Local runner finishes 10th marathon earlier this month

John Harding, a St. Louis native, longtime Cape Girardeau resident and lawyer with The Limbaugh Firm, has been running for most of his life. At the age of 58, he completed his 10th New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, and he hopes to do more.

Harding ran his first New York City marathon in 1988. He said he enjoys running through all five boroughs of the city and meeting many different people from around the country and the world.

He said he loves running marathons because it is a physical and mental challenge — he finds the physical challenge only becomes harder at the end, but the mental challenge begins when the race does.

One thing he has learned is pacing himself is important. Harding said this year he ran his slowest time — placing 19,362 out of 33,000 runners with a time of 5:21:31 -- but had the best experience by far.

"In the early years of running, I always was telling myself, 'Go faster, go faster,' and I was trying to meet a certain time," he said. "This time, for the first time, I told myself multiple times to slow down, and I specifically thought about my favorite Scripture (Hebrews 12:1) and how it applied to running. I just kept telling myself that I've got to stick to my race plan, that there is a race marked out for me."

His love of running is what inspired him to run the races, and he has also been able to serve special causes while doing so.

Harding's father was diagnosed with cancer and his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He said in past marathons he has run, he raised money and awareness for organizations researching those conditions.

John Harding before his 10th marathon.Submitted

Harding said he hopes to raise money in future races, too, this time for local organizations. He is looking to form a team of local runners to raise money for Community Counseling Center Foundation in Cape Girardeau and Special Olympics Missouri in the next marathon.

He sees it as an opportunity to share the marathon experience with others while also raising money for important causes.