Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 160: Steve Gilbert - If You're Not Sure You Can't, You Probably Can

Finish Lines & Milestones: Episode 160: Steve Gilbert - If You're Not Sure You Can't, You Probably Can

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Guest: Steve Gilbert @stevrrsb

Show Notes:

Steve Gilbert ⁠is an 80-year-old, two-time Boston Marathon finisher and one of the most inspiring people I've ever had the pleasure of sitting down with. Steve was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2004 — the same year he was forced into early retirement and diagnosed with prostate cancer. He could have accepted the "go home and take your medication" prescription. He didn't - and has since completed seven marathons.

Thank you to ⁠Alan Errichiello⁠ for connection to Steve!

During this episode, sponsored by ⁠Cure Hydration⁠ and ⁠Noogs⁠, we talk about:

  • Being told "this is the best you'll ever be" at 59 — and choosing to ignore it
  • How a prosecutor, a Golden Gloves boxer, and a borrowed gym space became ⁠Rock Steady Boxing⁠ — now a worldwide movement for people with Parkinson's
  • His very first Indy Mini in 1979 — because his wife said so
  • Training through winters, falls, and a fall outside a Kroger on 116th Street (with a DoorDash driver as the first responder)
  • His first marathon finish at the 2011 Monumental — complete with the Rocky theme playing as he turned onto the finish stretch 🎵
  • "You've got a soggy butt" — the PT diagnosis that changed his running forever
  • Working with coach ⁠Matt Ebersole ⁠of Personal Best Training since 2014
  • Why Saturday mornings with the ⁠Fishers Running Club ⁠get him out the door every week
  • ⁠Medals4Mettle⁠ — the Indianapolis-born program that gives earned race medals to seriously ill children, and why Steve donated his very first marathon medal
  • Running the Drake Relays 800-meter invitational in Des Moines — his first and only track race, with 10,000 people in the stands
  • How his wife had the idea to celebrate Steve's 80th birthday in Boston 🎉
  • Running Boston 2025 as a para-athlete (T38), setting a Boston PR at age 80, AND qualifying for 2027
  • Running a Parkinson's 5K the weekend after Boston and the 50th Indy Mini 12 days later
  • Raising awareness for the ⁠Red Tulip Association for Parkinson's⁠ — every 24 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed
  • Why age group categories at races need to catch up with the runners who keep showing up
  • His mantra: counting one, two, three — a tip from Coach Matt to keep his gait even and his mind focused
  • Next finish line: the Carmel 10K with his son, who got inspired at Boston and downloaded a training plan that same week 🏅

Previous Guests Mentioned

Sponsor Details

Other Links

This is a ⁠SandyBoy Productions⁠ podcast.

Episode Transcript:

[00:00:00] This is a Sandy Boy Productions podcast.

Steve Gilbert: there was a group of Parkinson's patient that were running the Los Angeles Marathon. . And their coach said, " Anybody in reasonably good health with the desire could run a marathon."

Ally Brettnacher: Welcome to Finish Lines and Milestones, a podcast for everyday runners. I am your host, Ally Brettnacher, and if you run, you're a runner, and every runner has a story. Join me each week as I share these stories and we celebrate finish lines and milestones together

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And now for this week's episode, I had the honor of interviewing Steve Gilbert. Steve is 80 years old, and he just completed his second Boston Marathon. Now, that alone is impressive and inspiring. But what's even crazier is that Steve was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2004.

The same year, he was also diagnosed with prostate cancer and was forced into early retirement. [00:02:00] But he didn't let that stop him. In fact, it did quite the opposite. Steve's gone on to run seven marathons after being diagnosed with Parkinson's.

He found a gym in a community called Rock Steady Boxing that has really changed his life and the life of so many others. And not only did he run this year's Boston, but the weekend after he ran a 5K for Parkinson's, and the weekend after that, he ran the 50th running of the Indy Mini.

So I know you are gonna find so much inspiration from Steve.

Hi, Steve.

Steve Gilbert: Good morning.

Ally Brettnacher: Good morning. Oh my gosh, it's such an honor to have you here.

Steve Gilbert: It's my pleasure.

Ally Brettnacher: It really is. people have been telling me, "You've gotta have Steve on your podcast." And I'm glad we waited, because I can't wait to hear about Boston this year.

Steve Gilbert: It was an exciting time.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

All right.

Well, I, I think the best way to do this is gonna be to start from the beginning

And we're gonna see how much we can get in. But if not, you're gonna write a book. You're-- I'm gonna hold you to that. Okay. You've been writing ever since you started running, you said, so.

Right.

Steve Gilbert: Uh, my father was a, worked for the Associated Press, and he taught me a little [00:03:00] bit of what he knew. Okay. And, uh, I'm doing the best I can with what he taught me.

Ally Brettnacher: You have a way with words. Thank you. I mean that. It's beautiful what you've written and sent to me, so others have to see that.

Steve Gilbert: Oh, I'd be happy to share.

Yeah. That's why I'm here today.

Ally Brettnacher: Excellent. Exactly. So how old are you as you sit here today, Steve?

Steve Gilbert: am 80. 80. Be 81 in June.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow.

Steve Gilbert: And it, it's been a blessing to be able to do the things I have been able to do at my age.

Ally Brettnacher: Absolutely. And are you-- were you born here in Indiana?

Steve Gilbert: was born here, grew up in Pike Township- Wow

back when it was out in the country, and, uh, lived here all my life. I lived three years in Massachusetts, but then I moved back. Been here ever since.

Ally Brettnacher: And how many kids do you have?

Steve Gilbert: I have two.

Ally Brettnacher: Two. How old are they?

Steve Gilbert: old are 45 and 53.

Ally Brettnacher: 53. Okay. And do they live here locally, or where are

Steve Gilbert: local, one's in Chicago by way of, California.

Ally Brettnacher: Okay. Yeah. It's a lot

Steve Gilbert: It's a lot closer than it was.

Ally Brettnacher: And how about some grandkids? Do you have any grandkids?

Steve Gilbert: and some great-grandkids, so, uh, the-- more coming along.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, so exciting. [00:04:00] And your wife, how long have you been married?

Steve Gilbert: 47 years. Geez.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow, and she is responsible for signing you up for your first race. Is that right? No,

Steve Gilbert: responsible for me signing

Ally Brettnacher: up. Okay.

Steve Gilbert: Okay. Um, my-- We were married in 1978, in December, and in the spring of '79, my younger brother, who had been a runner since high school, was coming to run the mini marathon. And I said, told my wife, and she said, " Well, you're gonna run with him, aren't you?" And I said, " No, I'm not."

Ally Brettnacher: said, "No, I'm not."

Steve Gilbert: And she said, "Well, yes, you are." So I agreed, and I ran the seven mile, which those, they had back then. Nice. And it was the first race of my career. And, that was the last year for the seven-mile. next year I thought, "Well, I've done it once, I should do it again." But-- So I signed up for the 13-mile, and I ran that again four times in the next five years.

And then in 1984,

Ally Brettnacher: I was

Steve Gilbert: running along the Con- somewhere, uh, White River or something, and it was raining, it was cold, I was [00:05:00] cold. I knew I was gonna lose a toenail. I was miserable, and I said, " I don't need this." And I decided then I was gonna finish, but I decided I wasn't gonna run anymore, and I didn't run anymore until 2010.

Again, my brother was coming to town to run the Geist Half Marathon, but I'd been going to Rocksteady Boxing for th- three years and I said, "I can do this." So I ran the, the 2010 Geist Half. Following year, he didn't come. I ran again. I called him and I said, " I feel like I could run back where I came from."

And he said, "If you sign up for a marathon, I'll come run with you." So I signed up for the 2011 Monumental, and I've been running-

Ally Brettnacher: ever since. And

here, and then there it snowballs.

Steve Gilbert: I r- I ran the 2014 Monumental Marathon again, and that was a really tough year. It was very cold and windy and- Mm. Um, got done with that one, I said,

Ally Brettnacher: " does

Steve Gilbert: just two." You know, it's fine to do one and say, "This is crazy. I've had

Ally Brettnacher: it." Yeah.

Check that off. But

Steve Gilbert: you've done two, why stop there? Well, it was another eight years before I got back into the marathoning, although I did, did a [00:06:00] lot of races in between. Wow.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow.

Steve Gilbert: So

Ally Brettnacher: I wanna dig in on some of the races, you know, from 2010 on. But before that, a huge piece of your story, Steve, is what happened in 2004. It was double whammy of a year. I couldn't believe it was the same year that you had these diagnoses.

Steve Gilbert: In a way it was kinda triple because my com- career company decided that, uh, it was a good time for me to retire.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, geez, Steve. Oh my gosh, what a year.

Steve Gilbert: uh, I took that kinda as a irritation, but I got over that finally. But also that year, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer and had, prostate surgery. Th- successful, thankfully. No problems since with that. And then, uh, in De- December, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, that was a bigger factor because prostate cancer presumably w- was no longer a factor- Mm-hmm

of itself. But the, the Parkinson's, uh, you don't get [00:07:00] over. Right. Uh, so all y- at the time, my symptoms weren't very bad, so I wasn't really too concerned, but I was long-term

Ally Brettnacher: concerned. Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: the typical,

Ally Brettnacher: diagnosis

Steve Gilbert: was, " This is what you have. This is the best you'll ever be. Go home and take this medication and-" I didn't really like that concept. And, uh, fortunately, within about three years, a program in, opened in Indianapolis called Rock Steady Boxing. Prosecutor Scott Newman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and was declining, and a friend of his was a Golden Gloves boxer. And he said, "I didn't know what to do for him.

