Randy Burt remembers the first meal he had at the first Chicago Marathon in September 1977: pepperoni pizza and red wine.
“That was not a good pre-race meal,” admits Burt, now 76.
George Mueller, also 76, remembers the event as well. The temperature was 75 degrees at race time — perfect for spectators but brutal for runners. Mueller had started running in 1975, around the same time he quit smoking.
“Nice tradeoff,” he said.
Burt and Mueller are the only two runners to have participated in and completed all 45 Chicago Marathons heading into Sunday’s race. Despite his age, each plans to make it 50.
“That would be marathon No. 100 and 50 Chicago Marathons,” Burt said. “I would be 80 years old, just as George would also be 80 years old. It’s a neat way a lot of those numbers could come together. At this age, there’s no guarantees on anything.
“We do take it one year at a time. We’re not trying any more personal records — those days are way behind us. The goal is to train properly to be able to, you know, run the current marathon satisfactorily.”
Their methods have changed drastic-ally from the first marathon. When Burt and Mueller first started running, there wasn’t much sophistication to training or nutrition. Over time, Burt said, he has learned about loading up on carbohydrates before a race and wearing the proper attire.
He used to run regularly with his son, but those runs have dissipated over the years, so he has found that using an elliptical machine helps him to stay in shape year-round. He starts preparing four months in advance of a marathon, building up to an eventual 20-mile run a couple of weeks before.
Mueller acknowledges that Burt is more strategic and intentional in his workouts. Mueller does a little running throughout the year, but without much structure. Injury prevention takes precedence.
“My whole goal is to keep moving,” Mueller said. “I don’t do a lot of long runs anymore. I’m more interested in staying healthy, but throughout the year, I want to work out four to five days a week, and I’m more worried about getting injured than I am about doing a lot of work as far as the training goes.”
Both methods continue to help Burt and Mueller get to the finish line.
“Training and trying to prevent injuries is a balancing act,” Burt said. “It’s real easy to come to the tipping point and become injured, which I’ve done an awful lot. At our age, the injuries take longer to recover [from] and put you on the sidelines, so you don’t want to go into the injury phase. So, as a result, my pace has slowed tremendously.”
Both men enjoy the spotlight the marathon brings. although Mueller wondered why they continue to receive so much attention at the Abbott Health and Fitness Expo, the unofficial start of the marathon.
“George,” Burt responded, “[Olympians and former winners] run them faster than us, but we’ve run more than some of those guys.”