It’s never easy to write about a life cut short. The same questions are often asked, and most of them start with the rhetorical “what if.”

I knew Duane Crammond from the time he and I were both in elementary school; Duane a year ahead of me. He was a shy kid at first, but he soon developed a close-knit group of friends. Duane was sharp as a tack, and never quit trying something until he was the best. It didn’t surprise me that when he chose to start running competitively in the seventh grade, that he would someday become one of the best.

When he first started, he was running at the back of the pack. But soon enough, you’d see Duane Crammond running on the streets of Ticonderoga every day—running up Chilson Hill and doing wind-sprints by himself in front of the high school. Duane decided that he wanted to be the best runner that he could be, and by the time he graduated high school—as the valedictorian, no less, he was one of the best distance runners Ticonderoga had ever seen.

Two years later, I caught back up with my old friend after I’d graduated myself and had followed him to RPI. Sure enough, the familiar scenes from back home returned in a new setting. It was a rare day that I didn’t see Duane running hills on Sunset Terrace or leading the cross-country team on a run through the streets of Troy. Duane was driven for success, and he could never stop until he’d achieved the success he desired. He graduated RPI in 2003 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

After graduation, Duane wasn’t able to find a job in his field right away, but he never stopped trying. Even while he was frustrated time and time again in his job search, he kept on running. He ran the Adirondack Marathon in 2003, and was resolute to do his best in his very first marathon attempt. He did his best—and was the first person to cross the finish line 26.2 miles later.

Recently, Duane had finally found a job in the chemical engineering field—yet another success for a driven man. Perhaps it was true that Duane had accomplished everything he’d been intended to accomplish. “What if?” We may never know; Duane’s life was cut short on February 19 in a terrible single-car accident. God’s plan is not always as clear as we would like it to be.

One of Duane’s heroes was Steve Prefontaine, one of the most notable distance runners in American history. Like Duane, “Pre” was not an exceptional runner when he first started in high school, but grit and determination propelled him to heights not previously thought attainable. Both were team leaders in college—and both continued running well, even after leaving school. And, most tragically, both were killed in car accidents at the all too early age of 24, just as they were reaching the prime of their lives. Duane may not have had the fame and international success of Pre, but they shared many of the qualities that made them special. In the same way that Prefontaine’s story is as much about the zeal as it is about the running, so too is the story of Duane Crammond’s life.

Duane Crammond is not a tragic figure. His passion and determin­ation are the stuff of legends. In his own way, Duane is our modern-day “Pre” at the Institute: a man whose gritty resolve and never-say-die attitude towards life are worth emulating.

I’m going to miss my friend; but his memories live on. Never quit. His life taught me that. If his life can inspire others to achieve more, his effect on the world will be felt for decades to come.

Tom Reale

ALUM