PROFILE--Dave Walters has been running for 50 years

(Dec. 2019) Captain Dave Walters, 65,  has been running for 50 years and piloting United long-haul flights for 33 years. He flies internationally for two, six-day periods a month. It’s not unusual for him to pilot a 16-hour flight into Hong Kong,  then rise at 2:00 am and go for a run (time zones can be nasty). 

After winning his age group at the 2015 Chicago Marathon, Walters captained a flight to Brussels the next day. When he discovered that marathon champ Dickson Chumba was on board, he gave Chumba a cockpit tour and upgraded him to first class.

Walters ran his first marathon as a

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,

PROFILE--Creigh Kelley has been running for 50+ years

(Oct. 2019) A serious runner for 50+ years, Denver's Creigh Kelley has made major contributions to U.S. road racing as a race director, start/finish announcer, and influencer with USATF and other national running organizations. Now 72, he continues running, announcing, and organizing, despite a serious cancer scare in 2012. From that, he learned "to embrace every part of our remaining years." His dog/training partner keeps him centered as well, always getting excited by seemingly-mundane sights and sounds on their early-morning runs. "He helps me appreciate the simple pleasures of the natural world," says Kelley.

Your career/profession? I’ve been a competitive runner, a race director and have held leadership positions in the local and national running community. I was one of the founders of Running USA, the national non-profit running trade association. Fifteen-plus years ago, I was one of the original managers of the

PROFILE--Marge Hickman has been running for 41 years

(Sept. 2019) Marge Hickman was a top woman ultra runner in the mid 1980s with an impressive number of victories and elite performances. At 69, she's still going strong--running about 50 miles a week and racing when she feels like it. Hickman has had plenty of injurie and surgeries along the way,, but nothing keeps her down for long. "Don't get discouraged," she says. "Everything in life takes time, patience, determination, and mental toughness."

Career? I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. Moved to Denver, CO in 1972. My husband and I have been retired for four years. I was a legal assistant/paralegal my entire career. In between jobs I attended massage school

PROFILE: Charles Milliman ran 85 miles on his 85th birthday


Milliman ran 85 miles on his 85th birthday.
It didn't all happen in daylight.
(Sept. 2019) Chuck Milliman is not your average octogenarian. In fact, he’s probably not your average anything. On his 78th birthday he ran 78 miles. That was so much fun that he ran 80 miles on his 80th birthday, and this year ran 85 miles on his 85th birthday.  When he’s not running, he practices the pole vault in his backyard pit that he built with his son. A retired pastor from Sequim, WA, Milliman sometimes imagines what the geese and deer on his favorite loop are saying the umpteenth time he passes: “There he goes again, what a handsome man!”

Career/profession: After graduating high school in 1951 I took on odd jobs: construction worker, butcher, laying railroad ties, nothing took hold so I signed up for a college correspondence course in electronics, which ultimately led to a job with Boeing in Seattle, where I worked for five years. Along the way I married Shirley and

PROFILE--In her 50 years of running, Mary Etta Boitano Blanchard has done it all


(Sept. 2019) Fifty-six year old Mary Etta Boitano Blanchard has had one of the most amazing and distinguished running careers in the world. She finished her first marathon as a 6-yr old in 1969, and still holds the world best marathon times for a 6-yr old and 7-yr-old (4:27:32 and 3:57:42), according to the Association of Road Race Statisticians. By the age of 9, she had improved to a 3:01:15. Despite the early start, Blanchard has never lost her appreciation for running. She's still logging 40+ miles a week, and has run a 1:52 half marathon this year. "I run because it is a healthy choice for me," she says.

Career/profession: I am a retired RN who worked in a hospital on a medical surgical floor in SF. Currently, I share most of my time with my 96 year old momma, who loves to garden and take walks, my husband, Richard, my sons, Johnny and RB, and dogs, Gozer, Sweet Pea, & Speedy. 

When did you start running and why? I started running with my family in the summer 1967, in San Francisco. We started running because

PROFILE--Marie Wickham, now 64, has been running "almost always"


(Sept. 2019) Marie Wickham is a frequent participant in New York Road Runner races, and marathons in general all over the world. She has even run Comrades in South Africa. At 64, she can still crack 8:00-minute-pace in a half marathon. Although she has run for as long as she can remember, Wickham didn’t start racing (and winning) till she was in her 30s. She lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with easy access to her beloved Central Park. 

