Retired employee inspired to run
Posted on 06-17-2010
Don Van Houten retired a little over 2 years ago from the AIEC and has barely set still since. He has spent five and a half months hiking the 2,174 mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, run marathons in 49 states, biked from his home in Riverton,IL to the East Coast and canoed the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Inspired to run after reading a book about Mexico's Tarahumara Indian tribe and their ultramarathon runners, Don embarked on his most recent adventure. He left on Monday, June 14 to run 890 miles from Riverton, Ill. to Yorktown, Va. and hopes to complete his journey in one month - which will require him to run 30 miles a day (which is a marathon plus four miles). He will be joined by a friend who will be following him in a truck with food, supplies and extra running shoes.
Although Don has run many marathons, he's never done it on consecutive days so it will be a great challenge. "I'm very, very sore at the end of a marathon," says Don. "How I'm going to get up the next day and start again remains to be seen."
We at the AIEC wish him good weather and the best of luck!
To read Dave Bakke's entire column about Don in the State Journal Register, click here.
