Marathon feature - Yoder
Highlight on runners coming to Abilene

Eisenhower Marathon entry John Yoder runs the 10K in March 2008, at the Looking Good 10K in Houston,  finishing third overall.  Yoder uses the shorter races as part of his marathon training and hopes to be a contender for first place at the marathon in Abilene April 11.

Marathon runner John Yoder from Houston, TX, is traveling to Abilene April 11, with goals of not only finishing the Eisenhower Marathon, but also winning first place with a 2 hour and 35 minute expected finish. Yoder will challenge three-year winner Gannon White from Colorado who won the Eisenhower in 2008 in 2:39.

“One of my life’s goals was to run a marathon,” Yoder said, “so I trained and ran one in Houston in 1995, finishing in 4:01.  Six weeks later I ran another one in 3:55. I was hooked on running and racing and never stopped.”

Having run 39 marathons, Yoder finished first place in three of them and has logged many top-10 finishes.

“My last marathon was the Hartford Marathon in October 2008,” Yoder said. “I ran a 2:36 and came in sixth. It is my personal record.”

Facing injuries six weeks before he was scheduled to run in 2001 and again in 2002, Yoder describes the disappointment and frustration he felt as “horrible.”

“I hate to get injured and not be able to race,” Yoder said. “Fortunately it has only happened twice when I lost considerable amount of time to heal.”

Yoder usually runs six days each week, doing a long run every week, a medium long run once each week, one speed workout, with a hill training day and two easy runs each week, sometimes running a local 5K or 10K. He said that the toughest part of training is early morning runs when he doesn’t feel like getting up to run.

“Having a training program in front of me and knowing that every day counts is daunting,” Yoder said. “I hate to miss runs when I am training for a race.”

Yoder advises beginning marathon runners to take the time to train properly.

“Hook up with a pacing group,” Yoder advises. “I was a pacer in the Houston Marathon and was able to help people run a far faster time than they would have run if they had run on their own. Go slow at the start.”

Although it wasn’t his fastest time, Yoder considers running the Avenue of the Giants Marathon in California in 2000 as one of his greatest accomplishments.

“I came in second place, but I felt like I ran a good race and did the absolute best that I could at that point in my life,” Yoder said. “I think I ran faster than I should have run based on my fitness level at that time. I also passed a couple of people and didn’t crash and burn in the final miles.”

Yoder also ran a 203-mile relay, the Texas Independence Relay, with five friends, placing second overall.

“The top six teams that were expected to win had all 12 runners on each of their teams,” Yoder said. “Our team only had six runners, so we were all pretty happy about our performance.”
In addition to trying to shorten his marathon finishing time, Yoder is working on running 50 maratho ns in 50 states.

“I know it will take me probably the rest of my life as I only run three marathons each year.” Yoder said. “I have a 15-year streak in the Houston Marathon and I plan on running it every year for the rest of my life.”

Yoder is editor of an award-winning newsletter for the Houston Striders, called Stridelines, found at www.houstonstriders.org.

Yoder also owns a mowing company in Houston which he started when he was 13.
“I love being outside, working hard, running hard, burning lots of calories and being able to eat whatever I want--specifically pizza. I love pizza,” Yoder said. “I have been able to introduce running to my wife and my sister. Helping someone else run is a great gift to give.”