'It makes you feel alive': Area runners share their stories

By Logan Young ~ TBY

Monday, August 1, 2016

A group of runners make their way along the Cape Girardeau's Riverfront Trail Saturday, July 23, 2016.

Glenn Landberg

For many people, running is a hobby that can improve health and boost confidence.

In Cape Girardeau, various running clubs allow people these benefits, and also give the opportunity to find a welcoming community that best suits their needs when it comes to desired age group, running time, ability and so on.

And for some runners over age 50, running has become a new lease on life.

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Mike Burnett, 51, started exercising three years ago after he attended a health screening and was labeled as prediabetic. At the time, he weighed 270 pounds.

"I knew it was time to make some kind of move, so I started going to the gym thinking that was a good idea, and I just hated the gym," Mike says. "But watching people run, it just looked like it'd be fun, so I finally decided, 'I'm going to see if I can do this.'"

He went to HealthPoint Fitness with his wife, Melodie, but eventually they took their exercise outside and joined a Facebook group called "Run Cape Girardeau," which boasts dozens of active members in the area and helps members organize group runs.

"There's so many people in Cape that know so much about running; you get input and information from those people and they are so helpful," Mike says.

Fighting an uphill battle at first, Mike ran his first 5K in April 2013 and his first marathon the following April.

"[The marathon] was miserable; I was terrible, but I survived it," he says.

A group of runners gather at Red Star Access in Cape Girardeau Saturday, July 23, 2016 before taking off on their run. The group consisted of Renee Brown, Linda Null, Teri Jones, Karen Stover, Kristie Milam, Jill Eldridge, Kathy Leimer, Peggy Hill, Kevin Bramlett, Mark Reder, Carol Winter and Shannon Aldridge.

Glenn Landberg

With about 90 pounds lost since he began running, Mike qualified for the Boston Marathon after completing the Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon in Seattle in June, with a qualifying time of 3 hours, 18 minutes. It was a 16-minute improvement on his personal record.

Around the same time Mike began running, Melodie started competing. But two weeks before her first half marathon, she was diagnosed with COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung disease that restricts airflow and make it difficult to breathe. Although the disease is degenerative, Melodie says exercise can help, and she has consistently improved her times and distances since she began running.

The couple enjoy being part of the running community and working together toward better health.

"We're polar opposite ends of the spectrum on running, like he's a speed demon and I'm back here at the back of the pack, but it's all good because we have people in Cape, all different paces, that they're just an awesome group of people to run with," Melodie says.

The couple says anyone can be a runner, no matter what limitations they may see in themselves.

"There are so many people in this town who are doing so many great things," Mike says. " ... If you think you can't run or you think you're too slow or you think you're too old or you think you're too fat, that's all bologna. There's a group out there for everybody."

Melodie adds, "If you think you've got too many health issues, you'd be surprised what you can do."

A group of runners make their way along the Cape Girardeau's Riverfront Trail Saturday, July 23, 2016.

Glenn Landberg

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Although she ran in high school, Carol Winter, 54, began running regularly again when she was 47.

"My daughter Tori was in cross-country in high school and it's kind of one of those things where you watch them run and you think, 'Ya know, I ought to do that once in a while,'" she says.

Her first 5K came in 2009 with the Jingle Bell Run in Cape Girardeau.

"Never in my life had I ever run 3 miles," she says.

But she didn't let that stop her. She practiced on the Perryville High School track to make sure she could run that distance and, once she found she could, she continued with the race and quickly "got hooked."

"It was really hard, but I enjoyed it, so I started to get in on the 5Ks around town," she says.

She decided to do one race a month and joined the Run Cape Girardeau community.

Glenn Landberg

"I found out that I enjoy the community of runners; I enjoyed actually doing the running, it certainly was a good calorie burn. You know, we never mind that," she says with a laugh.

Winter has traveled throughout the United States for marathons and 5K races.

She ran her first half marathon at age 49 in Cape Girardeau and then decided to focus on marathons. As a 50th birthday present to herself, she traveled to St. Louis and ran the Go! St. Louis Marathon. The second time she ran that marathon she qualified for the Boston Marathon, which she ran in April.

Winter has run marathons and half marathons in several states, including one in Florida's Walt Disney World.

"I got to thinking it would be kind of cool to run some sort of race in each state. Not that I've aggressively gone after that, but we were in Denver this spring, so we ran a 5K there. Kind of one of those things where it's like, 'Oh, this could be cool, let's see how many states we can hit,'" she says.

Training for marathons has allowed Winter to strengthen her relationship with her daughter and become part of a community of supportive runners.

"The running community is extremely open arms," she says. " ... We're all out there because we've got our own ability and that's what we're either trying to improve or maintain or enjoy or whatever."

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Mark Hahn, 52, began running when he was a teenager some 30 years ago, and continued through college. For the majority of the time since, he has been a cross-country/track and field coach and teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School.

"I got into coaching distance runners and I thought it would be a good idea, as a meaningful coaching angle, to run with the kids; it just seemed like the logical thing to do because you could monitor what they were doing during real time, and what better time to coach them than running with them?" he says.

Every spring before track season, Hahn likes to participate in a marathon with a charitable angle, his favorite so far being the Cummins Falls Marathon in Tennessee, where he finished at 3 hours and 15 minutes.

One of the best parts about running is the involvement with his students and athletes; fitness is what he calls a "fringe benefit."

"For me, I'm privileged to get to run with young people and that's fantastic, it's a motivator, it's fun, it makes you feel younger ... I really enjoy running with my athletes ... it's hard to run by yourself, so that sense of community is fun, and especially the kids I run with, I enjoy that a lot," Hahn says.

Cutline-Body Copy:A group of runners make their way along the Cape Girardeau's Riverfront Trail on July 23.

Glenn Landberg

* * *

Kevin Bramlett, 54, says he got into running at age 47 "by accident."

"I lifted weights and other exercises and I just started running to do more cardio work and found out that I liked it," he says.

Since then, he has run upward of 150 races.

"I enjoy it. There's no motivation needed; I enjoy it," he says. "It's how I normally start the day."

Bramlett works with the motto, "Show up, do the work, don't get hurt."

"I've seen too many people hurt and injured by doing [dangerous] stuff, so anytime I come in contact with someone, if they ask for assistance ... I'm glad to help them because I want to see people succeed," he says.

Bramlett says he enjoys running because it allows him a sense of freedom and clarity.

"I like to be outside. I like the feel of the breeze; you can feel the breeze on your skin. Because I do run so many times before sunrise, it's so quiet and peaceful," he says. "On clear nights you see meteors all the time, you hear coyotes howl -- it heightens your senses quite a bit. ... It makes you feel alive."

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