PROFILE--David Cook has been running for 42 years

No better prize than fresh lobstah.

(May 2020) David Cook started running in 1978, and didn't win any prizes for almost 40 years. He didn't run for the glory, he ran for the feel-good. Maybe that's one reason he's still going strong. Cook never ran more than about 22 miles a week, but he mixed it up with modest doses of cycling, swimming, and good humor. The latter is crucially important; don't we all know it! Cook's advice for other runners: "Don't take yourself too seriously," and "Be humble, and treat others kindly." We'd like to second those emotions.

Your career-profession? I spent the first 19 years of my career in shallow water oceanography working for Raytheon Co. in Newport RI. I switched to the environmental field in 1989, set up my own company, and have been an environmental consultant since that time. I do inspections of commercial properties, testing of soil and ground water, and cleanups. Before work, I grew up in Morristown, NJ, graduated from Hamilton College, and got a doctorate in geology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. I moved to Connecticut in 1969, and have lived in Lyme since 1971.

When did you start running and why? I got into exercise early, and did swimming and cross country in high school and college. In my early working career, my exercise came from swimming during the lunch hour at the Newport YMCA. My brother in law talked me into trying a 5K