Only thing I knew to do was drag him into the gym- Mm-hmm ... and make him work." And six months later, Scott came out of the gym one day, and he said, "Look, I'm rock steady." And that's where the name came

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, yes. And, uh- Wow, that's

Steve Gilbert: so he decided it's something he needed to share with the Parkinson's community, and he found- Yeah

Christy Rose Fulmer, the Fighting Rose, who was a former [00:08:00] world championship professional boxer.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow.

Steve Gilbert: And, uh, encouraged her to come and join him, and she developed this program for people with Parkinson's. And I walked into the gym one day, and she says, " Come on, Steve or Bean, you can do this." And I'd never been called Bean before in my life, but she was a championship boxer, and I wasn't gonna argue with her.

Ally Brettnacher: Sure.

Steve Gilbert: And secondly, I didn't know how she knew I could do this, but it turned out she was right. I could do that, and, and I didn't know what this was even. Yeah. And at the time, this was, hitting heavy bags, hitting speed bags, jumping rope, which I never did, vaulting horses, this sort of thing. Wow. And, um, I found the fitness that I'd never known before, uh, because of the Parkinson's.

And it was sort, shortly after that then that, the running came up, and, and it just contributed together, and it's really made a big difference in holding back my symptoms. Yeah. I'm, I'm convinced.

Ally Brettnacher: And so for the diagnosis piece of it, how did you n- how did you know to get tested? What were the initial symptoms?

Steve Gilbert: I [00:09:00] was, I was doing a lot of odd jobs that I couldn't do when I had a real career because I was retired. Okay. And, uh, one of them was to do safe housing inspections in Florida. Okay. And for the, uh, FEMA after a hur- fourth hurricane went through that year. And I was getting ready to go, and I reached for a glass of water on the counter, and my, my hand started shaking, and I couldn't figure out why.

Hmm. And actually, I went to the doctor at that point because it was concerning, and the first diagnosis was essential tremor, which a lot of Parkinson's p- patients have initial diagnosis of essential tremor. Okay. So I went ahead and went to Florida and did the safe housing inspections for a while and came back and went to another neurologist and said, "No, it's Parkinson's."

Well, now I have two competing conflicting diagnoses,

Ally Brettnacher: so-

Steve Gilbert: so I went to another one. Yeah. And they said, "Uh, it's Parkinson's." And I went to another one, they said, "Uh, it's Parkinson's." Right. Okay.

Ally Brettnacher: You're like, "Okay."

Steve Gilbert: Uh, beginning to get a pic- a pattern here. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So I accepted that, and, uh, for a while I didn't [00:10:00] really tell anybody.

Hmm. And I've come to find out over time that you spend a lot more energy hiding it than you would if you just confront it and face it head on and, and go out and attack it. Mm-hmm. And that's made a, a lot of difference, and I encourage people. There may be occasions where you, you can't tell someone, but in the, in most cases, you're better off to say, " This is me.

A- and take what you get. This-- what you see is what you get, and I'm gonna make the best of it, and I'm not, not gonna let Parky get me today."

Ally Brettnacher: Parky,

Steve Gilbert: I

like that.

Ally Brettnacher: So why do you think, and pardon my ign- ignorance, but why do people, why hide it? Is it just because of the tremors? Is it, I

Steve Gilbert: mean- I think it's because people will think you're less capable.

Ally Brettnacher: Hmm. Um,

Steve Gilbert: Um, and there's so many different symp- a variety of symptoms where not everybody has different symptoms. Mine is not freezing. Mine is not particularly a tremor, although I do shake a little more than I did, early on. So there's so many different symptoms, and they affect you differently, [00:11:00] and people have a, a way of grouping people with a disease- Right, all together

in all together, and it, it's not accurate. Right. So I think that's part of it, and they think you might may be less capable than you were before, even though you're the same person.

Ally Brettnacher: Mm-hmm. Um, they're saying all,

Steve Gilbert: all of a sudden now you're jeopardized in some way. Yeah. And I think that's probably why.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, that makes sense. And

Steve Gilbert: some of the symptoms are not symptoms that you would prefer to have in public, but, but saying that you don't have it doesn't make 'em go away.

Ally Brettnacher: Right. Yeah. Have you watched the Apple TV show, "Shrinking"?

Steve Gilbert: I've seen a couple of episodes, and it's, it's interesting that, that they can even do that.

Yeah. Uh, Michael J. Fox has been quite a, an inspiration to a lot of people, and he's shown too, demonstrated, for example, he c- he could still play hockey even though he was, was severely impaired in other ways. Mm-hmm. Uh, muscle memory sometimes overcomes that, and we don't know exactly why, or I don't anyway.

Yeah. but it does help to, uh, [00:12:00] to-- I've seen people do things, that they used to do, can do it briefly, that, uh, the Parkinson's doesn't affect. But yet their everyday life, it really rears its head.

Ally Brettnacher: or get to their everyday It really rears its head.

Hmm. Mm-hmm. And so the, the gym, Rock Steady, has, is such a big part of your storyline and has made such a difference.

Steve Gilbert: absolutely huge. And, uh, the other thing at the time, I thought, " Why am I blessed to have Parkinson's in Indianapolis, which is the only place in the world-" That has Rock Steady Boxing. And I thought, "It's a program that's unique and cannot be duplicated." I mean, there's only one Christy Rose Vollmer in the world- Mm-hmm

and she can't be everywhere. And then I found out that the number of people of goodwill and that are capable of doing this are throughout the world, and they've come to Indianapolis to learn how to do this. There are now 850 gyms around the world that have all trained through the Indianapolis- 850? Yes.

Uh- I

Ally Brettnacher: thought there were-- I saw somewhere 80. Is that a different number

Steve Gilbert: that would've been a long time

Ally Brettnacher: been a long time ago. Okay. Then maybe that's [00:13:00] why. And

Steve Gilbert: it was a slow growth, but they're across the country and, and in Europe and Asia.

Ally Brettnacher: Stop it.

Steve Gilbert: Stunning. And they've all trained on this program that was developed from the original program that I went to in, in Indianapolis.

And I- Wow ... I would never have sus- expected that un- until it happened. Yeah. And so it was still a blessing for me because I'm, was one of the first to be able to enjoy it. We went before anybody knew it worked, and we knew it worked, but no one else did. And then the University of Indianapolis did a long-range study on the effects, and they said, " Look at what these people are gaining from this program."

It's, it's partly the, exercise, but it's also the, the being with others who are non- not critical of each other- Yeah ... and the camaraderie that we have and sharing that, and that's, uh-- And the, and the support we have from our families, our cornermen as we call

Ally Brettnacher: call them. Your what?

Steve Gilbert: Our cornermen. Cornermen. As you would have in a boxing- Okay

Ally Brettnacher: Yep. Okay. Okay. I didn't even know that

Steve Gilbert: was a All right. Yeah. And reflecting on that, that I, my first half-marathon [00:14:00] in 2010, I was, uh, faltering a little bit about halfway through, and I thought, "I don't know whether I can do this." Mm-hmm. And then I thought, "Wait a minute. That's not what I learned at Rock Steady."

learned, first of all, we can do this, and secondly, I learned to work hard for three minutes and take a minute break as a boxing match would do. Okay. And that's basically the way I finished that first race. It wasn't my fastest by any means, but, that's, that's how I got through that one. And then, and then coming to the present, uh, that's to some extent how I do, uh, a very long race now.

Uh, it's a method developed and promoted by Jeff Galloway, where you run a certain period and, and walk. And you, it's not a, a situation of giving up. It's a situation of, planned, uh, critical way of getting your fastest way to the end. And you can run much faster near the end of a race if you've walked earlier.

Yeah. My coach, Matt Ebersole, has told me, for years, even before I started it on purpose, Walk before you have to." And that- Yeah ... that's [00:15:00] a, a big point because if you, if you are st- totally wrung out, you won't recover from that To be able to get back to your best pace.

Ally Brettnacher: Absolutely. I think about that with fueling too, like fuel before you have to, 'cause if you feel like you need the fuel, well, it's too late.

Steve Gilbert: and I, that's a, a, a weak point of mine because I have a hard time getting it, the amount down that I know that I really need. Yeah. Both, uh, fuel and water, but I, I, um, I work at it, but it's hard.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. So what a- what age would you have been in 2004

Steve Gilbert: when you were diagnosed? 59. 59,

Ally Brettnacher: okay. And then will you please tell us the story about how you punched Christy in the face?

Well, I suppose I

Steve Gilbert: have to do that, tell that story. But, uh, one of the things that we do is focus mitts or hand pads as we call them, and the coach will hold the, the flat mitts and, and the boxers will punch at them.

They'll call out what punch they wanna, wanna call, and be a one-two, which is left right for me. And we were doing hand pads one day and I, uh, I don't know if I got the count wrong or I just misaimed, but I, I hit her [00:16:00] what I thought was pretty good in the head. And I was tripping over myself trying to apologize, and she shook it off and looked at me and said, " I've been hit harder than

Ally Brettnacher: been hit harder than that."

Steve Gilbert: So

Ally Brettnacher: so good.

Yeah, I guess it's only a m-matter of time when you're doing that

Steve Gilbert: much. Yeah. I mean, her reflexes are so much faster than mine that my chances of hitting her any other time was pretty slim. So s- I don't know if she got temporarily distracted or what happened. Right. But, uh, she r- she still remembers it, so it must have hit her a little bit.

