RUNNING DAD PROFILE:

NAME: Dave Jones
RESIDENCE: Hanson, Kentucky
AGE: 36
FAMILY: Married, two kids (7 yr old son & 3 yr old daughter) and 1 more on the way in August.

Why do you run?
I basically run because I hate to run! I set the goal of a marathon because it seemed so unattainable for an anti-running fat man. It was a mind over matter thing. However, the more I do it, it’s starting to grow on me.

2 Marathons in April 2013 (My first and second)

How often do you run?
3-4 times per week plus some cross training

Do your kids run?
Other than around the house in maddening circles? No.

How do you balance running and your family/career?
I have always found it hard to strike a balance between work and family. I love my kids so much that I never want to leave them, but I also get great satisfaction out of my job. My career is so broad and has so many facets that it could consume 24 hours every day if I let it. I think running has actually helped. Knowing that I have to get home in time to eat and run before bed has pushed me toward the house on a more regular schedule. This has probably given me more quality time with the fam even though I’m running a good bit.
There are scores of lessons, large and small, that I have learned from running. Broad virtues like patience, positivity, perseverence, pain tolerance, and peeing in public. Also, I get the chance to discuss things with myself that digest my life one thunderous footfall at a time. I’m more confident that I can overcome whatever/wherever/whenever now that I’ve pushed my body through a fractured foot, 40 lbs of weight loss, and some runs after midnight because that was as soon as I could break off the time to do them. I’ve also grown spiritually. Check out 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. Paraphrased it says- run the race to win it. Enslave your body so you don’t destroy your witness. I think all people, especially spouses and parents, need to take control over their self-destructive urges. Distance running subjugates my body to the power of my mind better than anything I’ve ever done toward that end- that’s growth in my book. Finally, in running and in life, strength is gained on the hills. (I think I made that up!)