PROFILE--Phil Krajewski won the Virtual 2020 Boston Marathon in the 75-79 age group

(Oct 2020) Phil Krajewski was born on June 5, 1944--the eve before D-Day in Europe. The Allied forces prevailed the next day, and Krejewski has a strong racing record as well. As he notes below, "I have won just about every marathon I have entered." Indeed there he is atop the 2020 Boston Marathon leaderboard at 3:38:37, more than 30 minutes ahead of the second-place 75-79 runner. Krajewski, 76, from Eastport ME has achieved his success with several interesting approaches, not the least of which is his striving for "Lightness" in his life.

Career-profession? I am a tree farmer and have grown hardwoods, conifers, and shrubs, both native and ornamental species and varieties. I specialized in digging trees for market and have dug over 55,000 trees – by hand – in my lifetime. While this amount may seem staggering, it is very accurate.

When did you start running and why? I always loved running and ran to elementary, junior, and high school on many an occasion but running in high school was not en vogue. In my ‘meat and potatoes’ town a person played football, basketball, and baseball. My wife, Ellen, got me running with her in the early 2000’s when my daughters, Vinca and Evangeline, were 8 and 12 and had joined some local soccer and running programs.

How much did you run in your peak years? I am a minimalist and never have run more than 50 miles in one week.

What were some of your top race performances? I have won just about every marathon I have entered. I have won NYC 3 times and Chicago once. My Waterloo with running is the Boston Marathon as I have never done well there. However, I did finish third in 2016. I have had incremental wins at Boston with some firsts for my age while also beating all older, or runners a year or two younger than me, or being first or high in the US standings. 

I believe I will try to continue running until I have the good fortune to win Boston. I am presently ranked #1 in the world by Abbott World Marathon Major rankings for the 75/79 age group.

An estimate of your total lifetime miles? Somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 miles

How much are you running and cross-training now? I run about 35 – 40 miles per week. I do not and have never cross trained. My strength training is

Mary Haskins Has Been Running For 25 Years

(Sep 2020) Her friends believe Mary Haskins is part mountain goat for her love of running the TransRockiesRun (6 days 120 miles) and just about any rugged terrain on earth. Speed is not her goal. Beautiful scenery and distance suit her just fine. Haskins lives in Brooklyn Heights were she can be found at 5:00 a.m. walking her two dogs (who do wag their tails) before she heads out for her run. There is no one who doesn’t appreciate Mary Haskins. And that’s good for her job as Senior Manager, Volunteer Operations at NYRR. With her megawatt smile and personality to match, loyal volunteers come back every year.

  

Career-profession? I have had a lucky second career with NYRR after 28 years in the Commodity Trading business. At NYRR I’ve been a marathon coach for their charity team, Team for Kids, and now I am Senior Manager of Volunteer Operations. I love to run and I love runners and feel blessed that

Rick Lovett has been running for 40 years

(Sep. 2020) Rick Lovett is one of those all-around talents. He exercises, he writes articles and books, he keeps himself up to date on various scientific fronts ... and, importantly, he coaches. The coaching is really crucial, because severe familial arthritis has put an end to his running days. Instead, he walks. A lot. And up steep hills. Through his many endurance experiences, Lovett, now 67 and living in Portland OR, has learned he's not the "wimp" a certain high school P.E. teacher called him. He has also picked up a deep appreciation for the process. "Enjoy the doing," he tells his runners. "The results are something that simply happen when you do the doing."

Career-profession? I’ve done a number of things, ranging from being a law professor to working with a consulting engineering firm specializing in hazardous waste management, but since 1990, I’ve been a full-time freelance writer. Mostly, I do journalism, these days largely with a science-writing orientation, but I also write science fiction, at which I’ve won a number of awards. I’ve also written books about running, bicycling, and cross-country skiing, and well more than 100 articles about running, coaching, and exercise physiology. Sometime around 2003, I started converting all of this into coaching, starting with running partners, and gradually moving on to become the coach for Portland’s Team Red Lizard club, which I still coach. 

