Meet Jeff

Name: Jeff Alderton

Age: 65

City: Appleton (grew up on a family farm in Laona, WI; moved to Appleton in 1987)

Occupation: Retired process engineer (Appleton Papers/Appleton Coated 34 years)

What motivates you to run every Community First Fox Cities Marathon? The hometown feel of the Fox Cities Marathon is unmatched. The spectator support and number of volunteers is really amazing; it’s very well organized and the logistics are great! Now, keeping the streak going is a huge motivator. And, of course, the health benefits that go with staying in marathon shape. I still do a lot of projects at home, the family farm and the campground where we have a trailer, so I need to be fit for all of that as well.

What do you remember about the very first FCM in 1991? I didn’t even plan on doing it but one of my co-workers went to a marathon 101 class and he convinced me to run. I didn’t take the class. I trained on my own. Unfortunately, I made mistakes. We were shooting for four hours and I think I did 4:25 or something. My IT band blew up from overuse. I ended up walking the last four miles. But, we did it. I never really ran much in high school. I wrestled, played football and baseball. I didn’t plan on doing another marathon but the next year a different co-worker who was a race walker asked me. I had just returned from a long hiking trip in Wyoming carrying a 50-pound backpack so that ‘preparation’ got me through the second one.

Did you ever come close to not running or not finishing? I almost quit the third year. I was walking again with the same co-worker that asked me to racewalk the year before. This time I didn’t do any training before the race. The 20-mile mark was just a block away from my house off Newberry Street. I literally took a step down my road, but thought: I didn’t come this far to quit. So, I finished it up and swore I’d never walk again. That’s when I started running for real to see what I was capable of in the marathon.

One other time, I think it was my 15^th year, I strained my Achilles three weeks prior so I had to shut down my training. I brought a fanny pack with a wrap and about nine miles in, I tweaked my Achilles again. So, I sat on the curb, wrapped my ankle and walked the rest of the way. I wouldn’t have done that (finish) for any other race. I found a way to shuffle along to the end. That’s as close as I’ve come to not finishing. I’ve completed the full marathon every year, even the virtual year during COVID. I’m a purist that way.

What’s your PR? 2001 was my 11^th Fox Cities and I broke 3 hours at age 40 (2:59:18). I think I was 19^th overall. That took me like a year of serious training. Overall, I’ve run 68 marathons.

How has the FCM evolved over the years? The number of runners hasn’t changed much. In those early years, it was pretty big. The course occasionally gets little tweaks due to construction or to add new trail segments. I really think one of the marathon’s biggest impacts has been helping to create a fitness culture within the community and building up the local trail system. We have trails all over now and they keep adding more. The CE trail is my main route when I do longer runs. The Fox Cities Marathon has grown and matured. It’s so well-orchestrated.

What keeps you coming back? The streak and fitness. I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t running; probably putting on weight. I still like to hunt in the fall, so my running drops off, and I always put on some weight. But I’ve got it figured out how to get back into shape. This past year, I just finished a 120-mile hike in the Maine wilderness, and had a medical issue that derailed me so I did the Fox Cities without running for seven weeks. I had a 12-week program to get back into shape but it’s now more like 20 weeks to get where I want to be. I enjoy running outside but in winter, now 99% of my runs are on the treadmill.

Aging is inevitable – how do you deal with physical decline? You just have to adjust down your expectations. It took me six years to break three hours after running 3:04 at the 1995 Fox Cities Marathon. It became a real mission. When I was 50, I broke 3.5 hours. And it took me until I was almost 65 to break four hours, which was my goal after 60. In early 2025, I ran a 3:58 in Green Bay and then a 3:51 in Gladstone, MI, 20 days later. I want to run under 4:30 at age 70 and under 5 hours at 80. And my long-term goal: I want the 50th Fox Cities to be my 100th marathon.

I keep track of all my training. I’ll go back to previous years and see how fast I was running and how far. I’ve got lots of notes and stuff just to gauge myself. My expectations, they’re relaxing, of course, but I like to see how much I can do. The weather’s a huge variable because if it’s hot, that really slows me down now. The body can only take so much and you get the chronic aches and pains. I’ve never had any major injuries other than the Achilles strain. That’s been a blessing. So, I’ve had to adjust my expectations. But I say any finish is good.

How do you manage to balance the training needed versus family and job obligations? Well, my wife supports me, of course, making it all possible. Training takes some time away, for sure and being retired now helps. Even my daughter has done a couple 5K’s with me and my son, he’ll just take the big challenge. He’s done a couple marathons and even some longer endurance races. You can do that when you’re young.

What advice would you share with a first-timer or inexperienced marathoner? I’d recommend either using a run/walk strategy throughout the race or at least taking several walk breaks for recovery. Walking pace is about half your running pace so you only slow 30 seconds in a 1-minute walk break, which you will actually get back toward the end of the race when you are still running and not walking because you CAN’T run. Other than that, just the basics. Run in shoes that are ‘broken in’ and stay hydrated. If you have a specific time goal, run with a pace group, they’ll keep you from going out too fast. Embrace the moment and enjoy the day! The hard work is already done.