Running: Elyria's Jim Mackert, 85, keeps Cleveland Marathon streak going

The streak continues. Elyria's Jim Mackert, the only person to finish every Union Home Mortgage (formerly Rite Aid and Revco) Cleveland Marathon, completed No. 45 Sunday morning. The 85-year-old ran the race virtually at Lorain Community College, touring the 26.2-mile course in eight hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds. His finish line was on the college roadway adjacent to the tennis courts. Due to Mackert's age and his projected finish time of between eight and nine hours, marathon officials allowed him to race virtually. His course consisted of 13 2-mile clockwise laps on the paved roadways around the LCCC campus beginning at 4 a.m. Mackert's finish time was 37 minutes slower than last year's mark of 7:48. Light winds and much warmer temperatures that quickly reached the high 70s played a factor. The hot weather was a stark contrast to last year's ideal 52-degree temps. "It was warmer than expected," Mackert said. "My time was slower today. When the sun came up it got awfully warm very quickly. There was no breeze at all at the college for the first three laps, which is very unusual since it's such an open area. "But overall, it all worked out beautifully. We couldn't have planned it any better. The balls of feet bothered me late in the race, but overall right now I'm absolutely ecstatic. I can't believe it's done. I'm looking forward to next Sunday and watching the actual Cleveland marathon races downtown." Ron Toby first and then Dave Wendell accompanied Mackert as he set out for the day. Manny Rodriguez and then the Foisy family were among friends that joined him for various stages of the race. Mackert's wife, Lois, and some of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were also present to cheer him on to the finish, which came at 12:25 p.m. Mackert averaged 50 miles running per week to prepare for the marathon, which included a weekly four-hour training run at LCCC on Sundays. "I'm just very pleased and thankful," Mackert said. "As far as next year, I don't even want to talk about it." Mackert's first Cleveland Marathon (then known as the Revco Cleveland Marathon) was in 1978 and he completed it in 3:09. Mackert's top time in the eventwas 2:54, which he did twice, in 1979 and 1984. Mackert has run 66 career marathons, including the famed Boston Marathon three times. He stayed energized and hydrated by having a half sandwich and an electrolyte drink every 8 miles. "I was really worried this year," Mackert said. "I knew it would put a lot of stress on the Cleveland marathon support staff it I were to run the actual event at Cleveland because they start shutting down the course at around four hours. I would then be relegated to running on the sidewalks for the next four hours. I knew it would take me close to eight hours because I've been having trouble with my knee. I think they're very happy that I did the virtual. Now they don't have to worry about traffic control or anything like that on my behalf." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.