Steve Yeakel

Steve Yeakel
Resides in: New Tripoli
Years running: 10+
Bio: I’m 37 years old, married, and have an outrageous and boisterous 5 year old girl that we adopted from China in 2005. I’ve worked for Rodale since 1996 and get to be surrounded with health and fitness related material all the time. I used to run when I was a teenager but I let life get in the way. Then one day I decided it was time to get back in shape and feel healthy again, and I haven’t stopped running since. I’m now almost fifty pounds lighter than I was fifteen years ago.

Websites:
Running- www.athlinks.com
Professional- www.linkedin.com

What do you enjoy most about running?
When you force yourself out of bed before the sun rises and you’re out in the middle of no-where with no one around. It’s just a very exhilerating and empowering experience. when you’re done the endorphins seem to carry you through the rest of the day. That and never feeling guilty about eating a cheeseburger.

What is the strangest/funniest thing that has happened to you on a run?
I have been chased by more animals while running than I care to admit. The scariest encounter was the attack of two dogs at once that actually drew blood. Two funnier ones are when the three-legged dog wearing a pink bandana around it’s neck chased me (that race I won.) And the other was when I ran past a herd of cows and they all began to sprint after me. I say sprint because they were actually running faster than me. I’ve read that cattle can run up to 20mph, and I’m convinced I had the elite cattle on my heels and smiling.

What is your biggest running accomplishment and why?
I would say the 2008 Steamtown Marathon. Not just because it was my first marathon, but because six weeks before the event I had been pushing too hard and injured my leg. Anytime I would try to run, the impact would cause severe pain. The doctors told me that my marathon attempt would have to wait. But with the help of Budd Coates, I kept up my fitness through other training. He encouraged me to keep trying. Two weeks before the race while others were tapering I began the opposite. First running a mile, then three, then five. A week before the race I knew it was time to find out whether my leg would give out after extended impact. So I set off for a 13 mile run. About six miles into the run my eyes started to tear up. Not because of pain but because there was no pain. The following weekend I finished my first marathon in under four hours.

Favorite race distance?
Although I’ve participated in many different events, I’ve always preferred the long runs. The shorter runs you push yourself to the maximum. You push yourself to catch the next person in front of you and not let the person behind you pass you. The greatest part of it is when it’s over. While the long run you have to keep enough endurance to last and for me that means a more rewarding experience. It’s more about getting your body into a cruising speed and working like a machine.

Running Heroes?
It may sound silly but really all the runners of different types, sizes, and ages you see out on the roads and in the races. Anyone can run and anyone can be fit. I’m no longer suprised by that woman pushing the kid in the stroller or the “pink tutu guy” (Keith Straw) passing me. I hope some day far from today I pass some young pup and see the shock in his eyes as he struggles to keep up with me.

Current running goals?
Just to see where I can go next. What’s the next challenge? What’s the next race I want to experience? Will I ever be fast enough to BQ? Who knows. I’m hopeful that seeing her parents this active encourages my daughter to live an active life as well.

What are some things you’ve learned about yourself from running?
My toenails always grow back.

What would your family and friends tell us about your passion for running?
They would (and do) call me a pusher because I’ve done my share of guilting and cajoling others into various events that they may not normally have done. But I like to think of it as just planting the seed, since ultimately that person decides whether or not they want to do it. That or I just want others to suffer with me.