Marathoner Frank Shorter Still Runs for Fun

When he was 11, Frank Shorter started running for fun. After 53 years and enough trophies, plaques and medals to fill a two-car garage, the man generally credited with launching the running boom in the 1970s is still running for fun.

"You have to be willing to admit to yourself that you can just enjoy it," he said when asked how runners can stay motivated to keep training once they realize they're past their athletic peak -- in some cases, long past it. When you go out [for a run], give yourself permission to enjoy the movement," he said.

"We know that we're slowing down, even though the intensity feels the same. Sometimes you have to scale down your goals, you have to be willing to make an adjustment. But then you focus on the other things you get from running, like the health benefits. My goal has always been to slow down as slowly as possible. It's as simple as that."

Shorter was in the Twin Cities last week to lead a 5K charity run as part of the grand opening of a Running Room store in Eagan. That was his official reason for being here. But everywhere he goes, he also has an unofficial duty: to act as an ambassador for running. He patiently signed autographs, posed for photos and answered questions. And he did so with the smile that is his trademark.

He burst on the athletic scene at the 1972 Olympics when he blew away the rest of the marathon competitors, leaving them so far behind that he ran the last third of the race all by himself. When he crossed the finish line, he grinned and waved to the crowd.

This was a different image of marathons than the public was used to. Until then, we'd watched gaunt athletes forcing themselves toward the finish line as if trying to stay one step ahead of death. This guy was having a good time running, and if he could do it, millions of people figured, so could they.

"I never set out" to become the face of distance running, he said. "It wasn't something I contrived. It just kind of happened. In those days, you couldn't make a living as a professional runner, so it didn't make sense [to try]."

In fact, shortly after winning his Olympic medal, he enrolled in law school. "I never really wanted to be a lawyer," he said, although he did get his degree. He added with a chuckle: "I figured that if it came down to sleeping under an overpass or practicing law, I would consider practicing law."

In 1976, he finished second in the Olympic marathon, losing to an East German who later was implicated in that country's doping scandal. Although many people felt that Shorter had been cheated out of first place, he still had made history by becoming the only American to win two Olympic marathon medals. Add the fact that he also was considered one of the world's best at the 5K and 10K distances, and his status as a running icon was cemented.

He shrugs it off. "I just kept running, and as a result, my name and image stayed out there," he said.