Ken Childress

Ken Childress - Faster Than Oprah - Full & Beginner 12-13 min/mile

Ken Childress

I was the next to the slowest kid in gym class all through school. But in 1977, I decided I was gonna be a runner, so I laced up my Converse leather tennis shoes and sprinted out the door and down the road for a mile. My return trip was somewhat slower, but accomplished with an increased effort. I was pretty wiped out, but ran 4 miles the next day, and walked most of the last mile. A week later, I was able to walk again, and running SUCKED!

Fast forward 25 years.

In 2002, I spent a vacation on the beaches of Cancun, and decided I might have been the fattest guy on the beach. After getting home, I joined Weight Watchers, and started walking for exercise. Soon, the walking turned into a little jogging, and then to running 3 miles at a time non-stop. After running a couple of 5Ks, I was hooked. The next year, I ran the OKC Marathon, and another 26.2 in the fall. The next year, I joined the RunnersWorld group, and running became more fun than ever for me. I have met the best friends I have ever had in this group! This lead to more marathons, trail races, and ultras. To date, I have ran 66 races of marathon distance or beyond, including 6 - 100 milers. I turned 50 last year, and am getting a little slower, but still like to kick it up a notch every now and then. I hope to someday be one of those old 90 year olds who still finishes marathons.

In the past few years, I have found that even though finishing a marathon is an awesome experience, helping someone else finish a marathon is much more satisfying. Call it the "Pay It Forward" thing maybe. It's also rewarding to see those who I have helped in turn help other people meet their goals. Heck, at this rate, someday everyone in the world will be runners!!