That's funny.

Ally Brettnacher: And where is the gym located here?

Steve Gilbert: Well, we're in our third location. Okay. We started out in borrowed, area in a office building near 30th and Fran- Franklin Road, and it was an office building that the employees didn't use the employee gym much, and they let us use that at first. Oh, okay.

And we were there for a while, and eventually they needed their space in the parking lot. Oh. So as we were taking up... There were too many of us. There were too, too many spots were being taken by us. So we moved to, over to Peak Performance on Binford. [00:17:00] Okay. And they gave us a portion of, of that gym and let us use the equipment there for a couple years.

And then we received a, we also received a grant from the Century Club of Indianapolis of $100,000 to help the, uh, the program develop, and we ended up in a gym at seven- near 75th and Shadeland. Okay. And built that out, and it's a beautiful gym. It's the headquarters gym still today. And five years after that grant was given, the local Century Club got an award from the Century Club organization nationally for having made the best grant of the year because it affected so many people over the years of- Wow

of, because of that development. And I, uh, it was probably about three weeks after that gym opened before I could go in there without starting to cry. Yeah. And it's, it's still, I get very emotional about it now because It made such a huge difference in my life and in the lives of so many other people, you know.

They're, they're not all runners. everybody's using it trying to [00:18:00] make a better quality of their life for themselves and their families. And it may be to, to be able to garden again or to be able to pick up their grandchild, and we're all in there working it just as hard. Mm-hmm.

Some of us get different results than others, and I've been blessed to, to have the result that I have because- Yeah ... it's made a huge, difference in my life.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

How many people... I mean, I'm sure it's changed so much over the years, but in a class, like at any given time, do you have a group of people at once? Do you go like one-on-one? How does that work?

Steve Gilbert: when we first started, everybody went at the same time. We had three classes a week, and everybody went at the same time, and we looked out for each other. Now there are four different levels of training at the gym, and we basically go to the level of training that is most suitable for our abilities, physical abilities.

Mm-hmm. And so I, I go to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday typically at 9:00, except for today.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Except for... Oh man, I made you skip the gym today?

Oh, no, no. Okay. I,

Steve Gilbert: make it up. But- Yeah ... but, uh, [00:19:00] so pretty much we go with the s- same group of people. It can range anywhere from, to 40, uh, depending on who's available and who's just in Florida and- You can never be sure

who's, who's traveling. Yeah. And then they're different. Like I say, they're four different levels, and s-some are actually mostly, done in a seated position, but you can still do a lot of the exercises that we do, adapted to seated or adapted to whatever your- Right ... physical limitations are. So people say, "Well, I'm not a boxer."

Well,

Ally Brettnacher: most

Steve Gilbert: of us were not boxers

ever. Yeah. Right. Some of them maybe boxed sometime in military or what- wherever they might have been, but most of us were never boxers. And, and the, I think the oldest person I've known that was there was in her early 90s, and her first name was Bea, and her gym name was Killer Bea.

And,

Ally Brettnacher: And, uh,

Steve Gilbert: the grandmas that come in there, they say, " I never thought I'd be a boxer," and there they're hitting heavy bags and speed bags

Ally Brettnacher: and-

So cool ...

Steve Gilbert: and, uh, jumping rope and hula hoop and-

Ugh

uh, push-ups and whatever the, uh... But it, they're all adaptable to what your own personal [00:20:00] physical potential is.

Mm-hmm. And then you try to improve that.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Does everybody at the gym get a cool nickname?

Steve Gilbert: Well, uh, I would say pretty much yes. I love

Ally Brettnacher: I love that. Yeah. How did you get-- Where did Bean come from?

Steve Gilbert: It was, uh, free association when the coach looked at me, I guess, because I was fairly slender.

Ally Brettnacher: Okay, like a string

Steve Gilbert: bean.

Yeah. Uh- So- ... that's the only thing I can, because there's no other reason. Yeah. But it stuck. The first, logo gym shirt that I bought, I brought home and was gonna wear it to the gym the next week, and I- Asked my wife where it was, and she says, " I don't know what you do with your things." what had happened, my son had taken it and had Bean, uh, inscribed across the back of it.

Oh, that's so cool. Next week I go and look in the, in the closet, and there's that shirt hanging there. I thought, "Well, I'm so surprised I didn't see this last

Ally Brettnacher: week."

That's really

Steve Gilbert: Came out and it had the name on it. I still wear it on occasion. I have the hat that I wore with the logo on it for my first race, and it's got about 7,000 miles on it, and it [00:21:00] looks like it.

Ally Brettnacher: looks like it.

Steve Gilbert: And

people have tried to get me to wash it or throw it

Ally Brettnacher: away. Right. you're like, "

Steve Gilbert: No." And I thought, "Uh, it's too late now." Yeah. It's, it's, uh, petrified, and it, it... I, I still wear it on occasion. It's too hot to wear in the summer when-

Ally Brettnacher: That's so funny. Uh, oh, so it's like a be- like a beanie hat? Like a winter one?

Steve Gilbert: it's a ball cap- Okay

type hat. That's

what I pictured, yeah.

But it's, uh, it's-

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, I can picture like the s- you know, you get the salty sweat lines in those hats, and they're-

Steve Gilbert: That was hard w- hard fought to

Ally Brettnacher: You're like, "These are my," it's like my scars almost

Steve Gilbert: I didn't even wanna wear it in the rain because it washes some of it out.

Ally Brettnacher: You're like, "It's gonna get rid of all the..." Yeah. Yeah. All the character that I've built. So in 2010 when you went back to running, Steve, Was there a group of you that decided to do, to do the race together? Like, how did-

Steve Gilbert: No, it was a, a one-shot deal for me. Okay. I just decided- To do it ... my brother was coming. I was gonna go run it.

Okay. And since then, several times we had groups that ran the, uh, mini 5K. Yeah, that's so cool. And, one time we had about 30. They w- some with Parkinson's, some not, [00:22:00] and, and a number of them it was the first race they'd ever run. Wow. And some took quite a while. But I, when I was talking to them and encouraging recruiting, I said, " if you know you can't do it, you probably shouldn't.

If you think you can't do it, you probably can." Mm-hmm. " Because if you're not sure you can't, you probably can." And some did, and some maybe took over an hour, but they did go through the, the entire 5K and had the perseverance to do that. then also when I ran the, uh, Monumental in 2011, I had a group from the gym.

It was myself, two coaches, and another boxer, and the five of us with my brother ran the race. So the, and then also we put on the,

Ally Brettnacher: Double

Steve Gilbert: Road Race Indy in 2013, I think it was. Okay.

Ally Brettnacher: I think it was. Okay. And I,

Steve Gilbert: I turned out to be the race director for that race, which I was thinking, "Why can't we do a 5K as a fundraiser for the Rocksteady Boxing?"

Mm-hmm. Well, it turns out you can't. That's not always a fundraiser, [00:23:00] especially early on. It can be a fun

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, giver. yeah. You're, like- ... "Oops, this is not what

Steve Gilbert: An in- an investment in fun.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. There you go.

Steve Gilbert: And we weren't in a position to invest money at that point. Right. Uh, not that we are now, but, uh, especially not then.

And at, at that time, uh, Bob Anderson, uh, formerly of Runner's World, was putting on races around the country, and he was funding the race, and he was looking for local people to be race director. And it, it all came together just at that time, and so I told him I wanted to be the race director. My brother, who lives in Kansas City, was the race director for the, the race, the Double Road Race Kansas City.

And so he agreed that, that I would be the race director, and I found out what a job that really was. Right. There was a lot of complexity, especially because he was adamant that it would be downtown Indianapolis.

Ally Brettnacher: Ah. And

Steve Gilbert: I didn't know at the time, but they had just closed off White River Parkway as a racecourse because there are too many races going past the zoo and cutting off access to the zoo.

Oh.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh.

And so- Right around the front of it, you

Steve Gilbert: [00:24:00] Yeah, so the zoo- Interesting ... the course that I had planned out was gonna go that direction, so I had to start over on my racecourse to get a 5K and a 10K. Okay. And I, I finally got the-- everything put together, but, uh, it was, it was a, a-- Without my wife and without Rocksteady Boxing people, I would never have made it, because they pitched in at the end.

They knew I was, I was in difficult shape as a race director- Yeah ... and pitched in and found the people and resources to make it happen. Uh, it was a, it was a great experience, but one I would never wanna do

Ally Brettnacher: again.

Yeah. Sorry. I, I feel for race directors. Yeah. They have a very hard job.

Steve Gilbert: And we had, we had about 375 runners in our first- Wow

turnout, which I thought- Huge. Yeah ... was good, but it still wasn't profitable, because he- Right ... he gave, besides the, the expenses, he gave cash prizes to

Ally Brettnacher: some

Oh, geez. Well, yeah.

Steve Gilbert: So, but it was, it was a great experience. And some of the people that ran in it I, I met later that I never knew, some from the Fishers Running Club even.

Oh, that's

Ally Brettnacher: really cool. Yeah. So the... It was called the Double Road Race

Steve Gilbert: Road Race Indy

Ally Brettnacher: 5K and a [00:25:00] 10K?

Steve Gilbert: and that you, you run the, uh, 5K and then 40, 90 minutes later you run

Ally Brettnacher: run the- Okay ... um- So it wasn't just the two distances, like, there at the race. It was you did both of those- You did-

Steve Gilbert: you did the double.