When did you start running and why? I took up running for a very simple reason. When I was

PROFILE--Mike Fanelli has been racing for 50 years

(Sep 2020) Mike Fanelli is almost without peer as a collector of track and running photos, programs, and other odds 'n' ends. His Facebook page is famous across the Internet for the great photo content he shares from his home in Asti, CA, where he houses his collection in an HVAC-controlled mini-museum. Fanelli, now 64, has been racing as long as he has been collecting, having just passed 50 consecutive years of track competitions. He's a little concerned about 2020, with all the Covid-canceled events and an upcoming foot surgery, but he knows one thing for absolute certain: He'll be back and racing again soon. He's already looking forward to competing in the 70+ division. Fanelli and friends are also great fans of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, which he considers a track super-event that he wouldn't consider missing. Look for him next year in Eugene. He'll be the one with the extra luggage packed full of vitamins and supplements. His wife says he has the most expensive "pee" in California, and she might be right.

Career-profession? I spent nearly 20 years in a variety of positions largely related to the sport. This included working in / managing / owning a series of running shoe stores. I spent a few years working for Reebok, first in the Southern California marketplace as a tech rep, and then in house at HQ in Boston working in running promotions (athlete sponsorships, event sponsorships and the like). I later became

PROFILE--Jeffery Barros has been running for 47 years

(Aug. 2020) Friends of Jeffery Barros aren’t surprised by his 41-year running streak. A friend from his college days recalls a cold, icy night in Greeley CO when they were sophomores. Barros was sick and throwing up. He had started his streak, maybe 1000 days in, and didn’t want to break it. He had to cover at least 3 miles and somehow made it. Barros, now 63, lives in El Paso Texas, and has had to fight his whole life against discrimination and injustice. An American Indian, Apache, he states, “I was bullied in middle school by Hispanics, in high school by African Americans, and bused to a European American high school as a senior. I had to fight all my life even within my tribe. But I am grateful, as it has been a long and wonderful journey.”

Career-profession? I am the Head Boys and Girls Track and Cross Country Coach for Socorro High School, where 81% of students are economically disadvantaged. Sports are a big part of the school, and we have

Boston Marathon Runners Over-75 Form Internet Group

By Frank Bright

Had the Boston Marathon been run on Patriots’ Day in April of this

Tony Guttmann

year, Tony Guttmann would not have been able to run the race. He had contracted a severe case of COVID-19 in March. A visiting lecturer from London, England, apparently brought the disease to a mathematics conference in Tony’s hometown of Melbourne, Australia, and infected several people who attended his lecture or met with him, including Dr. Guttmann.

Tony, retired from the University of Melbourne after what a local newspaper described as “a long and fruitful career as one of Australia’s top mathematicians,” is part of what, over the past few months, has become a network, or community, made up of men, ages 75-79, who had qualified for and were entered in the 2020 Boston Marathon.

Another member of the network with a COVID-19 connection is Bob Johnstone, a practicing anesthesiologist at the medical school and hospital associated with West Virginia University. He is on the front lines treating COVID-19 patients.

Bob Johnstone 

The term “running community” did not exist in my part of the world in 1961 when I began running. I experienced the loneliness of the long distance runner. Much has changed in that regard. I am now part of a large running community in Shreveport, La., and using the Internet, I easily can contact

PROFILE--Douglas Finley has been running for 59 years

2:57 marathon, Saginaw Bay, 1979

 (Aug. 2020) These days, Flint, MI, is sadly known for its pollution, unemployment and urban blight. But back in 1961, when young Douglas Finley was looking for an athletic outlet, Flint Northern H.S. was known as a track powerhouse. So Finley joined the team. Five years later, in 1966, he finished his first marathon in Detroit. Nearly 60 years later, at age 75, he retains the work ethic he learned in school and community. At his gym, others often shake their heads in wonderment at the "sweat dripping off my nose." Finley has a marathon best of 2:57, has won a few weight-lifting titles, and now spends much of this free time as a coach of young runners and editor of the online youth running publication, Children's Running.

Career-profession: I was Lansing MI parks and recreation director; chief, Michigan dnr office of communications and marketing; adjunct faculty at Michigan State University. Race organizer. Coached school and club-based childrens running. Editor of the Journal of Youth Running with subscribers in nine countries, and recently, the ChildrensRunning.org website. 

When did you start running and why? 1961. Track was the sport at Flint Northern High School; we were either state champion or runner- up in big school state finals 10 years running. Track is what kids did if too