WASHINGTON 鈥� Running one marathon is a feat many people hope to accomplish in their lifetime. Al Richmond, at 78 years old, has run every Marine Corps Marathon in the race鈥檚 more than 40-year existence, and is still tentative about when he will call it quits.
Richmond, who is gearing up for his 42nd consecutive Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 22, 2017, said he will not predict when his last marathon will be. He takes great comfort in lacing up his sneakers year after year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a habit. It鈥檚 what I call a rite of fall. 鈥極h fall鈥檚 here, OK I got to run the Marine Corps Marathon,鈥欌�� said Richmond, a former Marine, who has finished more than 50 marathons in his running career.
The Arlington resident is a 鈥淕roundpounder,鈥� which in the Marine Corps Marathon world is someone who has run every one of the races since the 26.2-mile race was began in 1976. Richmond is the last remaining Groundpounder.
Marine Corps Marathon Race Director Rick Nealis says Richmond is a tenacious, humble man whose name is synonymous with the race.
鈥淲henever Al decides to stop and hang up his running shoes, the word 鈥楪roundpounder鈥� will always go with Al Richmond 鈥� he is the last runner standing with that record and no one else can replicate that.鈥�
鈥業f he can do it, I can do it鈥�
Richmond has a distinction most long-distance runners are envious of 鈥� he has never been injured.
鈥淚鈥檝e been very lucky: I鈥檝e played 10 years of organized football, run 51 marathons, all the training, I have no idea how many 10Ks and 10 milers. I鈥檝e never had an injury,鈥� Richmond boasted.
What鈥檚 his secret? It鈥檚 the same advice he gives any runner: 鈥淲hat has helped save me is not pushing myself. Everyone goes out and wants to win 鈥� you鈥檙e not going to win the marathon. So run at a comfortable pace and listen to your body,鈥� he said.
Running didn鈥檛 always come naturally to Richmond. He played football in high school and college and begrudgingly trotted three miles during physical evaluations when he joined the Marine Corps. It wasn鈥檛 until a fellow Marine Corps comrade came back from a 10-mile training run for the first Marine Corps Marathon that Richmond entertained the idea of long-distance running.
鈥淎nd my reaction 鈥� was: 鈥業鈥檒l be damned 鈥� if he can do it, I can do it,鈥欌�� Richmond said. 鈥淎nd the rest is history. I just kept going.鈥�
And Richmond wasn鈥檛 the only one who just kept going. He was among a small group of Groundpounders who continued running the race year after year.
Yet as the group dwindled, Richmond鈥檚 competitive drive persisted.
鈥淲e found out there were six or seven of us, and then there were three or four. I didn鈥檛 want to be the first one to not do it,鈥� he said.
Richmond kept the streak going for decades 鈥� even in 1989 after he was shot three times during a mugging in New Orleans. Then in his 50s, he underwent several major procedures following the incident and lost about a foot of intestine, he said. Complications led him to back out of the race. It wasn鈥檛 until October that he had a change of heart, committing to run the race one week before the big day.
Richmond embodies the marathon and what makes it special, said Nealis, a fellow Marine who has been the race director for 25 years.
“If you look at Al and you know a little bit about him, he could be any other runner that’s at the starting line. He is not an elite runner … and he has over 50 marathons, which is an impressive legacy, but he is your everyday runner. He is the ‘People鈥檚 Marathon,'” Nealis said.
Richmond cherishes the Marine Corps Marathon, too. The course and support from fans, family members and marathon staff rank it above all other races, he said.
鈥淭he fact that I鈥檓 a Marine and I鈥檝e been doing it all these years 鈥� it鈥檚 kinda got to be my favorite.鈥�
How a Groundpounder trains
Richmond鈥檚 training plan and expectations have evolved over the years. There’s a lot more walking, and he knows he won鈥檛 be achieving the competitive Boston Marathon-qualifying times of years鈥� past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a case of trying to be prepared enough that I don鈥檛 die,鈥� joked Richmond, who has raced in the revered Boston race three times.
In 1979, Richmond ran his best Marine Corps Marathon time of 3:16:21. His personal best clocks in at 3:00:50. This year, Richmond aims to finish in fewer than six hours.
“When I look at Al, at this stage, I鈥檓 amazed and humbled because I know my own personal running career doesn鈥檛 hold a candle to Al,” said Nealis, an accomplished marathoner with a personal best around 3:09. “And I know my body has been beaten up over the years, and for him to still go is amazing.”
Richmond exudes dedication and endurance in a tough individual sport, he added.
“I鈥檓 sure there are days when it鈥檚 raining and snow that he would probably want to stay in bed and stay in the home, but probably went out and did his miles because that鈥檚 what you have to do to keep that level of fitness.”
For the last four years, Richmond鈥檚 daughter 鈥� who lives in the Dallas, Texas, area 鈥� has run with him. They walk when they feel like it, they run when they want to and they have fun along the way.
The companionship helps him get through the tougher parts of 26 miles 鈥� for him, that鈥檚 around Haines Point 鈥渂ecause everything goes dead. The whole crowd goes dead and there鈥檚 not much support.鈥�
Still, if you ask Richmond his favorite part of 鈥淭he People鈥檚 Marathon,鈥� he doesn鈥檛 sugarcoat it.
鈥淭he finish,鈥� he said, half-joking and without hesitation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all over 鈥� it鈥檚 over for another year.鈥�
And when he finishes No. 42 for the Marine Corps Marathon next month, he plans to celebrate the same way he always does.
鈥淎 20-minute hot shower and two hours of sleep. Really.鈥�
