For many runners, training plans revolve around race calendars and goal times. For dads, life often revolves around a different schedule: bedtime routines, family activities, and the many other responsibilities that come with raising children.
This Father’s Day, Houston Runner is profiling three local fathers who have found a way to balance running and parenting. Each shares a common belief: fatherhood hasn’t taken away from their running journey. It has made it more meaningful.
Mark Mendrek-Laske: Keeping Pace with Fatherhood
For Mark Mendrek-Laske, fatherhood changed his priorities and his relationship with running. He stepped away from competitive training for nearly seven years during what could have been some of his strongest racing years. “I’ll never get those years back, and I still think about that,” he said. “But my kids are the reason I came back. I want to be the dad who can always keep up, who has the energy to say ‘yes’ when they ask.”
Today, running serves a bigger purpose than race results. Mendrek-Laske enjoys finishing early morning workouts and returning home ready to help his kids start their day. Race days have become especially meaningful. “Seeing their wide-eyed excitement at the finish line and hearing them encourage me about how I’ll beat so-and-so next time” are some of his favorite moments.
He says running and fatherhood share many of the same lessons. “You can’t force fitness, just like you can’t force a child to listen,” he said. “Both require calm and the understanding that things won’t always go according to plan.” Some of his favorite family memories came at Memorial Park’s Eastern Glades, where he and his wife would organize races for their four children. “They loved it, and you could see how much they looked up to the way my wife and I approached running,” he said. “There were usually a few tears because they’re very competitive.”
Daniel Dannug: Finding Balance Through Discipline
For Daniel Dannug, becoming a father didn’t pull him away from running. Instead, it made him more intentional. “Fatherhood demands so much of your time, energy, and presence,” he said. “It’s crucial to me that I’m fully there for my kids and my wife.” Rather than allowing running to compete with family time, Dannug has built his training around his family’s schedule. That often means early alarms, late-night treadmill runs, and making every mile count.
Fatherhood has also changed the way he views training. “I used to think I had to follow a training plan perfectly to see results,” he said. “But as my family has grown, so has my perspective.” He’s learned that consistency matters more than perfection, and that adjusting a workout to meet his family’s needs won’t change months of preparation. Whether it’s running 14 miles around a cruise ship at 4 a.m. or squeezing in eight miles on a treadmill after putting the kids to bed, Dannug has found ways to make it work. “If you stay disciplined 85 to 90 percent of the time, adjusting a run or two won’t ruin your training.”
That mindset has made him a faster runner. Since becoming a dad, his race times have improved from the 5K all the way to the marathon. Some of his favorite memories involve having his family cheering him on at races, but one stands above the rest. At the 2024 Chevron Houston Marathon, his wife completed her first marathon. After finishing his own race, he rushed to grab the kids so they could cheer her through the final stretch. “She’s always there supporting my running,” he said. “I wanted to do the same for her.”
Terence Baptiste: No Excuses, Just Action
Fatherhood has transformed the way Terence Baptiste approaches running. His alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. each day so he can finish his run and still be home in time to help make lunches, get his children dressed, and take them to school. “Fatherhood stripped away every excuse I had,” he said. “I don’t have the luxury of skipping a morning run and saying, ‘I’ll do it later,’ because later doesn’t exist when you’re a dad. If it doesn’t happen in the morning, it doesn’t happen.” That reality has forced him to become more intentional with his training and more efficient with his time.
Baptiste says running and parenting are built on the same foundation: consistency. “You can’t fake your way through miles, and you can’t fake your way through parenting either,” he said. “Both demand that you show up consistently, intentionally, even when you don’t feel like it.” The discipline he developed through running has helped him navigate the responsibilities of fatherhood, from managing schedules and activities to making time for meaningful moments with his children. For Baptiste, both roles require the same commitment to showing up day after day.
One of his favorite running memories came at the Silver Heart Care 10K in Sugar Land, where he pushed both of his children in a jogging stroller and finished third overall. Starting at the back of the pack, he wanted his kids to see firsthand what patience and perseverance look like. “I wanted them to see what it looks like to trust the process and know exactly when to make your move,” he said. Throughout the race, his children cheered him on from the stroller, giving him extra motivation with every mile. “Every dad knows this feeling. When you’re doing something for your kids and with your kids, you find strength you didn’t know you had,” he said. “They are my heart. They are my fuel. And on that morning, they reminded me there is nothing I can’t do.”
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads in Houston’s running community. Thank you for the example you set, the miles you inspire, and the countless ways you show up for your families.
