Norm Yarger, 67 (too young for the Wildcats)
Retired Mechanical Engineer

I started running...

About 26 years ago, but it took a couple of years until I got serious. I did my first marathon in 1983 at the Chicago Marathon when there were over 4000 runners.

I started running because...

I'd heard about a 5k and a 10k race in Belvidere. The oldest category in the 5k was the men's over-40. There were only two finishers, but the awards were three deep. I figured I could run three miles and decided to try it the next year. I ran my first 5k in 27 minutes, but finished dead last. Unfortunately, there were four of us in the over-40 category. There were only two in my age group for the 10k, so I trained for that one the following year. I finished in 54 minutes for dead last again and fourth in my age group. After that, I began to get serious and started training more than twice a month. I was hooked!

If I could no longer run I...

Would look for something else to tax me aerobically.

My favorite place to run is...

I love any run or race on trails. I am a member of the St. Louis Ultrarunning Group (SLUGS) and the Badgerland Striders. All three of my clubs now have ultra distance races on trails.

My favorite thing to do after a hard workout is...

Shower. Actually, the first thing I like to do is shoot the breeze with other runners. I really enjoy long distances both in running and talking.

I like to run with...

Beautiful young women. Fortunately, at my age they're all beautiful and young. Also, fortunately, my wife is one of those beautiful young women. Unfortunately, we run at different paces but we get to go to the races together, come home together, and by picking the right race distances we get to finish fairly close together.

A challenge I've overcome with my running is…

SMOKING! I was a smoker before I took up running. Running helped me kick the habit.

When I'm not running I like to do...

Volunteer work at church. I create the Power Point for Sunday services, help with the mailing of church newsletters, and sometimes I do dishes.

I am inspired by...

Almost everyone. Everyone has special gifts: a great smile, a warm personality, a willingness to volunteer at races, compassion, generosity. How could I not be inspired by great people like that?

To push myseld on a run I ...

When I've not been sure if I could finish, I have chanted the mantra from the Little Engine That Could, “I think I can, I think I can.” What felt really good was when I could change that to, “I know I can, I know I can.” I used that at my first finish of a 50-mile race in 1991 after my first attempt at that distance in 1990.

My greatest running accomplishment is...

Finishing three races at the 100-mile distance.

My next goal is...

I'd like to finish some more 50-mile races.  As I get older, I get slower and the 50-mile races usually have a cutoff time. Actually, I'm not getting any slower, it's those damn watches that are getting faster.

If you want to locate the real winners at a race, don't look at the finish places, look at the runners' faces. The best measure of success is the size of the smile.

I plan to run until...

I am currently planning to race on my birthday. Originally I hoped to do a race on my 80th, but that falls on a Wednesday so I've moved my goal out to my 100th which should be on a Sunday. That's Sunday, April 10, 2039. Tonya, could you schedule the Arny 10-mile for that day?