Staff writer
Marion residents Mike Powers, Casey Case, Bruce Skiles, and Mike Moran have no problem running in any type of weather.
Moran said he even prefers a flurry or two.
“It’s just kind of play time,” he said.
Case said the only times he won’t run are when there is a considerable sheet of ice on the ground or when the temperature hits minus 10, either with wind chill or without.
Powers said that he has run when the temperature is in the single digits and when the thermometer hits 100.
“I just figure it’s not going to kill me,” he said of the heat.
Skiles actually likes running in the heat. An anesthesiologist and a chiropractor, he often runs in mid morning around Marion after he does a procedure at the hospital, before he goes to his chiropractic office.
“I’d be up to (Marion County Lake where he used to run) close to noon hours and people would say I was crazy,” he said.
Case said that his favorite time to run is in single-digit weather when he can get bundled up. Moran said that he loves the bitter cold because it reminds him of his days living in Colorado when he would cross-country ski.
“With the clothing you can wear now that’s so light weight that you can layer,” Moran said. “There is no weather you can’t run in.”
Powers and Case try to run daily. Skiles tries to run every other day. Moran, a elementary school counselor, tries to run long distances four to five times a week.
Powers usually jogs three miles around Marion in the afternoon. Case runs four to six miles either on the back roads heading to the county lake or a route around Marion. Case is strictly a morning runner, waking at 5 or 5:30 a.m. to run at 6:00.
Case said he finds time to run because he is always the first person awake in his household. Powers has a busy schedule as the Eighth Judicial District Chief Judge and has to be more creative. He will sometimes run on his lunch breaks, in the morning when he has to, or later in the evening after he gets off work.
Oddly enough, both Case and Powers have shied away from marathons or other races. Case said that he enjoys the solitude of running and does not feel at all competitive about it. Powers said that he has thought about trying a marathon before but decided against it.
“I should just stick with what I’m doing,” he said.
Skiles has run three marathons: Wichita once and Dallas twice. Moran is an even more accomplished racer; he has ran in the Wichita, Chicago, and Boston marathons. Moran qualified for Boston last year when he ran a 3-hour, 48-minute qualifying time in Wichita at 61 years old. Moran makes a half marathon part of his yearly routine.
“I can train for the half marathon and not change my life,” he said. “You run 20 miles and you’re tired the next day. My goal is to run a marathon every five years.”
Powers said that the main pleasure behind running, other than physical fitness, was stress relief.
“When I miss a run or two, I miss it for (stress relief),” he said. “You’re running around and you compose a letter in your head or have a question that you’re trying to answer, or think of a conversation you want to have with a person; it’s just you and the road.”
Skiles mirrored Powers’ comments.
“If for some reason I don’t go for a run, I can feel the stress build up.”
Moran said that he is grateful that he has an entire exercise community. Moran and Skiles biked across the state of Kansas together, and Case introduced Moran to weight lifting.
“I have a lot of friends who are very physically active,” Moran said.