From 5K to Marathon in a Year!

At 65, he started running and accomplished a marathon in a year…and so much more!

I saw this post on SparkPeople and thought I would repost it here for my 9 Kid Fitness readers…Great story!

From 5K to Marathon in One Year

On December 3, 2011 I ran my first race, a 5K in Orlando, FL.  I had just turned 65.  This was after 10 weeks of training, which started quite innocently as a way to lose a few pounds.  I enjoyed it so much I thought I would try to do a 5K.  Fast forward just about one year, and I have completed my 1st Marathon. The Savannah Rock N Roll Marathon, on November 3, 2012.

Having started only a year ago, I had no idea how this was going to go. Oh yeah, I had my secret hope of finishing in a certain time, but what do I know, it was all guess work. I had no idea how difficult this task would be. But I completed my first marathon!

Once I arrived at the RV after the race, almost immediately, I went to SparkPeople.com to see if Spark Friend Laurie, had anything to say on my page. I knew she had been watching my race via some virtual race thingy online.

There were lots of nice comments. The first from Laurie and more from Richard, who also was spying on me online. He and I both started running at a little later than most, and we both ran a marathon within a year or so of starting. So, we share information on our unique situation. Thank you, Laurie and Richard.

All in all a wonderful experience.

You have to be a runner to understand how something so painful and exhausting can be called “a wonderful experience”. But, I guess you Sparkers understand.

Edit: I just went online and checked the race results. It seems I won 3rd place in my age division on my very first marathon!!  For more on this man’s journey…read his blog.