Career/Profession: Massage therapist. Former career at Chase JP Morgan bank.

When did you start running, and why?  I had to laugh at this one. To be honest that is like asking me what date I started brushing my teeth. I feel like I always ran. I grew up in California and we were a very active family. I would run with my father in the mornings before school, and some days we would run on the beach and jump in the ocean afterwards. I would have to say he was my early inspiration for running.   
I didn't start racing until my 30's so I didn't really train until then. I started building up mileage to prepare for my first marathon and didn't think too much about speed. Later, I slowly tried speed work, and while I didn't enjoy it that much, I could see that it helped. When I started setting goals for myself like a 20 minute 5k, 40 minute 10k,  1:30 half marathon and 3:10 marathon I realized I needed a more organized training schedule.  I was on a Moving Comfort running team and our coach at the time, Ed Stickles, used Jack Daniels Running Formula. That really clicked for me. 
   
Guess the location. And if you guess anything
other than Rome ... shame on you.
How much did you run in your peak years? Now? Right now its zero since I'm recovering from a bike accident with a broken collarbone but generally it is about 40 miles a week. My peak when I was doing PRs in 2000 was 80 miles a week. 

Best performances or achievements/memorable races: My best race was probably my marathon PR 3:08 at the 2000 London Marathon. Running Comrades was also a great thrill. Most memorable was when I started running as an Achilles guide to blind runners.  Eddie Montanez was one of the blind runners who became a close friend.  He had run a 4:20 marathon but wanted to qualify for Boston as a sighted runner and needed a 3:20. With help from my teammates Kathleen Coughlin and Chris Bilsky and a year of training, we chose the Steamtown marathon (16 miles nice downhill). The day was perfect race weather and from the start we kept on pace with a bit of time in the bank. The second half of the course is tougher so by mile 20 we knew it was going to be tight, but we kept  encouraging him, keeping his spirits up. The last 6 miles were tough. At the end there is a little hill and when you crest the hill you see the finish line in the distance. The clock showed 3:20 and we needed 3:20:59. I'll never forget that stretch. It seemed to take forever and Eddie was definitely tired but we kept telling him to listen for the cheers at the finish line. He finished in 3:20:49 with 11 seconds to spare. 

Diet? My weight has been very stable. I think I have been about 98 pounds for 15 years. I eat everything!

Obstacles/Injuries along the way?  Most runners have normal running injuries but I have never really had any traditional running injuries. I have "trip and fall on the trail" injuries. Mostly they heal in a week or two and I'm back out running. In the 1998 Rome marathon I was knocked over at the finish by a spectator that resulted in a collarbone break so that took a bit longer to heal. Right now I'm recovering from a bike accident and have another broken collarbone.  
Another different obstacle for me is breathing related.I have had coughing fits for a few years and the only diagnoses is chronic sinusitis.  I have not been able to get rid of it and I can feel that it affects my running. But I still love all my runs.

Are you bothered getting older and slower? No, because I have always been more of a social runner than a competitor.  I have met countless friends just chatting on runs. I love my Moving Comfort running team and although the team is no longer, the friends are forever. 

New York City Marathon
When I lived in Caracas Venezuela in 1985, I would run around the streets there and met a group called the Hash House Harriers.  I have run with them all over the world since then, and I am on their team right now.  I started running with a group of friends in the mornings before work and that group still runs almost every day in the park. I join them Saturdays now for long runs. I can't even express how much their friendship means to me.   

Favorite quote? Age is just a number.

Running philosophy? Go slow and enjoy.

Has running helped with aging?  I hope so. I think anything that brings you happiness helps with aging.  Also my mother had Alzheimers and I think getting blood moving however you do it, is helpful.   

Advice for prospective lifetime runners?  Do your easy runs easy.  Check out the Jack Daniels formula charts which indicate appropriate paces. Input your latest race and it will tell you what pace you should be doing your intervals,  tempos, and easy runs. I find that most people will look at that chart and think that the long run pace is way too slow. IT ISN'T!!!  By doing that pace you can build up mileage without injury and you can do your speed work to get faster. Run on soft surface if possible. Rotate shoes as much as possible.

