PROFILE--Roger Robinson has been running for 62 years

5K road race, 2016. Photo by Bob Kopac

(Mar, 2021) Roger Robinson is a runner with many years, races, and wins under his belt. He is also a writer who keeps the history of our sport alive and well through his deeply researched, witty and thoroughly enjoyable books. He is well known on the speaker circuit and is a stadium announcer. Robinson has a sense of humor, too. When we asked him if running has helped him deal with the aging process, he responded, "I'm only 81 so it's too soon to say." He splits his time between Wellington, New Zealand, and New York State with his wife, Kathrine Switzer.

 

Tell us about yourself.  I like to live a balanced life. With a career as a professor and writer, I've also always been active as a runner. I'm no rustic but I couldn't live an entirely indoors life. Running on all terrains and in all weathers is part of my being. (Hence no treadmills or gym workouts). I was born in England, moved to New Zealand in my twenties, and ran world championship cross-country for both countries. First marathon was at age 41, and I ran well as a master (marathon PR 2:18:45; 2:28:01 at 50). World titles (10K and Cross-Country) at 41 and 50. 

Went well again late 70s, after knee replacements (10K, 47:38 at 77, 54:11 at 80).  Married for 34 years to Kathrine Switzer (they said it wouldn't last), we divide our lives between

PROFILE--Dick Rapson has been running for 65 years

(Mar., 2021) Dick Rapson has been running and coaching in northeast Philly for longer than most. He says his athletic credentials aren't special, but how many people do you know who are still running strong 65 years after starting? "I’ve tried to combine my fitness with my coaching career," says Rapson, 81, from Lansdale, PA. "Back in the 60’s-80’s I used to run with the guys and explain the biology of fitness as we ran." A true coach-educator; we can never have enough of those. "I've always tried to use our sport to help kids feel good about their achievements," he adds. [LifetimeRunning.net co-host Amby Burfoot can attest to this. Burfoot's wife, Cristina Negron, got her start in running on one of Rapson's mid-1970s cross-country teams.]

Career-profession: I began teaching in 1961 and retired in 2006. (43 of those years at Lower Moreland- mainly teaching AP biology). I continued to coach track (about 40 years; beginning in 1966) and cross country (51 years until my Covid “sabbatical” in 2020; I began the LM program in 1969). At this point I’m up in the air about returning to XC in 2021. 

When did you start running and why? I begin running in HS as track was the only spring sport. It was a terrible

PROFILE: Shawn Chillag has been running for 43 years

Chillag in costume in hot dog race.

 (Mar, 2021) Shawn Chillag doesn't say much below about his life's work, but he's an MD who has been teaching at medical schools for many years. He spent a good part of his career at the University of South Carolina, with its well-known exercise super heroes like Russ Pate and Steve Blair. Currently, Chillag, 72, is a dept head at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. He's been running for 43 years, figures he's logged around 110,000 lifetime miles, and appears to have a talent for dressing in costumes. Another fun fact: His son and excellent runner, Ian, works with runner Pete Sagal on NPR's well-known "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" show, and also hosts a podcast with the catchy title "Everything Is Alive" in which he interviews inanimate objects. Chillag sr. reports a great benefit of aging: "I can’t move quickly enough now to injure anything."

Career-profession: Mostly a learner and teacher. 

When did you start running and why? I read at age 29 that if you don’t get fit by age 30, then it never happens. My brother had challenged me to do a race; we did it and I was hooked. 

How much did you run in your peak years, miles/week, etc? I averaged about 50 miles weekly. This got me

PROFILE--Sam Cox has been running for 49 years

Finishing a marathon last November.

 (Feb. 2020) Sam Cox started running in 1972 to get in shape for football, but soon realized that a running-focus made more sense for him. Six years later, he completed his first marathon, and almost qualified for  Boston. The next year, he did qualify, running a 2:48. He would eventually reduce that time all the way down to 2:30:58. Now 62 and living in Greensboro, NC, he still logs 40 to 45 miles a week, and races marathons despite foot problems (Haglund's) and a history of atrial fibrillation. "I am grateful to be out there running, slow or not," he says. "Nothing clears my mind, reduces my tension, fosters my creative side, allows me to think, to ponder, to pray, or to imagine quite like a good run."

Career-profession? I graduated Wake Forest University in 1981 with my BS degree, where I walked on to the cross country and track teams and ran my sophomore and senior years, and was on an Army ROTC scholarship. Following graduate work at the University of South Carolina (MS) in 1983, I served five years in the army in San Antonio and Germany. I then began a career in education (while working part-time in the Army Reserves, retiring in 2002), picking up additional graduate degrees at Oregon State University (1991) and The College of William & Mary (1993) while teaching history, coaching cross country and track, and then moving into educational administration. I spent the past 25 years

PROFILE--George Hancock has been running for 47 years

(Feb. 2021) George Hancock is the honorary founder of the U.S. Streak Running Association, and has a couple of impressive streaks to his name. One lasted 24+ years, another 15+ years. And when he required disc surgery in 2018, did that stop him? Nope. His latest streak is 2+ years and counting. He's learned how to stride smooth and back-pain-free, and figures he'll continue doing the same well into his 70s. Now 67 and living near Johnstown, PA, Hancock notes: "I can look back and say, 'Yes, you can. One simply has to try.'"

Career-profession: 1975 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ). Worked in retail from 1976 through 1993 for a local retail firm, no longer exists, company was purchased and closed in 1993. Since then,

PROFILE--Ronald Johnson has been running for 57 years

(Feb. 2021) Ronald Johnson began running at age 14 in 1963, graduated from St. Olaf college, and achieved a lifetime marathon best of 2:31:07. Now retired and 71, he lives in Searcy, Arkansas, where he continues his devotion to running and high-level fitness despite hamstring and foot issues. "I always end my run feeling excellent," he says.

Career-profession? I have had several occupations, but I retired in June of 2019. I was an actuary and a financial analyst. However, my primary occupation was as a mathematical statistician for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington D.C. I worked on the Consumer Price Index. 

When did you start running? I began running seriously as a high school freshman at age 14 in 1963 when I joined the cross-country team. I did this because I had been one of the best runners in junior high school at long distances. I didn’t especially enjoy running at the time, but I certainly wanted to be good at some sport.

Peak running? At my peak in my senior year in college and during the following summer, I was probably running

PROFILE--Tom Perri has run more than 70 marathons since his stage 4 cancer diagnosis two years ago

(Jan. 2021) LifetimeRunning first profiled Tom Perri in 2018--a few months before he received a cancer diagnosis. (See this page.) At that time he was averaging 40 marathons a year and was a four-time finisher of the Fifty-States Club. He’s now working on his sixth go-round as a Fifty State finisher and just finished his 536^th marathon on New Year’s Day 2021. Perri still paces marathons when he can find one, and is still thrilled to bring first-time marathoners across their finish line. Now 59, Perri is looking forward to a new age division in April of 2021.

How did you find out you had cancer? I had a complete physical on 12/21/18, and was told that my PSA was well outside the normal range, which was a strong indication that I probably had an aggressive form of prostate cancer. This was confirmed by the prostate biopsy. At that time it appeared