Jan 23, 2024

PR Training Program Participant Spotlight - Wayne

Today we are spotlighting =PR= Training Program participant Wayne. He started running in the late 1980s and hasn't looked back since! Wayne's passion is marathons and he has run 30 of them! At age 66, he plans to keep crushing those marathons. We are so inspired by Wayne and his dedication to running over the years! Read on to learn more:

How did you get started running? Tell us about your running journey?

I started running in the late 1980s as a way to get exercise and clear my head. I decided early on that I wanted to complete the Marine Corps Marathon, and so I started training in anticipation of the 1990 edition whereupon I learned the week beforehand that one could not simply show up the day of the race, but actually had to register months earlier!

Running a marathon is my passion and I now have 30 under my belt and at 66 I plan to run as long as my body and God allow. Every year during the marathon some tired kid asks me if he is going to make it to the 14^th street bridge in time, and each time I can confidently say, “Yep, stick with me.”

What is your favorite running or racing memory?

My favorite racing memory is running the road from Anakena Beach on Easter Island alone with my moai in a marathon of just 250 people – just alone with the moai and probably the closest I have come to a dream quest and the Aku-Aku spirits of Polynesia.

Where is your favorite place to run?

The road to Bank was located a quarter mile from my home in Lyndhurst, England where my family and I lived in the early 90’s, and I would run the road through the New Forest (expropriated by William the Conqueror in 1068 as his private hunting county) past Alice’s cottage (of “Wonderland” fame), past the wild ponies and deer, to the village of Bank and then home again – a little over 4 miles in total. I run this route every time I am back in my village, which is typically every year or so. It is simply divine.

What are your 2024 running resolutions or goals?

Since Covid I have been struggling to run again a sub-6-hour marathon. I thought 2023 was my year, but temperature and humidity decided otherwise. 2024 is my year!