Lessons learned from running? Running is so natural and easy.  I take my running shoes wherever I go.  It is a perfect way to explore new cities.

PROFILE: Billy Shea has been running for 51 years


(Aug. 2019) Though he now lives in northern California, Billy Shea is one of the many longtime runners from southeastern Connecticut inspired by the legendary John J. Kelley. Shea says he began running, in socks only (no shoes), the afternoon in 1968 when he first saw Kelley run a local road race. Shea was 11 at the time. Now 63, he continues training and racing hard despite hip replacement. He counsels others to run by minutes and feel, not by miles, and enjoys quoting Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over."

Career/profession: I was a mental health counselor for 12 years at the Reliance House in Norwich Ct. I then moved on after taking another position within Charter Oak. But it was eventually shut down due to the state budget cuts. I then became employed by Foxwood's casino and retired in 2015. Currently working at Fleet Feet in Menlo Park, CA.

When and why did you start running? My running career began on the third Sunday in 1968. I read the morning paper and saw that there was a

PROFILE--Kevin Stevens has been running (and triathlon-ing) for 46 years


(August 2019) Kevin Stevens has a fearless attitude honed from years in the military that has guided her to: set up her own sports nutrition consulting company, become a Yoga instructor, complete her first of four Ironmans at age 55, and take up ultra marathons at 62. And through it all she raised a bunch of kids. Kevin hails originally from Missoula Mt and currently lives in Spokane WA. "Running will always be there, no matter what my pace," she says. "People tell me I don't look 62, so I guess it is working."

Career/Profession: I have been a Registered Nurse for 33 years, with 24 of those years on active duty in the Air Force. I am also a Registered Dietitian having gone back to school to obtain my second masters degree in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at the age of 61. I have a passion for sports performance nutrition and have started a nutrition consulting business as well. After retirement from the military, I went to work at a local university as a nurse educator where I still work and I do Sports Performance nutrition consulting in my spare time.

Top endurance and other accomplishments? I am most proud of the fact that if I want to do something, I don’t let

PROFILE--Vince Chiappetta has been running for 71 years


(August 2019) Vincent Chiappetta, a co-founder on New York Road Runners and its fourth president, has been running for 71 years. His running buddies have included Ted Corbitt, Kurt Steiner and Tom Osler. He used to accompany Corbitt on his 30-mile laps around Manhattan. During the NYRR's early days, Chiappetta was the yin to Fred Lebow's yang. During his competitive heyday, he ran a total of 114 marathons--50 of them under 2:40. At 86, he continues to teach biology and anatomy at Yeshiva University. On a recent day at 9:30 p.m., he was still in his office. What keeps him going? He says it’s simple: “Runners are survivors. We know how to keep our minds as well as our bodies moving.”  

Your career/profession? I’ve taught at Yeshiva University since 1954. I teach Biology, Ecology, Geology, and pre-med courses. I was also the men’s and women’s track and cross-country coach at Hunter College for 8 years. Co-founding and organizing the first New York City Marathon in 1970 was

PROFILE--Joanna Harper has been running for 48 years, two-thirds as a male, one-third as a female

USATF Club XC, 2015. Photo by Michael Scott.
[Editor's note: Joanna Harper is one of the world's most influential, little-known runners. Below, the 62-year-old explains why in her own words. In a nutshell: She was a former low 2:20s male marathoner, who transitioned to female in 2004/5, and has continued training and racing hard as a woman. She has also studied what she has lived. This has led to her becoming an Olympic consultant on transgender issues, an expert witness at the Caster Semenya case, and more.]

(August 2019) My name is Joanna Harper and I have run at least one race every calendar year since 1971, making 48 consecutive years of racing. I currently (August 2019) live in Portland Oregon, and I work as a medical physicist in one of the larger hospitals here in town. I will be moving to England in September to go back to school to get a Ph.D. in exercise physiology. From 1971 through 2004 I competed in the men’s category. Since 2005 I have competed in the women’s category. I started hormone therapy in August 2004 and within nine months I was running 12% slower. Once I started racing in the women’s category I found that my age graded performances lined very well with my previous performances in the men’s category (approximately 80% in either case). I found other transgender runners and they had undergone similar experiences. In 2015 I published the first peer-reviewed paper on transgender athletic performance and soon I will have the opportunity to study transgender athletes in a full time capacity as part of my PhD. program. I am the author of the forthcoming book Sporting Gender: the History, Science, and Stories of Transgender and Intersex Athletes. Look for the book at Christmas time 2019.