You didn't have to. Okay. You could do the 5K only,

Ally Brettnacher: but- Okay ...

Steve Gilbert: uh, if you did the double, and then they'd add the times together, and that would be the-

Ally Brettnacher: Your time

Steve Gilbert: your total time.

Ally Brettnacher: What year was this? I think it was

Steve Gilbert: it was 2013, as I recall.

Ally Brettnacher: If I recall. Yeah. So after your first... So your first marathon, I wanna hear a little bit more about that experience.

When did you find Matt Ebersole?

Steve Gilbert: I found him when I was r- wanting to do my second marathon. Okay. And I thought, " I can do better than I did last time, especially if I have some help." And I, that was-

Ally Brettnacher: that was

Steve Gilbert: for 2014. I've been working with him ever since. Yeah. He's been, uh, I think he's been as much of a psychiatrist as

Ally Brettnacher: a-

as

Steve Gilbert: a running coach.

Yeah. But I, that's what I... I needed both, because I needed the physical- I approach, uh, the, the mental is, a big part of it, you

Ally Brettnacher: know. Yeah,

Steve Gilbert: absolutely. But, uh, the first race, uh, well, when I first went out to [00:26:00] train was in June of 2011, and I was training with the Blue Mile at that time.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Oh, the Blue Mile. Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: and I... It was the first day we went out, it was raining, and I, it brought back the memory that 1984 when I said I wasn't gonna run anymore because it was raining. Oh, no. Yeah, I see. Except that I welcomed it. I mean, it, it was like, "This is beautiful. I can do this." And, uh, I trained all summer and all fall, had a long run out at Eagle Creek Park, about three hours, and my legs were, knees were kinda sore afterwards.

That was my next to the last long run. My last long run in training was the Indianapolis Half Marathon at Fort Harrison. Yes. And I thought, "The only way I'm gonna get my four hours in is to run for an hour before the- As

people do.

ha- half marathon." Crazy people. And so I did. It was a windy, cold day. It was sleeting from time to time, so my warmup was sitting in the car. So I [00:27:00] went out about an hour before the race was supposed to start and ran, ran for an hour, and hit the start line after I'd been running for an hour. Mm-hmm. By the time I was done, well, it got very, uh, wet grounds, and there's a little section of that course that goes through the grass when you go from the road to the

Ally Brettnacher: trail.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: And the, the footing was terrible, and I was wobbling around on weak ankles, and I got done, and I could barely make it back to the car, and my knees were killing me. And so I thought, " I may never get another chance to run a marathon." So I, I went ahead and ran in November, and six hours, 20 min- two minutes and 20 seconds later, not that I remember-

Ally Brettnacher: That's pretty good.

Steve Gilbert: I, we finished, and I thought, " This is really hard, but I did it," and I was excited. Got to the finish line. My wife had been waiting there for me quite some time, as you can

imagine. Yeah. And she had gotten to know the DJ at the finish line pretty well and arranged for him to play the theme from "Rocky" as I turned up the- Stop it

the street to the finish line.[00:28:00]

Ally Brettnacher: That's pretty

Steve Gilbert: cool. And there was the two coaches and, and the people from Rock Steady waiting for me, as well as, as well as my wife and my, uh,

Ally Brettnacher: uh,

Steve Gilbert: sister-in-law as, as my brother and I came across the finish line. So that, that was a really neat e- experience, uh, as well as the people from Monumental who stayed there till I got done.

Yeah. Uh, and then in February, my knee still hurt. Now this is three months later. Yeah. And I went to an injury clinic at the Blue Mile, and the PT says, um, " Can you do a back bridge?" I said, "Well, yeah, I can do a back bridge." He says, "Well, hop up on the table and do a back bridge for me." So I did, and she patted my bottom and she says, " You've got a soggy butt." Yeah,

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, I remember this from

Steve Gilbert: And I said,

Ally Brettnacher: And I said, "We

Steve Gilbert: "We just met."

Ally Brettnacher: met." Yeah. What?

Steve Gilbert: She said, "That doesn't change the diagnosis." And she gave me a website called "Hamstring Dominance and What To Do About It." And I looked at it, and it was a series of basically 10 steps to go through before you run to get your glutes incorporated in your muscular [00:29:00] activity.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: And I did that for a couple of months, and the next half marathon I ran, my glutes were sore. I said, "Yes!" Yeah, it did. "It's working. This is what I wanted." Yeah. "Is the, the glutes to be sore." But the problem was I had enough strength in my hamstrings and my quads that I could run for two hours without a problem, a half marathon.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But

once I got past the two hours, they would weaken, and then I had nothing to strengthen my knees. So you'll, your, your hamstrings and your glutes will take over, and your, or your hamstrings and your quads will take over because your glutes are lazy. Yeah. And, and they'll let somebody else do the work if they can- Yeah.

Mm-hmm ... if

Ally Brettnacher: they

can.

Mm-hmm. And

Steve Gilbert: you have to say, "No, that's, that's not the way it goes." Sometimes you have to tell your muscles what to do.

Ally Brettnacher: Right. Yes.

Steve Gilbert: I remember running down, uh, Meridian Street to Circle One Monumental Mile, and I got about to New York, and my legs were telling me they didn't wanna go anymore.

And I remember specifically I promised them ice cream if they'd just get me to the circle.

Ally Brettnacher: One.

[00:30:00] So

Steve Gilbert: know, you do what you have to do- Yeah ... to make it.

Ally Brettnacher: Right. That's funny. What flavor ice cream?

Steve Gilbert: I don't think I even said. Yeah. Uh, anything would do, but-

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Any

Steve Gilbert: I knew they didn't want water. They didn't want a banana.

They wanted ice cream. Okay. What

Ally Brettnacher: what do I gotta do to convince you to get me

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Okay. So then second marathon you did with PBT, with Coach Matt Ebersole.

Yes, I did. And

when did you find the Fishers Running Club?

Steve Gilbert: I w- it was right early on. I don't remember exactly when. Uh, s- 2017 maybe it was.

Right. What, uh, '19. It seems like it's a long time ago, but- Mm-hmm ... uh, it was near the start, and, and, uh, I went to an organizational meeting and got involved then. And, um, it's been such a supportive group, ever since. They're wonderful people. Yes. And very, very supportive of each other, me obviously, and,

STEVE G INTERVIEW: And, uh,

Steve Gilbert: it's, it's, uh, meaningful and I, uh, enough to get me up every Saturday morning at 7:30 or 8 o'clock and go run.

Yeah. I mean, I, I run o- on alone most of the time during the week. [00:31:00] and in a sense alone but with people on Saturday because now at this point, most of them are a little faster than I am, but it doesn't matter.

Ally Brettnacher: Right.

Steve Gilbert: they're out there, and we're all trying to accomplish the same goal, improve our health, improve our running, and have fun.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Have you done any...

Well, you've done Boston obviously outside of the state. w- we've-- You've done other races. You mentioned, uh, Geist Half Marathon you mentioned the Indy Mini early on.

Steve Gilbert: Right. I've run the, uh, H-Hospital Hill Half in Kansas City.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, cool. Where your brother lives?

Steve Gilbert: Yes, uh, uh, the Run the Parkway in Kansas City, and also the Kansas City Marathon I ran in, uh, last year. Oh,

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, wow. Okay.

Steve Gilbert: that was in October. And that's probably the most challenging course I've run.

Ally Brettnacher: run. Well, Hospital Hill doesn't sound like a good- Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: know, anytime a race has hospital and hill in the same name, uh, you gotta watch out for that.

Yes. But it's only a half marathon

Ally Brettnacher: Okay. Only, yes.

Steve Gilbert: It's, it's only half the marathon that a marathon is.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: Yes. And the, Kansas City [00:32:00] Marathon is very hilly at the start, and steeper hills than Boston, and longer steeper

Ally Brettnacher: hills. Oof. And

Steve Gilbert: I was running that, and I knew better, but I, I was passing young people on the way down the hill, and I said, "I know I'm gonna pay for this, but I can't...

It's more effort to slow down than it is to go with the gravity." Yeah. Yeah. And I did pay. It was hot and humid relatively that day. Wow. And when I got to the, to the flat part, which is supposed to be the time you cruise, I had nothing left. Yeah. And it was a long day. And they were very receptive in the hospital.

They had pulled out, uh, when I got there, they, they saw me come in, and they had pulled out bib number 80 for me as an 80-year-old and said, "You can wear this if you want. You don't have to." And I said, "Well- That's cool ... I'd like to wear that.

That's that's very special." And they said, "Uh, what do you think your time will be?"

And I thought, " I don't really wanna say," but they wanted me to

Ally Brettnacher: say. Right.

Steve Gilbert: So I, I estimated a time that I thought maybe would be doable. Mm-hmm. Well, I, when I [00:33:00] got done, it was about half an hour longer.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Well, that's not too bad, really. And

Steve Gilbert: went in and I said, " It's folly to ask an 80-year-old- Right

on a course that he's never run what his time's gonna be." Right. They

have no

Ally Brettnacher: idea. I hope I make it. Yeah. The

Steve Gilbert: other thing they said, uh, "We've got a TV station here that wants to do an interview before the race. Would you be interested in that?" And I said, "Well, sure." And they said, "The only problem is they wanna do it two minutes after the race starts."

