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RANDY RUNS FOR A CAUSE
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Although Randy Sturm was a runner in high school and a member of the BKHS track team, one wouldn't have guessed back then that he would complete his 24th marathon in 2009.
by Connie Mattison
At an early age, Randy was diagnosed with epilepsy. When he was five years old, Randy spent a considerable amount of time at Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul undergoing tests. By the time he was in fifth grade, he was suffering two to four debilitating seizures per day.
He spent part of the summer after fifth grade at the Gillette hospital and finally, during the next winter, Randy had brain surgery at the University Hospitals in Minneapolis, to stop the seizures. Following the surgery he was home schooled for a short time in order to keep up with his peers before eventually going back to school.
Even after returning to school, Randy had to avoid contact sports and didn't weigh 100 pounds until his sophomore year in high school. "I later discovered that I was built for running and I have the personality for it (i.e. I find it relaxing and I have an easy-going personality)."
After graduating from BKHS in 1996, Randy attended Iowa Lakes Community College. He transferred to the University of Northern Iowa where he received a bachelors degree in leisure, youth and human services. While attending UNI Randy took a class in marathoning, which taught individuals how to train to run the 26.2 mile race. Through the class, he ran his first full marathon in Nashville, TN in 2001.
He has run either a 5 or 10K race in Belmond each 4th of July for the past 15 years, but ran his first sub-twenty minute 5K this year with a time of 19:49.
Randy's first attempt at distance running was a half (13.1 miles) marathon in 1998 at Emmetsburg.
Each marathon requires 12 weeks of training. He averages 45 to 50 miles of running per week even when he's not in training and he usually runs on the high school track. "I run outside year-round," said Randy. "I vary my workout with the weather. If it's going to be hot and humid, I go out early morning or early evening."
Having run races in 11 states, Randy plans to join the Fifty State Marathon Club. In between marathons and training, he runs 5 and 10K races for fun and to stay in shape.
Randy never runs with an Ipod. "When I first started running, my mom asked me what I thought about while I was running all those miles," recalled Randy. "I said, 'It depends on how I'm feeling that day."
Randy completed the October 4 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in 3 hours, 34 minutes and 51 seconds. That put him across the finish line in 1,362nd place in a field of over 8,000 runners.
After completing his most recent race, Randy visited Gillette Children's Hospital where he spent so many weeks during his childhood. The hospital is part of the Children's Miracle Network, and Randy is making plans to raise money through running marathons to help children in similar situations to his.
His passion for running is evident. "I really feel that it's a gift I've been given," said Randy. "Running helps me mentally and physically. It helps me reduce stress, clears my mind, and it's a good way for me to stay in shape."
Randy ran the Twin Cities marathon in memory of two people, now deceased, who influenced him. Jack Fulton of Belmond was a friend who drove Randy to Minneapolis to most of his checkups, and Norman "Mac" McArthur played Santa Claus in Humboldt. Randy visited that town's Santa Land the week before his childhood brain surgery where he met McArthur. The two stayed in contact after that visit. "He (McArthur) will always be the spirit of Christmas for me. I really wish both men could have been there with me the day of the race, but I know they were watching over me," said Randy.
Another reason the Twin Cities race was important for Randy was that he is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his surgery and last seizure on December 8, 1989. "I've been medication-free since the fall of 1992," he noted.
The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is looking for unique, inspiring and newsworthy information about runners. Randy has submitted his story in hopes he will be chosen and can inspire others.
"In the marathon class I was told that training and running a marathon is 65 percent mental and 35 percent physical," said Randy. Randy's dream is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. His personal record for a marthon is 3 hours, 16 minutes and 45 seconds at the IMT Des Moines in October 2008. He needs to run a time of 3 hours and 10 minutes to qualify for the Boston race. If determination alone were a qualification, Randy would be first on the list of runners.
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©Belmond Independent 2009
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