Photo: Don Hubbard, Jeff Hubbard and Scott Hubbard get together at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Great Lakes Regional Championship in Ypsilanti, November 13, 2004.

Trivia: Name the five fastest male marathoners who are Michigan high school graduates.

LIVING WITH AIDS. In spring 1992 I shared my brother Don's story on these pages. I'd said little about my family since starting writing for MR in '82, but thought the time ripe to reach back for a yarn too good to keep to myself. It's not like Don was unknown; he'd excelled as a runner from junior high through college. But 15 years had passed, his feats were known to a relatively-small crowd, and changing events had enriched his life.

The story also appeared in Runner's World that fall. I was happy a half- million more readers learned about Don, but was not enthused by the picture RW used of me wearing oversize glasses, my big nose dominating a page. Ah, well. I knew what I was writing would move folks in different ways, so I tried addressing that in my first paragraph:

"It'll be about various experiences in running, handling adversity and giving back to the sport. Running provides background to the story, knitting the whole thing together. There'll be a revelation. Please, wrestle with any bias you may feel about what follows. Check your surface impressions here at the door."

I spent half the story describing Don's running exploits, including a relay leg in high school in front of a deafening crowd of 11,000 in Cobo Arena. The rest of the story was about the "revelation" Don is gay, his testing HIV-positive in '88, winning a gold medal in his age group at 800 meters in the '90 Gay Games in Vancouver, and related topics.

Since then, Don's illness has deteriorated into AIDS, one ugly disease. His health has been precarious, with too many pills and an irregular pattern of good days and sickness.

But he's still fighting the good fight more than a dozen years later. Don is still upbeat. "I still have so many plans," he told me for that first story. "It's important to tell this story because my life is still going on. I can still be productive."

To that end, I've asked Don, now 49, to share his story in his own words:

"I discovered I was gay a few years into college," writes Don. "It had not been a factor growing up. After the first experience, I knew it. I already felt good about myself because of the running friends I had, but once I came to grips with my sexuality, it felt natural and I felt assured of myself.

"I also knew, based on many other people's attitude toward gays, that I had to hide it. I've been blessed since I 'came out' by the understanding friends and family have shown me, but saddened I lost a few longtime friends as well.

"It was a rude awakening to learn I was HIV-positive. It seemed everyone died right away from it, so little was known about it. It certainly made me look at life differently.

"Since then I have gone through many health issues, more than a few brought on by the side effects of meds.

"At the '94 Gay Games in New York City, where I planned to run on some relays, I awoke with a severe headache. At the hospital, I learned I had a blood clot on the back of my brain. Doctors used steroids to dissolve it.

"For years I've had stomach issues with the toxicity of the meds - ulcers, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome - but those are mostly under control. I have been on meds since '88 when only one of them, AZT, was available. With supplements, I've been up to as many as 50 pills a day.

"It has helped to be faithful taking them. My doctor, Charles Craig, and I work well together. I've always exercised, eaten right and never smoked. The disease has been hell at times, but I'm blessed by my doctor's, friends' and family's support. They have helped me make it.

"I am lucky that so many people have only judged me for who I am, and not that I'm gay and have AIDS. I am my mother's son, brother's brother, and have wonderful nieces, nephews and cousins. I strive to enjoy life. My positive attitude helps those around me to be more positive, helping all of us get through this.

"I'm also lucky that the only long-term side effect on my body has been neuropathy in my feet. It makes me feel unstable running. I learned a few weeks ago that, with the right shoes and socks, I can still do a little running. I ran recently, for the first time in 10 years, and hope to do more of it. My goal is to walk and run myself back into shape, and defend my 800-meter title at the '06 Gay Games in Chicago.

"I've raised close to $6,500, thanks to donors' unreal generosity, doing two walks for local AIDS groups. (In the mid-'90s, Don walked a marathon on the University of Michigan track in 5:55.) I'm here and doing well especially thanks to one of these organizations, HARC (HIV- AIDS Resource Center).

"Meds can be tough mentally. One drug I was taking dramatically lowered my viral load, but I couldn't deal with its side effects. I felt I had no control over my emotions or life. The depression was worse after a second time. It's the scariest thing I've been through.

"After coming home from the '90 Gay Games, I wanted to form an Ann Arbor chapter of the Frontrunners. It's a group where gay/lesbian and gay-friendly runners and walkers can gather comfortably. A friend, Dee Ghosh, helped me start a chapter in '91; it's still active.

In '93 I started the Rainbow League, a gay bowling league in Ann Arbor. Again, my goal was to get people active in a comfortable environment, doing something they enjoyed. The people at Ypsi-Arbor Lanes have been very supportive. The league is still active too."

What influenced Don to run? He writes:

"My third-grade teacher told us we were running a 600. I asked what it was, and he said it was three times around the goal posts. I ran a 2:16, the fastest time in my class. It was the first thing in my life to make me feel good about myself.

"My biggest influence in junior high was Mr. Anderson. I'll never forget, when I won a 600 against another boy who was well known, the joy Mr. Anderson felt for me.

"Karl Tsigdinos, who was a senior when I was a sophomore, was my biggest high-school influence. I was just beginning to learn about distance running, and Karl was in unreal shape. He took sixth in the state cross country meet that year, and I finished seventh. "My high school coaches, Des Ryan in cross and Kent Overbey in track, helped me more than anyone, overall. I can't say enough how important they were to my success. They cared about who we were, not just how we ran. They made sure life was good for you.

"The most nervous I ever felt - and I wasn't running - was the first time I saw my brother, Scott, in an indoor race. I know what coaches go through.

"During my junior year, a stress fracture kept me out of the state cross meet. I ran a 4:12 mile at the track regional that spring, before another stress fracture kept me from running until the state meet. I won at state, but that was one painful run!

"My worst injury came in my senior year. I was anchoring an indoor relay, ran into a coach, went straight up, flipped and fell on my head and shoulders. It knocked me out, broke my collarbone, and, worse, put fear in my future racing. I was never the same confident runner.

"Running is still a large part of who I am, but the side effects of meds have eroded my ability. When healthy, I've been able to do fast walking - which, surprisingly, I get into. Sometimes it even gives me that 'runner's high.'

"I have a lot of great running memories. Among them are running a 4:19 mile in my first timed race as an Ann Arbor Huron sophomore, and a 4:16 that spring, good for third at state. (Don's 4:16 as a sophomore and 4:12 as a junior were state class records until Dathan Ritzenhein broke them more than 25 years later.)

"Anchoring the mile relay to help Huron win the Ashley Relays was as exciting as it gets, with the whole team cheering at the finish. Another highlight was anchoring a relay, as a sophomore, against the eventual state half-mile champ, running a 1:56 to win.

"At Eastern Michigan University, I ran a 1:52.6 half-mile leg on a Central Collegiate Conference championship two-mile relay team. A year or so later, I ran a 2:58.3 3/4-mile leg on a distance medley relay that set an EMU indoor record. There was a 4:07 leadoff mile leg on a four-mile relay, and a PR 9:00 two-mile. I've always enjoyed making friends and being part of a team's success.

"When I agreed to the '92 article, I had no idea how emotional, overwhelming and positive the experience would be. It helped Scott and I become closer, and was the first time I told him, 'I love you.' What was important was not that the story was about me, but that it showed the real love a family can have. I hoped others with illnesses would take the positive from it also. Many have.

"My future is right now," Don concludes. "I live a day at a time, trying to make the best of each one. I do all I can for my health, trying to inspire others to do the right things for their health. To see people enjoy themselves makes me feel good."

I can't improve on the original story's conclusion, and it's still fitting: "Don knows it's naive to wish things were different. HIV and AIDS isn't just something that happens to somebody else. It could affect your neighbor, someone else you know. Your brother.

"Don's fairly healthy now (and has outlived many others with AIDS). He's had to readjust goals along the way because of his illness. He seems at peace with himself and is active and productive as health allows.

"He wants what all of us want; to feel somehow we can make a difference in this world."

Answer: Greg Meyer, 2:09; Bill Donakowski, 2:10; Dave Smith, 2:11; Todd Williams, 2:11; and Dave Hinz, 2:12. MR