I said, "Well, not a problem for me because I'm not gonna start in the front anyway." Yeah. Yeah. "And two minutes over the length of time I'm gonna take is not gonna make a big difference." Yeah. So we did that interview, which was a, a lot of

fun. Oh, cool. And then I did the, um... I've done several races in Florida on, uh, spring break ti-times.

Oh, nice Five Ks and-

Ally Brettnacher: What part of Florida?

Steve Gilbert: of Florida? uh, on the, St. Pete- St. Petersburg

Ally Brettnacher: side.

Steve Gilbert: Okay. Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Nice. I just did my first race in Florida in February.

Did you? Yeah, it was nice. Although humid, you know.

Steve Gilbert: I did the Turtle Trot and, uh- Nice ... different ones.

Ally Brettnacher: So. Excellent.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: [00:34:00] So, okay, and then you've done obviously the Indy Mini as well. Yeah. And Geist. Did you do the inaugural Geist? Am I remembering that right?

Steve Gilbert: that right? I don't th- no, I don't... No, 2010. I don't think that was inaugural.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, I can't, I can't remember what year. And then so your, your brother, do you always-- When you're in races together, are you always running together?

Steve Gilbert: Well, he no, he's, he w- he doesn't run marathons anymore.

He had the- Okay ... some AFib issues, but at the time, he was faster than I am. He's four years younger. Okay. And, uh, was an accomplished runner since, let's say, since high school. So he was faster, so I was running behind him. But we're four years apart approximately, so one year out of every five we're in the same age group.

Wow. And that happened to be the year that he invited me out to run the the, Rock the Parkway, and I thought, "Well, that's just mean-spirited" Yeah. "To, to do that one." But to invite me the same time that he's gonna beat me by.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, he had you where he wanted you. That's for

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

But it w- it's all in good fun.

Yes, yeah. He, he's been a great support the whole time and a [00:35:00] mentor to me. He's the one that said, uh, " if you feel like you have to slow down when you're running, try speeding up first. You can always slow down if it doesn't work." And I try to keep that in mind because sometimes you get in a, a rhythm- Mm-hmm

that, that you think is your pace, and it doesn't have to be. Right. Uh, it's, again, it's so mental.

Ally Brettnacher: So mental.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Ally Brettnacher: What's been the best way f- that you've been able to work on your mental game?

Steve Gilbert: I think the fact that I use myself as a, as a standard, and I wanna, I wanna be better than I was.

Mm. And I, I strive for that. And the one thing Matt's helped me do, I think, is to get more out of myself than I ever thought I had. Well, Matt and Christy both in different ways. That, that there's, there's more to give if you really want to, that you can draw on, and, uh, that's been a big, big part of it.

Mm-hmm.

Ally Brettnacher: been a big, big it.

Mm-hmm. And so for your kids too, you mentioned the Carmel 10K- Yeah ... coming up with your son. how, how many races have they done with you over the years? Zero. Zero. So this will be the very

Steve Gilbert: [00:36:00] That'll be his first, uh, competitive race ever, yes.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow.

Steve Gilbert: as I say, it was a, a inspiration he had after going to Boston, seeing a bunch of old guys, 50s, 60s and up, who are in good shape and are focused and are working on their health and having a good time doing

Ally Brettnacher: time doing it.

Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: And he got inspired to do it, and he went home and got some shoes and went online and got a program that said he could run a 10K by the end of May, and he's followed that program. Wow. And, uh, since then, his Wife has also bought a pair of running

Ally Brettnacher: shoes Okay.

Steve Gilbert: Okay And, uh, I don't know if she's gonna be ready for the 10K, uh, but, it's exciting to me to have somebody close that is-- can and is inspired- Yes

to do that.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Absolutely. Do any of your grandkids run?

Steve Gilbert: run? Uh, not that I know of. So-

Ally Brettnacher: I don't know how old they are, I

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. Well, they're old enough to run. Yeah, but, uh, they're old enough to have kids, so. Yeah. Okay.

Ally Brettnacher: Okay. Right. Well, yeah. I'm surprised. It's

STEVE G INTERVIEW: like

Steve Gilbert: seeing

Ally Brettnacher: you is such [00:37:00] an inspiration, right? In your family. It's like, " Hey, what's taking them so long?"

STEVE G INTERVIEW: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: and they've been very supportive. Yeah. There's no question about that. But if-- And it's not for everybody. Uh, maybe they're doing something else to, to keep their health the best they can, and that's fine. Mm-hmm. But for those of us who run, it's, it's, it's very in-inspiring to us that we can do

Ally Brettnacher: this.

Mm-hmm. Talk to me about the, what's it called? Medal, Medals for

Steve Gilbert: Medals for Metal. Medals

Ally Brettnacher: for Metal. Medals for Metal.

Steve Gilbert: for Metal was a program that was developed in Indianapolis by a, a runner who happened to be my ear, nose, throat doctor. Oh,

Ally Brettnacher: that's funny.

Steve Gilbert: funny. Which I didn't know he-- the relationship until I saw an article about it in a magazine.

But he developed-- He was-- ran with a-another friend who developed cancer and was eventually unable to run, and one time he took his marathon medal and gave it to this friend, and he saw h-what a big impression it made on him.

Ally Brettnacher: him.

Hmm.

Steve Gilbert: he said, " Maybe there's another way we can do this." So he developed a program [00:38:00] where runners could donate their earned half marathon and marathon medals to this program.

They would be re-ribboned and given to, at that time, children who were facing life-threatening illnesses-

Ally Brettnacher: illnesses- Hmm

Steve Gilbert: in hospitals, and saw what a joy it gave these children to

Ally Brettnacher: to have these-

Steve Gilbert: this- Mm-hmm. Cool ... because they were in a fight for their lives. Right. And so he, he developed that program, and that inspired me.

And so I donated my earliest medals to that program in some sense.

Ally Brettnacher: Which is so cool. Yeah. And you and I talked about it before we were recording. I'm like, "Man, that's, that's hard." Yeah. But... 'Cause I love, you know, I love my medals, but when you think about the kids.

Steve Gilbert: Well, and to me, I thought it, it was a little bit of a, of a generosity to give my first marathon medal to them.

But I thought that that's where it belonged- Mm-hmm ... was with somebody else, because I earned it fighting something that was very challenging to me. Yes. And they can get it fighting something that's- Mm-hmm ... very challenging to them. And if it, if it's helpful to them, that makes me feel even better.

Ally Brettnacher: I'm gonna hold this [00:39:00] up for anybody watching the video, because this is so cool. You've got this, like, plaque with pictures of the medals that you donated, which is a really special way to remember the medals that you no longer have.

it's so cool. Really cool. And the first ones, too. Wow.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Is there-- Do they still exist, I'm assuming?

Steve Gilbert: They still do exist. I haven't seen them as active as, as they once were, but they d- uh, still do exist, and if, runners want to donate medals, they're certainly happy to receive them and to pass them along to the children and, and now some adults as well- Mm

who are fight-fighting for their lives.

Ally Brettnacher: for their lives. Yeah. Makes me think about on eBay, people sell their medals, which is so weird to me. I'm like

Steve Gilbert: It is. Uh, uh, uh, it's also a little weird that people buy them.

Ally Brettnacher: Also, yeah. I mean, both sides. You're like, "What is going on here? Who is doing this?" There's a

market. Give those to the

kids, please.

Steve Gilbert: There's a market for anything, I guess.

Ally Brettnacher: I suppose so, yeah. I do remember seeing, I think it was at a Carmel race one year, that they had buckets at the finish line.

Steve Gilbert: Right. That would be- That was that ... likely be the same

Ally Brettnacher: Okay. Okay. Yep. I, I remember [00:40:00] that. l- I guess let's talk a little bit more about Boston, how you got to Boston the first time, that experience, and then this year.

Steve Gilbert: Well, it was amazing getting to Boston the first time. It's amazing any time as far as I'm concerned. Yeah. But the first time was, was really special. I found out that Boston would accommodate runners with Parkinson's with an extended qualification time ' cause I wasn't able to qualify on my age group.

Okay. And once I found that out, I had this desire to go, and I s- told my wife that I would like to run the Boston Marathon, and she thought that was absurd.

Ally Brettnacher: Marathon, and she thought that was absurd. And we talked about

Steve Gilbert: And we talked about some more because I hadn't run a marathon for quite a f- quite a while. Right. Uh, and sh- we talked about it some more, and she said, "Well, if you wanna run another marathon, you can do something closer to home."

Ally Brettnacher: home."

Steve Gilbert: I thought, "Well, I'm gonna have to do that anyway to qualify." That's true. So that's not a big deal. Yeah. So I signed up for the, uh, Carmel Marathon in 2022. Okay.

Ally Brettnacher: Okay.

Steve Gilbert: [00:41:00] And I was training for that Carmel Marathon through the winter of '21, which is a problem with a spring marathon. You have to train through the winter.

