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Who has been running the longest, and when and why did you start? (Read 121 times)

kkittenkat


English Villian

    Ok, so I'll kick off...

    I'm 47 and female. I actually started running when I was about 12. My mum had sent me about a mile and half down the road (in South Wales) to run an errand for her at the post office. I walked there, did what she asked, but had returned home without the paying in book/card/whatever important thing she'd entrusted me with.

    She was really angry, so I just legged it and ran to get it before it was stolen from the place I'd left it.

    The buzz I got from that all out effort, I liked (in a weird masochistic way).

    So here I still am Smile

     

    I KNOW you've got stories to beat this, so please post!

    tom1961


    Old , Ugly and slow

      I started in 77 at age 16 to run a local 15 mile race.

      I only trained 3 month for it.

      But i had been a paperboy for 4 years

      first race sept 1977 last race sept 2007

       

      2019  goals   1000  miles  , 190 pounds , deadlift 400 touch my toes


      jfa

        Ran a bit during the first " running boom " in the late 1970's while in the Navy.

        Fast forward to 2006 when I found myself out of shape. So I quit smoking , started walking , which then led to running.

        According to my log pile of miles, I have run 20,779.6 miles, 15 marathons (last one was Boston) , 19 halves and countless shorter races since. Not only does this site motivate me, but my old Navy buddy is edging me on to try and qualify again. He wants us to run it together. So, peer pressure is driving me.

        I was always a sucker for peer pressure.

         

         

         

         

         

         

        spinach


          I started running in the early 70s probably 70 or 71 when I was in the Phoenix area. I got inspired more by Shorter in Munich. I ran through the 70s, did a few marathons back then, but my bad knees and my life made me stop for about 21 years.  I resumed in 2001. Since then i have run 51 marathons and have run somewhere near 20000 miles this century.

          MJ5


          Chief Unicorn Officer

            Great stories.

             

            As for me, been running since 1994. I went out for the junior high XC team at age 14. I wanted to quit after the first practice, but my parents wouldn’t let me, saying that I didn’t have to do it a second season but since I started this season I had to finish (a work ethic and commitment policy I am happy they instilled in me after all). I ended up really loving it. I played another D-1 sport in college, but always ran for exercise and did races when I was home for the summer and stuff.

             

            As an adult, got into more consistent competitive racing just about a decade ago. Did a few marathons and halves but they aren’t really my thing. I really love the mile and the 5K so that’s what I stick to the most. I’ve also had two foot surgeries and have a screw in my foot so I’m not sure I could handle marathon mileage again even if I wanted to!

            Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54

            MJ5


            Chief Unicorn Officer

              Great stories.

               

              As for me, been running since 1994. I went out for the junior high XC team at age 14. I wanted to quit after the first practice, but my parents wouldn’t let me, saying that I didn’t have to do it a second season but since I started this season I had to finish (a work ethic and commitment policy I am happy they instilled in me after all). I ended up really loving it. I played another D-1 sport in college, but always ran for exercise and did races when I was home for the summer and stuff.

               

              As an adult, got into more consistent competitive racing just about a decade ago. Did a few marathons and halves but they aren’t really my thing. I really love the mile and the 5K so that’s what I stick to the most. I’ve also had two foot surgeries and have a screw in my foot so I’m not sure I could handle marathon mileage again even if I wanted to!

              Mile 5:49 - 5K 19:58 - 10K 43:06 - HM 1:36:54


              Village people

                ^ eek, MJ5!

                KikiniRunner


                  I also was inspired by Frank Shorter’s 1972 Marathon gold medal race.  Back then I ran 2-3 miles often to get in shape for other sports.   There weren’t a lot a races back then for regular folks. I missed s few years with knee injury and having babies, but resumed and started running some local races when I was in my forties.  Rzn my first marathon at age 52.  Have run 5 so far with number 6 in two weeks.

                    Started running in the spring of 1976 from the steps of my law school (U of Chicago) with a classmate.  We wanted to try “jogging”.  Well, we headed south, which turned out to not be all that safe, and when we finally realized that we booked it back to the law school pretty quickly.  I was pretty hooked, but stuck to short distances until I moved to Dallas in 1978 and got involved with a very successful and fun corporate running team, started running marathons and even picked up a sponsorship from the Texas Rangers baseball team.  Long story.  And the road goes on forever......

                    Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth

                     


                    Still kicking

                      Another person influenced by Frank Shorter's Olympic Marathon win. I was a skinny kid, and suddenly skinny was cool. I ran through Jr. High and HS in the late 70's. Took a few years off, and then started back up again as an adult, running my first marathon in 1983, and still going.

                      I'm also on Athlinks and Strava

                      wcrunner2


                      Are we there, yet?

                        I've had two running careers, 1960-64 in high school, and 1968 to present. I ran in HS because my only choices for a fall sport were football and cross country. I was too small to play football. I restarted in 1968 because I was getting really out of shape, then decided it would also be a challenge to reach HS goals I'd never achieved, like a sub-5:00 mile. I was also inspired to run in 1960 by Herb Elliot's dominant 1500m win in the Rome Olympics.

                         

                        I ran my first marathon at Boston in 1970 because that was the last year you could run Boston without needing a qualifying time. I figured it was run Boston even though I hadn't trained for a marathon or never get the chance to run it later because I never expected to be able to qualify.

                         2024 Races:

                              03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                              05/11 - D3 50K
                              05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                              06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                         

                         

                             

                          It's better than being a serial killer and that was pre Dexter.

                          Get off my porch

                          Teresadfp


                          One day at a time

                            I didn't start until I was 44.  One of the early things I told my future husband was that I would never run!  I've run five half marathons.  Lately, I've been struggling and am trying to build up mileage again, but at least I'm running every day.

                             

                            My 25-year-old son, on the other hand, started running when he was tiny and just kept going. He did a Habitat for Humanity "Walk" in 8th grade and ran the entire 20 miles (we called a high school coach who said that wasn't a good idea at his age).  He had a wonderful high school running career (three state XC championships, one state indoor track championship, first place in Junior Olympics national XC championship meet, state record for 4x800 relay) and was set to run in college when he fell ill with schizophrenia. One of his early symptoms was having lots of joint pain that turned out to be unfounded.  He walks now, but never runs. Sad  So life is weird sometimes.

                            AmoresPerros


                            Options,Account, Forums

                              When I started running, everybody ran, because we had to run away from the dinosaurs.

                              It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                              kkittenkat


                              English Villian

                                It's better than being a serial killer and that was pre Dexter.

                                 

                                How is it better?

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