PARKERSBURG — Don Slusser knows exactly where he and his wife Tammy will be on the third Saturday of August.
The Monroeville, Pa., couple wouldn’t think of missing the News and Sentinel Half Marathon.
On Saturday, Tammy competed in the masters division of the women’s competition while Don entered the men’s walk competition, which he won for the third straight year, finishing in a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 10 seconds .
Slusser is a former world-class runner who competed in his first marathon in 1971 and was invited to the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1980.
While he can still run, he knows his future is in walking.
“I have one knee where I have no cartilage at all. Now they tell me the other knee is getting that way,’’ said the retired schoolteacher.
Slusser has walked the Parkersburg race for the past five years. The first two years, neither he nor anybody else in the field had a chance of winning as Matt Boyles, a world-class race walker who graduated from Eastern High School in Reedsville, Ohio, left all the others in his dust.
For the past three years, Boyles has bypassed the walk division and that has allowed Slusser to become its dominant figure.
Slusser learned from a race observer at the first mile marker that he was the leader of the men’s race.
He kept a close watch on those passing him out on the course and saw they all were runners.
So when he arrived at the finish line on Juliana Street, he knew he had accomplished a three-peat.
“Tammy and I had been in Colorado on vacation for three weeks, so we had been running at altitude,’’ Slusser said.
Yes, Slusser still runs. Every day. He hasn’t missed a day in five years. Before that, he had run every day for 13¢ years.
The Slussers go to races all over the United States, including the Pittsburgh Marathon, a short drive from Monroeville.
But they’ll tell you the first race they mark on their annual calendar is the News and Sentinel Half Marathon.
“The people here are fantastic,’’ Slusser said. “Last year, Tammy and I arrived late and we didn’t get to the pasta dinner until five minutes before they were shutting it down. I told them to just give me a salad. But they went out of their way to serve us and make sure we were satisfied.’’
Slusser couldn’t believe the amount of support he and the others received from those who live along and line the race course.
“This whole town must come out for the race,’’ he said. “I’ve never seen so many volunteers.’’
Slusser is concerned there might be a knee replacement in his future. That would mean some rehabilitation time and cut into his race schedule.
But if he has to limit his schedule, you can bet he will make effort to make it to Parkersburg.
Article Photos
Photo by Jeff Baughan
Don Slusser crosses the finish line to win the News and Sentinel Half Marathon men’s walk competion.