What are your proudest achievements? If we are speaking of running achievements, then I am most proud of the 2:23 marathon I ran as a young man, and of the fact that I have won team and individual USATF age group national championships as an old lady. If we are talking about non-running achievements, I am proud of the fact that I have become one of the most influential world-wide voices in the ongoing debate over transgender and intersex athletes.

Guesstimate of lifetime miles? Roughly 120,000 miles or 200,000 kilometers.

When did you start running why? I went out for the cross country team as a high school freshman in September 1971.

How much did you run per week in your peak years? There were a few years in my mid-20s when I hit more than 5000 miles per year. I would consistently run 100-120 miles per week with only a few down weeks per year. I now average 50-60 miles per week.

What were some of your better/most memorable races? I ran my personal best, 2:23:55, in the Philadelphia Marathon in 1982. I won the (non-defunct) Hamilton Marathon in 1981. I placed 15th in the Canadian University Cross Country championships in 1980. In 2007 I was the 50-54 age group champion at the USATF club cross country championships, and in 2017 and 2018 I was a member of the 60-64 team champion Team Red Lizard at the USATF club XC meet.

How did you train differently in your younger years? I ran more, harder, faster and took fewer recovery days.

Has your diet changed through the years? When I was young and running high mileage I could pretty much eat and drink as I pleased. I have to be much more careful of caloric intake now. I also can’t drink nearly as much alcohol as I could then. There is not much fun in getting older.

Cross Training? I currently do 30 minutes on the rowing machine twice per week and lift free weights and do a core workout once or twice per week.

How important is social running to you? I enjoy the social aspects of running, but it gets harder as I get older and slower since most of the young runners are now too fast for me. It is very hard to run so slowly, but it is better than giving up.

Obstacles along the way? I once ruptured my Achilles tendon when I was out on a trail run in New Zealand. They had use a helicopter to get me off the mountain. That was my most memorable injury, but there have been plenty of others.

Favorite quote? I like the old Woody Allen standby, where he said that 80 percent of success comes from just showing up. I think that applies to many aspects of life, including running. If you want to be a runner, then run.

Has running helped you with the aging process?
Probably, but it also isn’t any fun to get slower and slower every year.
Last December's Club XC in balmy Spokane 

What three tips would you give a younger runner who wants to be a lifetime runner?
1--I think it is important to keep running in perspective, but keep at it too.
2--If you want to be a lifetime runner, then you will need to deal with all the big and little indignities that hit athletes as they grow older.
3--Learn to accept that you are slower this year than you were last year, and that you will be slower still next year.

What are the biggest lessons you have learned from running? Like many other things, one gets out of running what one puts into it.

[Harper has made many media appearances in recent years to explain transgender issues in sports, and also the Caster Semenya case. You can find her easily on YouTube.com. Here's just one such interview.

PROFILE--Roy Englert, Sr, recently set an age 95-99 world record in the 5000


Competing in this year's National Masters
Championships
(July 2019) Roy Englert, Sr, 96, shattered the 5000m world record for men 95-99 at the USATF Masters Outdoor Championships July 11 in Ames, Iowa, where he ran 42:30. The previous record was 50:10. Setting records isn’t new to Englert. At 95, while competing at the USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships in Maryland, he set three world records--in the 800-meter, 1500-meter and 3,000 meter races, with times of 6:03.84, 12:07.63, and 26:01.24. He has also competed in every National Senior Games since they started in 1987. “Its things like this that make the sport fun,” says Englert, of Springfield, VA.

Career/Profession? I had a long career as a lawyer in the banking and securities industry after I spent 22 years in the Treasury Department. I retired in 1997.


