Stephanie C. Dahle
Guest Contributor

Despite two fractures he sustained in September, Forest Lake resident John Gustafson succeeded in completing his first New York City marathon Sunday, although perhaps a little slower than he liked.

Gustafson joined 37,000 other runners on the course, finishing the 26.2-mile race in four hours, 19 minutes and 58 seconds. Though suffering from compression fractures in two of his vertebrae, Gustafson smiled as he reunited with his family, one block from Central Park, and assured them he was okay.

Before his injury, he said that he should have been able to finish the marathon in three hours and thirty minutes, but after his injury, he was happy just to finish.

His wife, Jane, who along with two of their three children along with their significant others, went to New York to watch him run, said, ìIf anything, it was adrenaline that got him through.î

It has been a long journey to the finish line at Central Park. The 20-year-resident of Forest Lake said he began training for this marathon in 2004.

All was going well until Sept. 17, when Gustafson, 54, suffered the fractures, ìIt started hurting pretty badly in mile 18 of a 20-mile run. I waited a couple of weeks [to see a doctor] but it got so painful, I had to go in.î

Gustafson called the injury extremely disappointing, ìYou can train and train and at the last minute a dozen things can happen that will derail it.

ìNormally, you start cutting back three weeks before the race at 20-30 percent. Two weeks before, 50 percent and one week, 75 percent.î

However, for the last six weeks, Gustafson has not been able to run, so heís been exercising on elliptical machines and stair steppers instead.

Before getting injured, according to Gustafson, he spent no less than 10 hours a week training, and his workouts generally included running between 30 and 70 miles in a week.

Gustafson said that he trained by himself and ran mainly on the Northshore trails and on Highway 97. He downplayed the extent of his training, equating the time commitment to ìmissing a couple of TV shows a week.î

Gustafson, a roofing contractor, said that while he began running when he was in his early forties, it was always something he wanted to do. He recalled that he bought all the books he could find on the subject and, though he was athletic in high school, it was ìtwo years of cross training before I could run halfway decent, and four years of training before I got into anything long.î

When he first started training, Gustafson said six miles seemed ìimpossible,î but he learned that by challenging himself, it became possible.

Since beginning to run, he has completed approximately fifteen marathons, six half-marathons, and three 20K races, in locations ranging from Las Vegas to Chicago.

ìIf you look at the big picture, itís kind of overwhelming,î Gustafson said. He feels running parallels life, ìYou have to take it one step at a time.

ìIím 54 and I donít think that I will be able to do this for many years... and there are people out there that canít do this,î Gustafson said.

Which is why he ran through the entirety of New York City, one step at a time.

Stephanie C. Dahle is a third-year journalism student at New York University.

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