Don McNelly – Too Old My Foot!

« You must show your body who is boss. »  Don McNelly

He might be the last finisher of most of the races he enters nowadays, but that doesn’t deter Don McNelly from entering dozens of marathons each year.  He ran his first marathon in 1969 at the age of 48 after his close friend and college fraternity brother died suddenly from a heart attack.  This tragedy was a wake-up call for McNelly to lead a healthier and more active lifestyle.  Since then, Don has run well over 750 marathons.  Have you been doing the math?  Born in Wengerlaw, Ohio on November 11^th 1920, Don will be celebrating his 90^th birthday later this year! 

Don McNelly is the owner of a number of world records.  Most notably, he holds the record for the greatest number of marathons completed over the age of 70 and most marathons completed as an octogenarian.  Don has completed an incredible 297 marathons in his 70’s, and has run another 200+ marathons since his 80^th birthday.

McNelly has run a marathon in every U.S. state, in every Canadian province and territory and even in each of the 47 prefectures (the major sub-national jurisdictions) of Japan.  Don is very proud of the fact that he is not only the oldest, but also the heaviest and tallest person ever to do so.  Several Japanese runners also like to have a picture of their shoes taken next to Don’s size 15 sneakers.  He has run in dozens of other countries, on every continent, even in Antarctica.   Don’s training consists of running or walking roughly 30-miles each week and likes to do a marathon on a monthly basis.  This weekend Don will be at the ING Ottawa marathon. 

McNelly attributes his longevity (he rarely has injuries or illnesses) to a lifetime of hard work and positive thinking.  Raised on a farm, Don later served in the military during WWII.  Don then worked as an engineer for several decades and managed a number of plants in the corrugated box industry.  Today McNelly maintains an active schedule outside of his running.  In his spare time, he volunteers regularly at local events and at the Seneca Park Zoo near Rochester, New York, the city where he currently resides with his wife Phyllis.  They have been married for nearly 70 years.

In his youth, Don attended Brooksville High and this school boasts that it is the only school in America that has two graduates who have each run 700+ marathons.  Denny Fryman is from the Class of ’65 and has run over 800 marathons.  Don graduated from BHS in 1938.  Although these totals are quite impressive, Denny and Don rank “only” 10^th and 12^th respectively on the all-time list for most marathons run worldwide.

The book The Madman, the Marathoner:  The Life of Marathoner Donald P. McNelly by Juanita Tischendorf was released in late April 2010.  I have yet to get a copy, but you can order yours at Amazon.com by clicking on the photo of the book cover below.

According to the author, the book is not simply a recollection of Don’s running exploits.  It’s a comprehensive account driven by many success stories of all aspects of Don’s life.  Juanita, a computer teacher at a local high school, met Don who had enrolled in a computer class that Juanita was teaching in the evenings.  Don’s stories captivated her, a friendship blossomed, and the idea for a book germinated from their conversations.  I am looking forward to reading this book and sharing my review in a future Monumental Effort post.

The next time you hear someone say: “I would really like to take up running but I’m getting too old”, please share Don McNelly’s story with them.  M.E. would like to feature on a regular basis the story of “mature” athletes.  If you know of one of these remarkable people, please tell us their story but clicking the “Submit your story” tab at the top of the page.  Or you can leave us a comment here about this post or with a recommendation for a future post that we will gladly research for you.

Gotta run,
Vince
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