When did you start running and why? I didn’t start running until I was 58. I never played sports of any kind as a kid. I was on the small side, so sports weren’t something I felt I could compete in. I grew up in Nashville surrounded by

PROFILE--Dan Larson has finished 49 Boston Marathons


(July 2019) Dan Larson stands third on the list of runners with the most Boston Marathon finishes. He's got 49, including the last 44 in a row. A Yale University grad (four years behind a certain F. Shorter), Larson has spent most of his career in small medical clinics in upstate New York, roughly 75 miles north of Albany. He has also finished an annual Turkey Trot 10K 53 years in succession. After completing this year's Boston in 4:49:46, Larson, 68, has decided, "One more and then ... we'll see."

Career/profession? I am a family physician, but to borrow from George Sheehan, I was a runner long before I was a doctor.


When and why did you start running? I started running to get in shape for freshman high school basketball and also had some friends who ran at late dusk all summer long.


How much did you run in your peak years? I was never one for huge mileage, but likely averaged more than 90 miles per week for about 6 or 7 years in my twenties and thirties


Top races or running achievements?  I went from being a

PROFILE--Bill Thorn just finished his 50th Peachtree in a row.


(July 2019) Bill Thorn ran the inaugural Peachtree Road Race in 1970, which has now become the world’s largest 10K. Now 88, Thorn and his family, holding life-sized printouts of his face, celebrated his 50th running of the race on July 4 (in a modest, celebratory 2:17:58). Thorn's the only person to have run all 50 Peachtrees. He also just stepped down from a 56-year career as a track, cross-country and football coach with a winning record of 44 state championships.  Thorn is not resting on his many accomplishments and settling into retirement. He’s too busy working out 90 minutes every day and figuring out his next phase of life.

Career/Profession? Growing up in Birmingham Alabama, I worked in the steel mills but realized I would die if I didn’t get out. So I went to college and majored in

PROFILE--Phil Stewart has been running for 52 years


Boston 2019. Photo by MarathonFoto.
(July 2019) Phil Stewart has had a highly respected national running presence for more than 40 years as a sub-2:20 marathoner, writer, publisher, race director, and road-race management expert. Currently he is director of the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile and publisher of Road Race Management newsletter. Stewart's running career has had more than the usual ups and downs, as has his weight. His personal story--returning to more consistent running and fitness when he reached his early 60s--serves testimony to the "it's never too late" approach. Stewart, now 69, is the first Lifetime Runner to express some apprehension that his cardiac health could outlast his brain health. We give him credit for his candor. 

Your career/profession? I have been fortunate to have been able to carve out a career entirely in the running industry. I was one of the three founders of Running Times magazine in 1977, started Road Race Management as a spin off in 1982 (which I purchased when I left Running Times in 1986), and started directing the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in 1991.

When did you start running and why? I started running to get into shape

PROFILE--Dave Dial has run 195,000 miles in 58 years, 11 months


(6-2019) Dave Dial has packed a lot of running into his not quite 59 years (59th birthday next month). He ran a 2:24 in the Boston Marathon at age 19, and has already passed 195,000 total lifetime miles. He has achieved this, he says, with a lot of "positive energy" and "being the best person I can be to everyone I meet."

Career/profession? Due to a hardship scenario (severe drought) in 2011, my Dad asked me to return to my home state of Texas to assist him with his land and cattle. It's very hard work; 24/7...

When did you start running and WHY? According to my Mom, I began walking at 8 months and

PROFILE--Harry Carter has been running for 55 years, is winning races at 82

(6-2019) Harry Carter spent his early childhood in London in the mid-1930s, and recalls walking to school with a gas mask, a precaution from events of WW1. Eventually he immigrated to the United States (MA) and got serious about his running at 57 after dabbling in it in his 20s. He ran his first marathon at 60 in 3:38. At 82, Carter is still a serious age-group threat and contender at races from the 5K to the marathon. Short and stocky with a wide smile, Carter is having a good time, and posting great times, in his senior years. (Additional bio details at end of interview.)

Profession/Career? I was trained as a mechanical engineer. On finishing school in 1952 I got an apprenticeship subsidized by the British Government.  The program no longer exists but it was designed to fill the lost manpower caused by WWII.

When did you start running and why? On arriving in the US I took up in quick succession: camping, hiking,