Summit native Harold Wilson, 82, won the 80-year-old division of the Boston Marathon on Monday for the third consecutive year with a time of 4:18.00.
Wilson, who moved to Texas, to be near two of his children in 1998 when he retired from Albemarle in Magnolia, Arkansas, has run the Boston Marathon 10 times since his retirement. He has finished his age group in first place five times — three times in his 80s and twice in his 70s — and in second place twice. He finished the course in 3:53.54 in 2013, which was the year of the tragic bombing, and 3:58.55 in 2014.
The conditions played a role in Wilson going slower on Monday.
“It was raining and wind blowing,” Wilson said. “It was real windy. That slows you down. It started to rain on me by the time I started.”
Wilson’s personal best was a time of 3:26.00 when he was in his late 60s. The first time he won the race was at age 72 with a time of around 3:36.
“I didn’t have any plans to win,” Wilson said. “I just ran to say I ran the Boston Marathon.”
Training for the 26-mile race for Wilson began six months prior to the event. Three weeks before the Boston Marathon, he ran 21 miles, two weeks before the event he ran 12 miles and then eight miles one week before the big day. He arrived the Sunday before the Boston Marathon.
On the day of the race, school buses started loading at 5:30 a.m. and Wilson boarded at 8 p.m. at Commonwealth Park. He was dropped off in Hopkinton at 9 a.m. and started the race at 11 a.m.
According to Wilson, the elevation dropped 450 feet in the early stages of the race and many runners go too fast. He said he paced himself to go up Heartbreak Hill for miles 17-21.
“I was shot and I walked a little bit going up that steepest hill, Heartbreak Hill,” Wilson said, adding most people say blood runs out after about 20 miles of running.
Wilson began running at age 54 when he suffered from obesity and high cholesterol and his doctor encouraged him to exercise more.
“I run for my health,” Wilson said. “I’m just fortunate to be healthy. I don’t take any medicine. I’m a pretty good runner and you have to be a good runner to qualify. The top runners from all of the world come to Boston.”
Although Wilson runs for his health, he is happy about being a five-time Boston Marathon champion.
“Winning the thing is special to me, no matter what the age,” Wilson said. “The cream of the crop runners come up there.”
Wilson’s sister Karen Lear and brother Cassels Wilson still live in Pike County. When he comes home to visit, he said people who see him congratulate him on his success. However, he has not come back as much since his parents died.
As for Wilson’s future plans, he does not expect to run the Boston Marathon again because of the training involved.
“I’ve been up 10 times,” Wilson said. “I’ve won five of them. In baseball, that’s batting .500. That’s enough.”
Wilson still plans to run frequently and be actively involved in the East Texas Striders running club in Tyler, Texas, and other running clubs in near his home.
“I ride bicycles quite a bit. I’m going to continue to run and run 5 and 10k’s,” Wilson said.
