Alan Ruben has run the last 32 NYC Marathons in a row

(Dec. 2019) Alan Ruben grew up in London, but has a long tenure in NYC running. He has finished 32 NYC Marathons in a row, and is a former president of the Central Park Track Club. As a youth, he played soccer for an hour every noon. He recalls that he wasn't very skilled, "but attempted to make up for that by running around more than anyone else." 

Ruben ran his first NYC Marathon in 1987, and met his future wife, Gordon Bakoulis (5 time qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials), in 1994. They were married two years later. When the two aren't racking up wins in Central Park, they're watching their childrens' soccer games. (So the kids, if they follow their dad's evolution, will be all right.)

Career? I work in computer programming for a money transfer software company.

When and why did you start running? I started running in the fall of 1982 inspired by the London Marathon. I knew one person who had run the London Marathon and

Chris Finill has run all 39 London Marathons

(Nov. 2019) England's Chris Finill has finished all 39 runnings of the London Marathon. He's also among a smattering of runners who have run a sub-3-hour marathon in five chronological decades--that is, the 1970s through the 2010s. Since next year launches a new decade, Finill will be aiming for his sixth, and has a reasonably good chance of achieving it. Still, he's only the second-best runner from his London street. Roger Bannister ranks first. In 2011, Finill ran across the U.S. with a buddy. (Feature-length documentary film here.) He turns 61 on New Year's Eve.

Career-profession? I qualified as a Charttered Accountant with Deloitte in 1986. For the last 20 years, I have worked as a Bursar at the Duke of Kent School in rural Surrey, England.

When did you start running and why? I was born on the street in North London where Roger Bannister

PROFILE--Lee Pollock has been running for 53 years

(Nov. 2019) Lee Pollock ran a 2:32 marathon in 1978, and a 2:57 in 2010. That makes him a member of the short list of runners with five decades of sub-3 marathon running. The college steeplechase star has spent most of his life in upstate New York, but he was also a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, where he and his family have recently helped to build a three-story school in a remote community.

Career/profession? After college, I did 2 1/2 years as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching math/science in Nepal (Asia).  Then lived in Boulder, CO doing various jobs that

PROFILE--Yolanda Holder has been powerwalking (lots of ) marathons for 21 years

(Nov. 2019) We usually don’t profile non-runners but Yolanda Holder, 61, is an exception that we think you'll understand. In 2010, she established a  Guinness record for most marathons in a calendar year, power walking a total of 106 marathons/ultras. (She finishes her marathons in less than five and a half hours.) In 2012, she broke her own record with 120. To date she’s power walked over 540 marathons and ultras.  

Holder is also known as the Walking Diva, and maintains a blog at YolandaHolder.com. She lives in Corona, CA, with her husband of 36 years, Rogelio. 

When did you start your power walking ways? I started power walking 20 years ago at the

PROFILE--Don Kardong has been running for 55 years

(Nov. 2019) Don Kardong should have won the bronze medal in the 1976 Olympic Marathon. He finished fourth that day in Montreal, but winner Waldemar Cierpinski is widely believed to have doped under the state-controlled East German system. No matter. Kardong is not one to cry over spilled milk. He quickly moved on, and had a profound influence over American road racing as director of the famed Bloomsday race in his hometown, Spokane, WA, and as an early advocate for professional road racing. For many years, Kardong, now 70, was also a feature writer at Runner's World magazine, treasured for his sense of humor. Surely you remember, "Without ice cream, there would be chaos and darkness"? And: "Runners like to train 100 miles a week because it's a round number, but I think 88 is a lot rounder."

Career/profession? I moved to Spokane in 1974 to take a job as a sixth grade classroom teacher. After three years I left to open a running store. I sold that

PROFILE--Doug Goodhue has been running for 36 years

(Oct. 2019) Doug Goodhue is one of the U.S.'s finest distance runners. Period. Those who know him also give him a high ranking for finest people. He's 77, from Milford, MI, and good luck trying to beat him in any age-group competition. The fact that he's still trying to dip under 20:00 for 5K (and coming damn close) gives a little insight. Goodhue has never overly focused on the marathon, racing his best from 5K to 20K, with innumerable individual age-group and team titles on his resume. After a race, he likes beer and burgers, just like every other guy from the Mid West. (Pass the yogurt and kombucha, please.)

Career: Retired from the residential construction business in January 2008.

When and why started running? Came back to running (ran track & cross country in

PROFILE—Dr. Andrew Lovy has been running for 36 ultra years

(Oct. 2019) Dr. Andrew Lovy is an ultra-runner and board-certified psychiatrist. For the last 30 years, he's been helping runners stay on course, literally, during various ultra races. "We all are at the interface between dedicated, persevering, OCD, stubborn, and just plain crazy," he says. At 84, Lovy is still running ultras, having recently completed the 24-hour Cleveland Nationals with 28.2 miles. 

Career? I’m still working 3 jobs, in Kirksville MO.  I also volunteer medical help to runners during ultra races. Was team physician for the US World 24-hour team for 11 years and medical director for the US 24-hour championships for 15 years.

When and why did you start running?  In 1983 I miserably failed my annual physical. I had been a surgeon with the 101st ABN battalion--the first DO in the Army with a commission in the Medical Corps. I made 13 jumps, etc. . We had to be very fit. 

But when I got home, I let myself go until I decided to get fit again to enjoy my life,