Blake Montie, 30, of Richard-
son, TX, won’t let caring for his
2-year-old son be an excuse to skip
runs. “My running motto is ‘Run
because you can,’ which is a short
way of saying, ‘Be thankful you
can even do this at all,’” he says.
“When I think about it like that, I
tend to be out the door before I’ve
had a second thought.”
Mark Brower, 41, of Gilbert, AZ,
stopped running for 17 years,
until his friends Jimmy and Matt
goaded him to start again at a
wedding in 2018. He’s since run
a marathon and signed up for a
55K. “I have said thanks to them
more than a few times already,” he
says. “But I would do it again in a
spectacular way if I could—like in
a magazine.”
Kristen Heinan, 39, of Charlottes-
ville, VA, ran by open store doors
this summer for icy-cold AC blasts.
Sara Grzywacz, 24, of Los Ange-
les, finished her first half mara-
thon pushing a wheelchair athlete
via the nonprofit organization
Ainsley’s Angels of America.
Patrick Covington, 28, of Atlanta,
owes his friend Megan Krumm a
Mezcal cocktail and ice cream for
reigniting his running passion.
Until last year, his most recent
race was a 5K in 1998.
Fleet Feet head coach Marty
Coleman, 64, of Tulsa, OK, has
devised a “devilish scavenger
hunt” for the nearly 300 runners
under his tutelage. He won’t say
much except, “Maybe Meb or
Eliud will be taped on the back of a
stop sign.” If you’re one of his run-
ners, consider yourself warned.David Scott, 46, of Peru, NY, and
his running partner Dale Holzer
now have two new hips between
them; they run together to stay
healthy after matching replace-
ment surgeries. Scott completed
a half marathon 12 weeks after
receiving his new joint. “Thanks
for helping to keep me motivated,
Dale. Rock on, hip brother!” Scott
says.Karen Murray, 53, of Mamaro-
neck, NY, ran seven marathons in
seven days in seven states: Min-
nesota, North and South Dakota,
Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Mis-
souri. Her goal is to negative-split
by 5 minutes each day when she
runs the series again next summer.Iris Lam, 29, of New York City,
hates running with water, so she
has started befriending the hot
dog and halal cart guys. She fig-
ures if she has a good rapport with
them, they can act as water stops.Michele Glover, 64, of Indian
Land, SC, would like you to know
that it was incredibly hot in the
South this summer and that wear-
ing a pair of wrist bands is a useful
way of keeping the sweat from
dripping into your eyes.Caroline Mosley, 30, of Tucson,
AZ, recently moved from Wash-ington, D.C., trading her goal of
running a sub-3-hour marathon
for the allure of long desert trails
with “unforgiving heat, snakes,
and cacti.” For her 30th birthday,
she signed up to run a trail 55K.Jon Deem, 58, of Windsor, CA, has
reached two milestones, thanks to
running. He’s lost over 100 pounds
in the past decade. And he pro-
posed to his now-wife at the south-
ern tip of San Francisco Bay, on
the same spot as their first date (a
3-mile run) three years earlier.Kristen Krikorian, 41, of Boston,
ran her hometown marathon after
raising $56,000 for the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society in memory
of her mom, Lynn Krikorian, who
passed away last year. She will
never forget the moment she spot-
ted a sign from a stranger that read
“YOUR MOM IS PROUD” during a
tough moment at mile 25.Ryan Fine, 44, of Burlington, MA,
realized he was running behind
former NFL star and current
ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi in
Boston. If you don’t believe him,
check Bruschi’s Instagram, which
Fine photobombed as the ex-Pat
shot a video of himself in front of
the legendary Citgo sign on the
Boston Marathon course.Military veteran Mark C. Horn
Sr., 59, of Venice, FL, returned
to running after nearly 20 years.
The miles are easier because of
lessons he learned from his first
running partner and Marine Corpssuperior, Don. Chief ly, stashing
jelly beans in your shorts is a life-
saver at the end of long runs.Gisella Headen, 50, of the Bronx,
NY, thought she ran a terrible
debut 10K until her coach congrat-
ulated her on the time in front of
her entire running club the next
week. She used to believe it was
impossible for people with asthma
to run, but that moment helped her
realize that she’d become a runner
despite the condition.During a 2004 Colts playoff game,
Tom Ellefson, 47, of Indianapolis,
bet his friends he could beat them
in a half marathon. He wasn’t a
runner and was a few drinks deep
when they shook on it, which is
when he realized he had no idea
the actual distance. He won the
bet and has just completed his 14th
marathon and 50th half.ISSUE 5, 2019Become a Runner’s World+
member and see your name
in “Club Notes.” This month’s
featured members receive
CamelBak Podium water
bottles. Join now at
runnersworld.com/plus.RUNNERSWORLD.COM 97