Officer runs 50 marathons by age 50

  • Published
  • By Adam Bailey
  • Nucleus staff writer
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Lt. Col. Craig Hess, program manager at the Defense Threat Reduction Information Analysis Center, has run 50 marathons before reaching his 50th birthday. He now plans to run a marathon in every state before he turns 55.

Hess became interested in running marathons after he was talked into running a half-marathon by his boss at the time.

"I wasn't sure I had it in me, as I was a little intimidated by the distance, to be honest," said Hess.

After finishing the race, Hess said he realized it wasn't as painful as he thought it would be. He then was challenged to run a marathon by a friend.

Hess ran his first race, the Twin Cities Marathon, in 1991 in Minnesota.

"I ran like most rookie marathoners and went out too fast," said Hess. "I slowed to a crawl at the end and just missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Of course, I had to give it another shot the following year."

After Hess started competing in more marathons, he set the goal to run 50 races because it sounded like a good, healthy long-term goal.

"I had hoped to complete 50 states before age 50, but 11 of 16 years stationed overseas made it a bit difficult. So I modified the goal to simply 50 marathons before age 50," said Hess.

In September, Hess ran back-to-back marathons in New Hampshire and Maine to complete his 50-marathon goal. They were his third back-to-back races in the past 15 months.

"Maine was my 50th marathon and, despite getting rained on for 4 hours, it was still a good event," said Hess.

An important component in Hess' ability to run all these races is the preparation he puts into them.

Hess prepares by maintaining a base mileage throughout the year, around 15 miles per week. Then 10 weeks before the race, Hess bumps up the mileage to between 25 and 30 miles in a week. He also incorporates cross-training in the pool two days a week.

Hess said the most difficult challenge he has faced with running is aging.

"It's difficult watching the finish time averages drop over the years, but I do want to train to break the 3-hour mark after I retire from the Air Force," said Hess.

With one running goal accomplished, Hess now has his sights set on completing his goal of competing in marathons in all 50 states in the next five years.

"In 2001 I ran one a month in a different state but don't think I'll be able to that again. If I can manage four marathons a year, that will complete my goal by age 55 and I'll be very happy," said Hess.