Terry Morton runs beyond
500-race milestone
Originally printed in the Centreville Press on February 29, 2011 appearing for the first time on Bibblogger.
By Daniel L. Bamberg
Daniel@Centrevillepress.com
In September of 2011 Terry Morton of Centreville ran in his
500th race. He began to keep daily
logbooks in the early 1980s.
According to these books he has ran well over 50,000 miles. This total does not include the mid to late
seventies when Morton began running.
A few weeks ago Morton along with friends and locals Brian Filgo, Mike Oakley and David
Steele competed in the Mercedes Marathon for Morton’s 505th race.
Morton is the head basketball coach at Bibb County High
School. He believes that by
staying in shape and pushing himself he will never be in a situation where
asking a player to do something is beyond his own ability.
His love for running started as a freshman at Wallace State Community College. As a scholarship athlete
in basketball it was important for him to remain fit but a nagging injury kept
him on the sidelines in his first season.
“I injured my wrist in my freshman year and was red shirted,” recalls Morton. “Well, I got to sitting around too much and gaining
weight. One day I was watching the
Boston Marathon on television and saw Bill Rogers win. I thought if he could do that so can
I. So I bought myself a pair of
running shoes from JC Penny. I
started walking then jogging.”
During that year while Morton was healing his wrist injury
he was in ten races. After he was
able to play basketball again he continued to enter races when time
allowed. Then upon graduation
racing had become a routine.
“It was like brushing my teeth,” said Morton. “I would wake up and go running every
morning. For the first fifteen
years Mike (Oakley) and I would find a race almost every Saturday to compete in.”
Morton recalls Jim Suttle from Centreville being one of the
few locals in the 1970s and 1980s that would run around town. He’d ask him questions and take
pointers from him at times.
Morton ran in his first marathon in 1980. It was called The Vulcan Marathon. He and Oakley had been training for
that race by running near the Centreville shooting range.
“Mike didn’t run but went with me for support,” recalled
Morton. “I ran the first 20 miles
in 2 hours. I was really running
well, but I had never run past 20 miles.
In the last 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) I hit a wall. It took me another hour to finish the
race. I was sore for almost 2 full
weeks, to the point where I could barely walk. If I needed to walk upstairs I had to walk
backwards.”
According to Morton the 1980s was a time known mostly for
10-kilometer races. He said that
the Sam Lapidus Montclair 10K Run was always his best race. In this annual race, which still goes
on today, Morton’s peak time is just under 34 minutes.
“It is a nice run,” said Morton. “It’s pretty much flat the whole way. You run 5 kilometers one way and 5
kilometers back. I’ve always
enjoyed that race.”
Morton has also competed in several biathlons. In these races the competitor first runs for
5 miles, then bikes for 50 miles. The race is completed by running for another 5 miles. During the 1980s Morton qualified for a
regional in Atlanta. He was ranked 33rd in the south regional among
runners.
“I never made the trip over for the regional race,” said
Morton. “I was in great shape
then. It is one of those things I
wish I had done.”
Morton who is now 54 years old doesn’t put up the running
times he once did. He has however
won several races in his age group of 50 – 55. For the basketball coach racing isn’t
as much these days about competing with others. Morton explains that when he runs now he is more so in
competition with himself.
In September of last year, Morton ran his first trail run at
Oak Mountain. In an 18-kilometer
race Morton had to run up hiking trails, up and down mountain terrain and even
had to swim across a creek. It
took him about 3 ½ hours to finish.
Smiling and nearly laughing as he began speaking about it
Morton stated, “That’s one of those races where the reward is completing
it. The whole thing is
mental. You are in competition
with yourself. When I finished
that race I felt like I did in that marathon in the 1980s. I finished it and that was the
important thing.”
These days Morton runs a lot of 5K races. A lot of these are held for charity and
they give Morton the necessary motivation to remain in top shape.
“The vast majority of the 5K runs are for some sort of cause
and that makes it a double reward,” Morton explained. “I get a chance to run against myself, run against others
and support a worthy charity. It’s
a total package for me and as long as there is one going on I have a race to
look forward to. This helps me
stay in shape.”
Morton has several goals, none of which are concerning when
he will stop running. He wants to
reach his 600th race before his 60th birthday. He wants to get in good enough shape to
run another full marathon. He
wants to continue to be one of the best in his age group in every age he runs
in. He wants to continue to
challenge himself and push himself.
“As long as I keep my health and my joints stay healthy I
would like to keep running,” Morton said.
“I believe running has helped me keep energy at my age. It helps me with my job and life. It sets a good example of fitness for
people my age as well as younger folks.
It is also a wonderful stress reliever.”
Only God knows what the actual mileage is on the proverbial
odometer of Morton’s feet. One
thing is for sure, if he were being sold on a lot he may be considered high
mileage but the motor is still running well and has every intention of doing so
until the wheels fall off.
Photos (Top right) Terry Morton racing in 1981 at a Mobile, Alabama marathon. (Botton left) Terry Morton racing at the Mercedes Marathon in 2012.
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