Logging a lifetime of marathon miles

Twelve years of training, thousands of miles and a dozen marathons later, Reid Willen's biggest feat, he claims, was running a half-marathon with his dad.

"It was really neat to be able to do that with him," Willen said. "My dad has been running since the '70s, back when running first really came around. Getting the chance to run with him 30 years later is special."

The two completed a mini marathon (13.1 miles) in Indianapolis, where Willen was born and raised. It was there when, as a high school student, he first volunteered at a marathon.

"That was cool. I was in high school and had been interested in running a little bit," he said. "But then to go back there and actually run it, that was something else."

Within a year of Willen's moves to Cape Girardeau with his wife, Cathy, and two children, Bryce and Ryan, he ran in his first marathon with training partner Dewayne Fuller.

"Dewayne and I were neighbors when I first moved here, and he was the one who got me into it," Willen said. "I had run some before but it had been years. I was pretty out of shape when he challenged me to it. I remember running down the street and back and thinking I had done a five-miler."

Building up speed

The two built up their miles together through a 12-week training program.

Halfway through the training, the two competed in a half-marathon here in Cape Girardeau.

"He told me that if I could run a half, then I would be able to do the whole thing," said Willen. "I believed him. I bought into it."

Fuller told him that it if he put his mind into it and trained for it, he could handle it.

It was true, and Willen has put 12 marathons on his resume.

"It's exciting -- a neat accomplishment," he said.

Although his marathon training programs build him to be able to achieve long distances at once, it allows him to run only 20 miles a time leading up to the actual event.

"I had never run 20 miles before the first marathon," Willen said. "I remember running with Dewayne through the 20-mile mark and him looking at me and saying, 'All right, we're halfway through.' I about died. You use just as much energy in those last six miles as you do in the first 20. It's incredible."

Of his 12 marathons, Willen said he enjoyed the Chicago Marathon the most. Its large crowd makes the event exciting.

"It was neat running through the neighborhoods in Chicago. Plus, the race is so flat. You combine that with all the people, and it's a great race," Willen said.

Willen used to enjoy his morning runs by himself when his children were younger. Now that they're grown, he and his wife, Cathy, like to work out together whenever they get the chance.

"It's so much easier with a partner to motivate you," he said.

When the question surfaces of attempting another marathon, the answer is easy.

"Oh, I think so. A few of the guys are talking about. Some are still trying to decide whether or not to take a plunge at it," he said. "I'm hooked. I plan on running until I can't. Some guys hunt and fish together. We run together. When you do it together, the journey is really neat."