Ally Brettnacher: the- I haven't done the one yet 'cause for that reason ... um,

Steve Gilbert: on the way to training, I tripped and fell on the si- crack in the sidewalk. took a little face plant, broke my nose, lacerated around my eye, and a few other- Stitches ... few other things. Yeah. I fell into somebody's driveway across from a Kroger on 116th

Ally Brettnacher: Oh my gosh. And the first

Steve Gilbert: person

Marker

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Steve Gilbert: I fell into somebody's driveway across from a Kroger on 116th

Ally Brettnacher: Oh my gosh. And the first

Steve Gilbert: person on the scene was a lady coming in from DoorDash delivering lunch

to the

Ally Brettnacher: house. Oh gosh. That's so

Steve Gilbert: she stopped, of course, and opened her trunk, and it was full of medical supplies, gauze and bandages and rubber gloves. Get out of here. And she started cleaning me up and

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, that's so

Steve Gilbert: and, uh, the second person was a personal goodwill with nothing else to do, and [00:43:00] he insisted on driving me to the ER, which is a mile up the street. Wow. I said, "My car's over in the Kroger lot. I can drive." And he said, "No, you can't." Yeah. So he dropped me off, and I was in that emergency room for about I called my wife and I said, "I, I took a little tumble, but I'm fine.

I'll be home shortly." About two hours later, she says, " I'm coming over there." They had kept me, I think, to make sure, uh, from a concussion protocol that I was okay. They never said that- Yeah ... but I was waiting to be s- cleaned up, glued back together. I, I was glad to know you could glue yourself back together.

Yeah. So she-- I said, "Well, when you get here, I'm not as bad as I look."

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, boy.

Steve Gilbert: And so she came in and she said, "Well, I'm glad I came over." And I thought, "This is gonna be a challenge to convince her that I should continue-" Yeah ... "training." But she was really, uh, good about it and, and understood in a way, and we, I went on with the training.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: So, uh, I got to Boston. It was way beyond anything I could've imagined. The whole town just, uh, [00:44:00] absorbs the excitement of this race, and there's-- You've got a million fans waiting for you when you step off the plane. And from the airport to the hotel to race day, y- the, all the runners, regardless of their pace or age, are celebrities to the people in the

Ally Brettnacher: town.

Mm.

Steve Gilbert: I think it, it's, it's grown way beyond even what it was before the bombing in 2013. Mm-hmm. And I, this was in 2023 when I was there, which is the 10th anniversary- Yeah ... which is a, it was a solemn celebration of that. Mm-hmm. But that, that really united them and, and the country around this event that they said, "We're not gonna let this event dominate our country or our life."

Mm-hmm. And they said, "If you want to discourage a, a group of people, marathon runners is not a very good place to start."

STEVE G INTERVIEW: Very

Ally Brettnacher: true.

Steve Gilbert: so, so it was, it was so e-exciting and, and so that was great. And, and my wife said basically never again. [00:45:00] And I, I kinda respected that. Uh, and then, uh, it was always in the back of my mind I would love to do it again, but, but I, I understand where, where she's coming from.

It's hard for her-- It's hard on her for me to train, let alone to run

Ally Brettnacher: the race. Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: So then, uh, we were sitting around one day, and out of the blue she says, "I've got an idea. Why don't we celebrate your 80th birthday in Boston?" And I about fell out of my chair because it, it came out of nowhere. And I said, "Well, I think that's a grand idea."

So I-- But I had to re-qualify, so I started training again, and I trained for the monumental 2023- Okay ... 2022, and, , ran that, which happened to be my marathon PR at age 79. And, uh, qualified for 24. Well, that's 17 months away at that point, because November to May to May- Yeah ... or to

Ally Brettnacher: It's quite a ways. Yeah, yeah.

Wild. And,

Steve Gilbert: uh, so that's a long time to anticipate, but it was just as great as it had been the first time. And the, the first year, first Mar- Boston, uh, my brother ran as my support runner, which is [00:46:00] allowable under the Boston rules for impaired runners. Yeah. Second time was, uh, Alan, who is the president of the Fishers Running

Ally Brettnacher: Club.

Steve Gilbert: Mm-hmm. And, and he ran for his first Boston, so, so that was an advantage to me to have him there and a, a benefit for me to be able to, to give him the opportunity- Yeah ... to run Boston.

Ally Brettnacher: So special.

Steve Gilbert: really was.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, he showed me some videos.

Steve Gilbert: And

Ally Brettnacher: And he's like, he's like basically crying. I'm like, "You're gonna make me cry."

Like, these videos of you- Well- ... just like soaking it in and-

Steve Gilbert: and- Well, uh, he, he took a video of the Boylston Street- Yeah ... finish, and I, uh, I really wasn't going for a PR all, all... When we started, I was-- I had a optimistic estimate, of what I might do in my mind, and it, as a, as we ran, my legs didn't quite cooperate, and, uh, some of the s- quicker times slipped away, but I was still on, on track and...

But I couldn't help but stop and, and enjoy and, and return the, to the crowds, the, the joy that they were giving me,

and- Yeah.[00:47:00]

so I took a couple of minutes walking towards the finish line, and then I thought, " It's about time to get going again." And I ended up 20 seconds faster than I was the- Just perfect

the previous, three years ago. Just perfect. So it worked out. I could have walked it a little farther and it wouldn't have happened, and it wouldn't have made any difference- Sure ... except it's just kinda fun to say, uh, it was a Boston PR- Yeah ... three years later.

Ally Brettnacher: Which is a-at age 80.

Steve Gilbert: at age 80. Yeah. And I qualified for 27.

Stop it. Yeah. So, uh, I won't have to run another one between now and then, but- Yes ... not that I don't want to. Yeah. And also, I was, categorized as a para-athlete T38, which is a, a, a

nerve impairment of, and pace. Right. And I hadn't been classified that way before. I was a little above their standards, which was okay too.

Ally Brettnacher: Right. You're like, "Well, okay."

Steve Gilbert: they, they reclassified me, which now that qualifies-- My time now qualifies me for Chicago as well as Bo- Boston. Okay. But Chicago, my age qualification, I still was [00:48:00] over, but as a T38 athlete, I would qualify for Chicago and would, could avoid the lottery as far- Yeah ... as getting a, a bid, which is a big deal because the lottery is, is

Ally Brettnacher: difficult.

Right.

Absolutely. So are you gonna run Chicago?

Steve Gilbert: in Chicago? Oh, I don't know. Maybe. Uh, that would be for 2027. It's too late for this year. Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: yeah. Okay. Yeah. Have you, have you considered raising money too? Like, for... What is, what's the main organization?

Is it the Michael J. Fox Foundation? Is

Steve Gilbert: the main- That's the biggest one, but the, Parkinson's Foundation is also a big one.

Okay. but they also-- the people I ran representing this year was the Red Tulip-

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, that's

Steve Gilbert: right ... Association for Parkinson's Awareness, and they w- that was not so much for money raising as it was for a-awareness raising. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because that's what we're trying to do, and we're trying to show people that Parkinson's is a major health issue in the population at large.

Uh, every 24 seconds, somebody's diagnosed with Parkinson's- Wow ... around the world, and it's growing, and people need to know this. And, and there are a [00:49:00] lot of Parkinson's efforts, and this, this Parkinson's Red Tulip is trying to raise, gather all these efforts under an umbrella so people know, have one s- place to go to find all these resources, which are important.

Mm-hmm. And hopefully, in s- sometime foreseeable, there'll be a cure and maybe a prevention. Yeah. So.

Ally Brettnacher: So. Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: That was a big deal, and, and I ran a Red Tulip, on my jersey for both the Boston and the Mini and- Yeah ... so we got a lot of exposure. Many people probably didn't know what they were looking at, but over time, you create an awareness- Yes

of a issue that is gonna be very important. And, and many pe- I mean, most people know somebody that's affected with Parkinson's,

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, my

Steve Gilbert: they're in their

Ally Brettnacher: my, my step-grandpa had Parkinson's, yeah.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. And, uh, so it, it affects families, and it affects the quality of life of, of the family of the person that's involved.

Ally Brettnacher: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Wow. Well, hopefully this helps raise some awareness as well.

Certainly. Mm-hmm. What are, what are some of the things you want people to know? [00:50:00] I mean, obviously you're showing it's like, capable of so much more than you might think that I am. But what else do you want people to know?

Steve Gilbert: I think that, that all Parkinson's is not alike. Some people are, are less fortunate than I, that their symptoms are more imposing on their lifestyle. But it, like you say, even so, many people with Parkinson's can do more than maybe they think they can do. Many people with Parkinson's probably do more than others think they can

Ally Brettnacher: do. Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: And don't set limits on yourself or on other people with Parkinson's Based on your maybe lack of understanding of what they really can do. Uh, I know there are things that I can't do as well. My wife was very wise in giving away my extension ladder because I really had no business- Yeah

even from my age, let alone the Parkinson's, really had no business. I, I never had an ac-accident or an issue with it, but it's just a, a wise thing not

Ally Brettnacher: have.

Steve Gilbert: have- Mm-hmm ... not to have, so. Yeah. But there are other things that I can do that maybe people might s-not expect me to be able to do, so I can still paint a [00:51:00] wall.

The ceiling line might not be quite as straight as it used to be- Yeah ... but I can do it. Yes. And, so just don't limit yourself, but be sw-be smart about

Ally Brettnacher: it.

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: that would be the main thing.

Ally Brettnacher: that would be the main thing. Yeah. Gosh, I think about Parkinson's, but I also think about your age, like age alone. is

Steve Gilbert: incredible. Well, there's another place you shouldn't say you can't do it because. Right. So, uh-

Ally Brettnacher: Right, because you're e-- I mean, people-- I hope people listening to this who maybe if they've never run a marathon and they say, "Oh, I could never run a marathon," I hope that this shows like that is not t- maybe you don't want to, that's okay.

But do

Steve Gilbert: is

Ally Brettnacher: That is okay ... say that you cannot.

