example, then his legacy will go on. (Examples to follow in another post.) 

P.S. Just checked via Google if there is anything posted on the Internet about my father: One entry from 1997 when he ran the Bay to Breakers finishing in the top 10000 over 12 minutes before me:
– 3147 Egon Finnern,GERMANY 01:06:55
– 8983 Mark Finnern,SF 01:20:32
Three years later him being 67 years old, he was even faster and of course still ahead of me.