Mary Maier, 57

Exercise physiologist for Swedish American Hospital

I’ve been running for most of my life. From 6th through 12th grade I was a competitive speed skater and we ran for conditioning. After having 4 children however, I got back into it for health, fitness, and the competition. That’s been 25 years now except for injuries.

I started running as part of my athletic training, to control my weight, stress, and to be healthy.

If I could no longer run, I would do some other form of cardiovascular activity, whatever my body allowed. I was an avid triathlete, duathlete, and bike racer in the past, prior to a serious accident.

My favorite run is probably a fall trail run in one of the forest preserves. We just moved near Rock Cut State Park and I have been out there at least once a week now. I used to really enjoy running with my husband, Herb Case, but a knee surgery has prohibited him so far from getting back into it.

I like to run with my grown children. I paced my daughter Jennifer through the last 6 miles of the Chicago Marathon last year. We’ve also done some mother/daughter races and done pretty well. Our team name was “Sweet Feet”, because when she was a toddler, she would take her socks off, put them in my face, and ask me to “Smell them”! My daughter Laura and son Mike have also shared some challenging courses with me.

My favorite thing to do after a hard workout is to socialize, relax, and if it was a race, analyze the results.

When I’m not running I like to read, work in the yard, walk the dogs with my husband, and visit with my 4 (adult) kids, their spouses, and 8 grandchildren.

I am inspired by runners who are a bit older than me such as Lois Gilmore, Henry Gallenz, Jim Dunkel, Caesare Mannetti, and many others.

An obstacle or challenge I’ve overcome with my running is being told by my surgeon that I would probably never run again after I severely fractured my femur in a bike race (2000 Masters National Championship road race in Linton, Indiana). It was repaired via 2 surgeries leaving me with a stainless steel rod from my hip to my knee in my right leg, and a significant leg length difference between right/left. The next 2 years I had to learn to walk again using a walker, then crutches, and finally a cane. My fitness was at rock bottom and I would go to the antique mall on State St. in the winter and go up and down the aisles with my walker, etc. for a “workout”. When I could finally walk without assistance, I was ecstatic when I tried to lightly jog from the front door to the car. Then a lot of walk/jog sessions, until I could jog continuously. From that point on it has been a battle with muscle spasms as the nerves and muscles have learned to work together. The spasms would come out of the blue, like in the last mile of the Arny Johnson, and I would have to stop and the hobble in. This last year I have been “spasm free”!!

The local runner I admire most? This a hard question to answer as there are many. One for sure is George Tillett. He is a very selfless man and the effort that he puts into the Goldie Floberg fundraising run each year with his wife Lois is very commendable. He also ran the Boston Marathon with me in 1990. I qualified at the Milwaukee Marathon with a 3:43 and then contracted mononucleosis. I was determined to run Boston, however, despite an incomplete recovery. George stayed with me the whole way and was so fresh at the finish, I’m sure he could have run back to the start! After we finished the race, I got knocked down into the path of traffic by a drunk college student (football player size), but escaped injury!

To push myself on a run, I think about the feeling of personal satisfaction at the finish from putting forth a respectable and realistic effort.

My greatest running accomplishment might be winning the 1993 Veggie Run 8k in 35:01 and at the finish having a spectator say, ” It’s about time a woman came in”. To be honest though, it would have to be that I am back running the last 5 years  following a 2 year layoff after my cycling accident. It has humbled me some, but my competitive spirit is still alive and well, no matter how much slower I may be. I compete with myself and always feel there’s room for improvement. The challenge keeps me going.

My next goal is to train for and complete the upcoming Rockford Marathon. Qualifying for Boston again would be icing on the cake.

My advice to other runners is to listen to your body, allow enough recovery in your training, and don’t ignore new and nagging pain. I am always happy to suggest tips to others based upon my knowledge and experience as a former coach for Road Crew, high school cross country/track, and my own personal history. I’ve had about every injury in the book and have hopefully learned a lot from my mistakes. Accidents do happen though and we all seem to have to take our turn.

I plan to run until I can’t put one foot in front of the other!!!