Steve Gilbert: That is okay. And I read, uh, back when I s-started running, uh, there was a group of Parkinson's patient that were running the Los Angeles Marathon. Okay. And their coach said, "Anybody in reasonably good health with the desire could run a marathon."

Mm-hmm. And I thought, "Well, I'm in reasonably good health other than what's wrong with

Ally Brettnacher: me." Mm-hmm. "And

Steve Gilbert: I've got the desire, so I can do this."

Ally Brettnacher: Mm, mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: So I've run [00:52:00] seven marathons since being diagnosed, and, uh-

Ally Brettnacher: Wow

Steve Gilbert: Wow ... uh, will I stop one day? Yeah. Have I stopped yet? I don't think

Ally Brettnacher: so. Mm-mm-mm.

Steve Gilbert: Um, I don't think so, but I, I don't know.

Right.

Ally Brettnacher: Gosh. Okay, and then also you were showing me before one of your favorite pictures was at a track race.

You've d- done other stuff too. You

Steve Gilbert: there's so many things that running has given my life, and that, the blessing to be able to do that and the, blessing of the determination to do it- Mm-hmm

has just changed my life and made it much richer. I got acquainted with the people at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon the first year because they had gone to Kansas City to recruit my brother-- uh, not to recruit, and my brother was there, and he said, "Well, I'm already signed up because I'm running with my brother who's running for..."

And he explained the situation. They said, "Well, we'll get in touch with him." They got in touch with me and said, " Would you like to write some, couple of inspirational lines that we might use in our program?" And I said, "

Ally Brettnacher: Sure."

Steve Gilbert: Mm-hmm. [00:53:00] So I did, and I sent them in and didn't hear much. So I went to the-- I stayed at the JW Marriott the night before, so I didn't have to go downtown.

Yeah. And I was up in the lounge, and a woman came in and said, "Oh, you're the guy in the program." And I said Uh, I thought she meant the running program, the training program, like the Indy Runners.

Ally Brettnacher: You're like, "Yeah, I'm a part of that."

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. And so I said sure, and so I went over to the expo, got the program, and there the back cover of the program was all the quotes that I had sent.

Wow. And I thought, " You know, I have accomplished what I set out to do, and I haven't even run the race." I was trying to show people what people with Parkinson's could do. So I th- uh, well, that was really great. Yeah. Uh, so in the meantime, I became fairly well acquainted with some of the people in the Monumental organization, and one became eventually the, the director of the Drake Relays.

Mm. So he invited me to come out to the Drake Relays to the men's invitational 800-meter race. Well, that's f- uh, for 40 and over, and [00:54:00] I was 70-something. Yeah. And I-- But I was, uh, his inspirational addition to the race. So I said sure. So I went out there. I'd never run a track race in my life before and haven't since, but I went out there, and I lined up with these guys, and they're all f- 30 years younger than I am- Yeah

or more. And the gun went off, and I'm standing there at the start line, and they're all up around the first

Ally Brettnacher: turn.

Steve Gilbert: I better get going. I, uh, this is, this thing's... It's not a chip time. Yeah. It's a, it's a gun time. So I, I took off, and I was fortunate that I was able to complete the first lap before anybody completed two, so nobody passed me- Nice

on the track. But the last lap, uh, about the three-quarters of the last lap, I was the only thing on the track to, to p- to watch. Yeah. So I had 10,000 people in the stands all on my side, and it was, it was a lot of fun to, to be able to do that and to be able to represent not only older people, but older people with, with some impairment that are out there expressing their joy and, and potential to do [00:55:00] that.

That was a, it was a great ex-experience, but- Absolutely ... I haven't done that since. Yeah. Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: You get a ribbon? What do you... Do you get anything?

Steve Gilbert: Uh, I got a chance, I d- I got a chance to tell people my story. And so afterwards, they-- I went into where they were, all the runners, and they, uh, ushered me off to the side and gave me a Gatorade or

Ally Brettnacher: something.

Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: And, I thought, " Okay, thank you." And, but it turned out that was the, the waiting room for the press room. Oh. So I went in there. I got, uh, was interviewed on, on the local television s- after that and got a chance to, again, to tell that stories.

Ally Brettnacher: That's perfect.

Steve Gilbert: it, it really is a great opportunity to share.

Ally Brettnacher: Mm-hmm.

Where are the Drake... I'm actually not familiar with what the Drake Relays

Steve Gilbert: are too, by

Ally Brettnacher: by the way. And where are

Steve Gilbert: They're in, uh, Des Moines.

Ally Brettnacher: Okay. Iowa.

All the way to Iowa for your first and only track race. Yeah. So cool.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. And of course, my brother in Kansas City-

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, yeah

Steve Gilbert: drove up.

Ally Brettnacher: That's nice. So he was one of the 10,000?

Steve Gilbert: He was one of the 10,000. Well, he was a special one of the 10,000- Yeah ... with the support that he gave me.

Ally Brettnacher: [00:56:00] Wow. Now, Does your wife come spectate all of your races?

Steve Gilbert: Does she- No, she's-- She picks and chooses, and I don't blame her because- Why?

Ally Brettnacher: is,

Steve Gilbert: an, It's usually a long wait for a little- Yeah

little thrill. For

Ally Brettnacher: like 20 seconds. You're right.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. Yeah. And she's, But she's very supportive at home, and, and I appreciate that, and she puts up with my whims and-

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. That's amazing. Okay. So Boston this year we talked about. So special. And then 12 days later Is the 50th running of the Indy Mini. I, in my mind, I never...

I, I don't know why. I was just like, "Oh, he did, just did Boston. Probably not gonna do the Mini." He's 80 years old. I mean, not even the Parkinson's part, it's just he's 80 years old, and you did the Mini. Well,

Steve Gilbert: it, it's a calendar thing. Uh, I didn't pick the dates. They did. Right. And, uh, neither one wanted to change their

Ally Brettnacher: date.

Steve Gilbert: Um, but I, I also ran the Parkinson's, uh, Choose to Move race on the Saturday in between- No

Ally Brettnacher: No, you

Steve Gilbert: was a 5K. Okay.

A-and again, I didn't pick that date, but it was a, a event that I wanted to support. I-

Ally Brettnacher: [00:57:00] Yes. Was that here downtown

Steve Gilbert: was in, uh, Fishers- Fishers, okay ... in Sax- in Saxony.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, cool.

Steve Gilbert: So that was great.

And that, that race the-- Not that it matters, but the age group thing. Mm-hmm. So for, for a long time, most of the races you would see would be 70 and up, 75 and up.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: And I th- When I was only 70, it didn't matter. Right. But now that I'm 80, I look at it. It still doesn't matter, but I look at it, and so they were running a 70-and-up age group at this Choose to Move

Ally Brettnacher: race.

Mm-hmm.

Steve Gilbert: And I was, uh, 80, and I thought, "Well, that's kind of, like, not showing very much respect for ages," 'cause they're five year, five or 10-year groups u-up to then. Right. And then start making it 20-year group.

Ally Brettnacher: and up. Yeah, you're Just

gonna make some... Yeah, you're just-

Steve Gilbert: The-- And there's no prize or anything. Yeah. It's just a, a matter of recognition.

Yeah. So, uh, I think it was a 74-year-old beat me, but, And I said something to the race people at the end. Yeah. They kind of said, "Oh, w-we can't do anything about it." And I thought-- To the timing group. Mm-hmm. I thought, "Well, [00:58:00] I know. I didn't expect you to do anything about it, but, uh, s-say you're sorry or something."

Right. Hear

Ally Brettnacher: Or, uh, maybe change it for next

Steve Gilbert: year. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And, and that's the, that's the whole point- Right ... is change it for next year

Ally Brettnacher: Change it for next year.

Steve Gilbert: it ... 'cause there are more-- There are a few more of us. We're still pretty slim group. There are a few more of us than there once was, and- Yeah ... and we get a lot of comments that we're some kind of inspiration to younger runners, uh, unsolicited comments.

Yeah. And, uh,

Ally Brettnacher: And, uh,

Steve Gilbert: maybe we're good for business If we're encouraging people to continue to make this effort and try, one day they're gonna be our age and, and they'll be good for your business as a race director. Right. Very true. So, so encourage the older runners, uh, regardless of how old they are, to come out, and then the younger runners gonna, gonna see that.

Yeah. And then there, there's the, the clickbait posts on

Ally Brettnacher: Facebook- ...

Steve Gilbert: that say these-- this group or that group shouldn't be allowed in the Boston Marathon.

Ally Brettnacher: Ooh, boy.

Steve Gilbert: yeah. Uh, particularly the charity runners. Mm-hmm. But, uh, uh, they don't say that so much about [00:59:00] the, rarely about the impaired runners- Mm ... which is kind of interesting.

It is. And, but the charity runner, because we've-- we're given a special allowance as well, time-wise.

Ally Brettnacher: How much it, how much time?

Steve Gilbert: they allowed me six hours. Okay. So-

Ally Brettnacher: Which is how different from if you were just 80?

Steve Gilbert: Uh, well, 4:50 is for an 80-year-old. Okay. I ran 4:54, which wouldn't have made it.

Ally Brettnacher: it. Still. Geez.

Steve Gilbert: But so I was an hour and five minutes under my qualifying time.

Ally Brettnacher: Wow. But,

Steve Gilbert: uh, I g- I ran, uh, 5:45 at Carmel and made it in a blizzard.

