Medford, Ore. — With about 50,000 miles under his belt, and 200 pairs of worn out sneakers, 78-year-old Mike Barrett will lace up his shoes once again for this weekend’s Pear Blossom Race.
“I run about four days a week now, 20 miles is my maximum,” Barrett said.
“Irish Mike,” as he’s known in the running community, knows the race well. He’s run it every year since it began in 1977.
“The first year really sticks out in my mind because our race directors Zellah and Jerry Swartsley brought in some of the primo American runners such as Frank Shorter who was the Olympic marathon champion,” Barrett said.
Barrett grew up in a large family and discovered running as a boy as a means to get out of the house. Now at 78-years-old he hopes to be an inspiration for other runners in the community.
“After the race they’d come to me and say, ‘Mike you made my day.’ And I’d say, ‘How did I do that?’ And they’d say, ‘Because I beat you!,” Barrett said laughing.
Barrett used to finish the Pear Blossom in the top 100 every year, but now he’s just running it for fun. While his legs don’t take him as far or as fast as they used to Barrett said with every outing he gets something in return.
“What I do when I run a lot of days is I say my prayers, I talk to God,” he said.
And he’s gained a lot of friendships along the way.
“If you have a friend you run with and you rely on to push you tell them how much you love them, it’s so important,” he said.
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