I ran as a schoolboy at middle distance on the track and cross country.  I was a small kid but mentally tough and physically well suited to running.  I found running to be a comparatively level playing field for me, a sport where the variations in physical development of growing teenagers were not as big a factor in success as other sports like rugby, football etc.  The raw mental power required to ‘tough it out’ played to my strengths and endurance was something my life style generated.  My running career was above average but not spectacular, any ambitions of becoming an Olympian soon evaporated in favour of more teenage-friendly activity and I hung up my running shoes at the age of 17.

I returned to running at the age of 49 by accident, after 6 month of walking and shedding around 25 pounds.  One day in November 2007, while walking on the treadmill I started to run, 400 meters at first and I built up from there.  By the end of the month I had entered the Go St Louis 2008 marathon and announced to the world that I would run a marathon in under 4:00:00, everyone, including me, thought I was crazy.

Sixteen weeks later, with a pair of Nike Zoom Elite 4 trainers worn out, blisters, 900 training miles in my log and another 10 pounds lighter, I ran the St Louis Marathon in 4:05:27.  My first marathon, I was hooked and I was beginning to think like a runner again.

With the help of the St Louis summer heat and humidity, I trained to super fitness and mental strength and was ready to attack that marathon time with a vengeance.
I entered the Lewis and Clark Marathon to be run in September 2008, only to be disappointed when, in the lead for my age group and on track for a spectacular PB time, the race was cut short at 10 miles because of hurricane IKE, a storm blasting through downtown St Charles.  I have never been a quitter and I was not going to quit now, the following Monday I entered the Memphis Marathon to be run in December 2008 and I started training hard again.

The Memphis Marathon day arrived.  I was ready, I was scared but I was determined.  It was a cold grey morning, 31 degrees F (cold), I lined up in the front, just behind the elite runners and blasted the first 13.1 miles in a personal best time of 1:27:00.  My sub 3 hour marathon was in sight with 4 minutes to spare!  As marathon runners know, never count on anything until you have run that last 6 miles, my last 6 miles were possibly the toughest thing I have ever done.  I crossed the line in 3:07:29, a personal best by 58 minutes and 2nd place in my age category Grand Masters (+50).

I am now a runner, recognized as such by the running community of St Louis, training 6 days a week, hitting high mileage weeks of 70 miles ++ and still getting stronger and a little lighter with every stride.  I have been accepted as a member of the Masters Division (40+) of the Big River Running Team, arguably the best running outfit in the Mid West.

What now?  Easy to answer, more training, bigger improvements and a target of a finishing place in my age group at Boston in April 2009.

This is why I run “I run because I am, I am because I run” and “I love the challenge, the grind of the training and the exhilaration of competition”.

I am now a runner and on my way to becoming a running anorak!  I hope you enjoy the running section of the site.

David Carruthers