Garry Kirk, 52

Investment Advisor

I've been running for about 12 years.

I started running because I wanted to lose weight.  I hated running initially because I found it boring.  I was a member at Bally's and ran on their indoor track...like a hamster on an exercise wheel. I once ran 20 miles indoors there (which was 300 laps).  Don't tell anyone.

If I could no longer run, I would be fat, crabby[ier] and a permanent resident in a maximum-security mental health institution.  This may happen regardless.  

The bike path along the Rock River is my favorite for casual running....I must have run it a billion times and I'm surprised that I still find it interesting and enjoyable.  Perryville path into Rock Cut is my favorite for serious training along with running loops at Sinnissippi Park.

I like to run with anyone who will allow me to stop every couple of miles to hydrate (the only person this excludes on planet earth is Tonya Thayer who refuses to ever stop since her skin is made of polypropylene, thus she never loses fluids and has no need to stop and hydrate.  Jim Micho, on the other hand, has skin that is made out of a very porous but unknown material that holds water like a 5-gallon bucket made out of chain link fence.  He's been my long-term running best-buddy who's been there for me at my best and my worst.  Thanks, Jim. 

My favorite thing to do after a hard workout is...Shower, eat and nap...in that order. 

When I'm not running I like to teach accounting and statistics at Rockford Business College; play my Fender Stratocaster in front of an imaginary crowd of thousands of screaming 18 year-old girls; study the relationship between macro-economic variables and US stock market performance while eating scones and drinking coffee at Mary's Market Cafe on Perryville.  Stop by sometime and I'll buy you a muffin.  

I am inspired by Ron Leonhardt's relentless pursuit of perfection, Jim Micho's persistent positive attitude and Jim Bove's ability to talk incessantly during miles and miles of hill work. 

An obstacle or challenge I’ve overcome with my running is...personal problems and stress.  I've never come back from a long-run feeling as if I've wasted my time. 

The local runner I most admire is...there are too many to mention.  I admire those who run for strictly social and recreational purposes as much as those who are accomplished race-winners.  "Success" in running achieved by merely doing it...it's about staying as healthy as possible for as long as one can in life...nothing else really matters.        

To push myself on a run, I....think about chocolate...I used to think about other things which will remain unmentioned here since this is a family publication.  But I'm older now and I think about chocolate.  That way, I'm never disappointed after a race.

My greatest running accomplishment is working hard for years to finally qualify for Boston in 2001. 

My next goal is to recover from recent injuries and run a respectable Rockford Marathon in May 2008.  Respectable means not dying.

My advice to other runners...train to know and maximize your own potential and ignore everyone and everything else.  Running with others who are slightly faster than you will help you find your potential.  But, do not measure your worth by comparison to other's abilities or performance.  Running is about improving yourself...to hell with everyone else.  

I plan to run until thousands of 18 year girls show up at my house to hear me play my guitar.  Hope Paula's not home if this ever happens.