Ally Brettnacher: Oh

my

Steve Gilbert: But that was in 2022, I guess. it was, it was a downpour at 7:00 and sleet at 7:30. I

Ally Brettnacher: I remember that year. It was every season, I swear. It was

Steve Gilbert: just- I- in the same day.

Yeah. And by the time I was finishing, which was quite a while later, it was, it was actually, it was snowing. Yeah. And I, I, I got about 20 miles, and I was counting backwards how fast do I have to go to [01:00:00] make it under six hours because I w- Mm-hmm ... without that, it was just a

Ally Brettnacher: race. Right.

Steve Gilbert: And I said-- I got to the point where I finally said, "You know, I think I could walk in from here and still make it."

Still

Ally Brettnacher: make it. Wow.

Steve Gilbert: so I made it. Uh, but where, where were

Ally Brettnacher: Well, now I forget. Well, I, we were talking about age groups and- Oh

the

Steve Gilbert: the other thing about the age groups, and then so you've got some slow people there anyway, but the, the charity group at Boston starts at the back.

It's wave six now. It was wave five, but it's wave six now. So th- there's no way that those people are impeding or affecting in any way the runners that are allegedly complaining about, them being in there at all. Yeah. And some are saying, "Well, these people are keeping me from..." The ones that didn't make it in- Right.

Oh, the- ... or didn't make the buffer ... didn't

Ally Brettnacher: it 'cause of these

Steve Gilbert: Because of these people. Well, every, uh, time standard that is set is arbitrary. Yeah. So if you didn't qual- if you didn't make the buffer, you didn't qualify.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: say if the, if the buffer's five minutes and my time to qualify is, 4:50, then the time to [01:01:00] qualify is really 4:45.

It's just that the original time they set wasn't low enough. Mm-hmm. So to my feeling, if you got a problem with it, don't come. Yeah. Or, or start your own Boston Marathon. Right. Yeah. You know, you can-- If you don't like the rules, you can start your own race. Mm-hmm. Uh, you can, you can make constructive criticism.

Right. But don't whine. Right.

Ally Brettnacher: Right. Well, and I think I have not raised a ton of money for charity. Those Boston runners that are raising tens of thousands of dollars, like, I'm sorry, but that is more impressive and more difficult than any marathon training block, in my opinion.

I think

Steve Gilbert: I think I heard, and I could be mistaken, that there was $52 million was raised this year.

Ally Brettnacher: so how can you complain about that?

Steve Gilbert: Why would you complain about that? Yeah. When they're not in your way.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Right.

Steve Gilbert: know, they're not affecting your race at all.

Yeah

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, I know.

I'm with you. That is, that's irritating.

Steve Gilbert: But like I say, I, I, it may be clickbait, but still- Yeah ... it, it draws a lot of attention.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, it does. Well, and then back to the age group thing too, I think we should just [01:02:00] reiterate that races should have-- You should have... How, how difficult is it to just put the categories in your system?

All the systems have it there. Right. So just like check the box to have that be part of your results or You know, how,

Steve Gilbert: how, how hard programming is that?

Right. We, we programmed all the other five

Ally Brettnacher: years. Right. Just, uh, it can't be

Steve Gilbert: be one, one little addition to your program. Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, absolutely.

Steve Gilbert: The other thing about age groups is that somebody did a, a survey on marathon finishing times by age from I think 70 up in all the marathons combined, and it went up about 1%

Ally Brettnacher: a

Steve Gilbert: year till you got to about 75.

And then it starts being a geometric progression, like 1.2% 76, or I don't know the exact numbers, then 1.5, then 1.8, then 2.3%. So it really dramatically increases with age over the total number of runners, which gets smaller and

Ally Brettnacher: smaller. Right.

Steve Gilbert: So there, there is a-- If you want older runners [01:03:00] to have a ch- a chance to compete, give them a chance.

Ally Brettnacher: Yes. Yeah, and it's, like to your point, it's good for business. Then they're gonna keep running. Right. Maybe that's the motivation that somebody wants or needs, not necessarily to compete with anyone else, but to compete with the, with themselves.

Right. Like you've talked about. Yeah. Okay. Well, now let's talk about the mini this year.

Okay.

Because for people who are watching the video, maybe they can see that you've taken a fall. Maybe not. Oh. Can see a bandage on your arm. Can't see your legs. Oh. Tell us about your, your Indy Mini this year.

Steve Gilbert: Well, it w- it was mostly pretty fun, g- given the fact that I started with tired legs and my head was still in Boston.

Yeah. Um, the, the weather was

Ally Brettnacher: It

was so glorious.

Steve Gilbert: I, I was really having a good time. I was a little chilly at the start, and that's fine because you know you're gonna warm up. Mm-hmm. And the s- the wave start is so much better than the mass start that I remembered from years

Ally Brettnacher: before. Yeah. Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

Uh, there w- was, it was lot of people, but it wasn't crowded. There, nobody was elbowing anybody. Mm-hmm. So that was great, and I was going along fine, and [01:04:00] got to the track and was doing pretty well, and was, uh... The celebrity of honor there was, was, uh, sitting there at the Yard of Bricks, and, um, so I stopped and said hi to him.

Ally Brettnacher: And it, was that Frank Shorter

Steve Gilbert: Frank Shorter- Yeah ... who was the winner of the first. Yeah. That's right. And I had met him in Boston in '23 when-- although I'd met him at the mini, expo several years before. But, so I basically knew him, and I stopped and shook hands with him, and- That's funny ... um, where everybody else was kissing the bricks, I was shaking hands with Frank Shorter.

Yeah. And, uh, but I never was much of a kiss the bricks person. I don't know. It just

Ally Brettnacher: didn't- I've

only done it one time

Steve Gilbert: didn't inspire me, but I know that's j- a huge Indy tradition- It is ... and traditions are important. Yeah. And that's fine, and I, I don't, I, the, the people move to the right and get out of the

Ally Brettnacher: I like that they f- finally did that, where they made signs. Yeah. 'Cause otherwise it's a little chaotic.

Steve Gilbert: I kept on, and I was getting tired and thirsty, and I slowed a little bit and, took a gel, which I was late on. And, uh, it was going along fine. I got to the point where last year I picked up the pace a little [01:05:00] bit, and I wasn't picking up the pace

Ally Brettnacher: I wasn't picking up the pace very much.

Steve Gilbert: Got to mile 11, I said, "You know, I got nothing to lose now," so I was starting to pick up the pace there.

About the end of that mile, the lady in front of me abruptly slowed, and I didn't abruptly slow, and I tried to get around her, and I got, lost my balance and tried to get my balance and did a, kind of a face slide into the... So I was kissing the blacktop there.

Ally Brettnacher: Kissing ... sidewalk

Steve Gilbert: no. Uh, un- unfortunately. Yeah. And the two runners behind me s- stopped and straightened me up and made sure I was s- stable enough.

Yeah. So I went on to, to finish the race, and they, they kind of shepherded behind me. And, uh,

Ally Brettnacher: uh,

Steve Gilbert: so I went back into my run three minutes and- And the walk one pace, and it's-- they picked it up, and they were complaining that I was going too, too fast for them. Oh, that's funny. But I, I wanted to do the, the best I could to, uh, look good at the finish.

And, uh, so I finished, and they put me in a wheelchair, which I really didn't need, and took me over to the medical tent and- Oh,

Ally Brettnacher: you [01:06:00] panicked everybody, I'm sure, 'cause you probably had... I mean, was there blood-

Steve Gilbert: A little bit, yeah

Ally Brettnacher: a little down your

Steve Gilbert: it wasn't streaming. Okay. But it, it was a little bit.

It was more- Yeah ... streaming on my leg, but- Yeah ... so a little bit, but they cleaned me up and, and bandaged me up. But my attitude at that point wasn't great for the party, and so I didn't- ... didn't party much. Yeah. 'Cause I was disappointed that it, that it happened. Mm-hmm. But, and, I'm a little-- it takes a little longer to get straightened out, but I'm fine.

I, I ran. Uh, like I say, I'm gonna run another-

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, run today ... another one.

Run another race. I'll be fine. Yeah, I mean- I'll

Steve Gilbert: I'll be ready for Carmel. Yeah. So.

Ally Brettnacher: It's incredible. And did the woman that stopped, does she know? Does she realize?

Steve Gilbert: I don't think she knew. Yeah. Because I didn't actually... I thought at first I tripped on her, but as I think back on it, I don't think I actually did.

I, I, I stumbled because I was trying not to.

Ally Brettnacher: Not, not to run into her. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's important for people to know it's totally fine to stop in a race. It's... But you have to know where you're stopping, who you're stopping around. Yes. Kind

Steve Gilbert: Because you might- Be aware, and also typically, if you're in the middle of [01:07:00] something, you raise your hand, so somebody- Yes

give a little sign. Yep,

Ally Brettnacher: yep. Exactly. But

Steve Gilbert: don't, I don't think she knew.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Well, and obviously if she pr- if she did, she'd feel pretty bad about that. Yeah. But, um, I think it's important for runners just to understand the courtesy of, paying attention to people around you.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. But I don't, I can't say exactly what happened because I, I was in the middle of falling on my face.

Sure, yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. You're like, "I have no idea." Yeah.

Steve Gilbert: the guy's name that was stopped. I don't know the lady. Mm-hmm. His name was Steven, so.

Ally Brettnacher: Aw. Thanks, Steven.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Yeah. So did you-- I mean, falling, for you especially, I mean, again, your age, but I don't wanna speak for you, but I'm assuming that's f-frustrating too because you're like, "Well, yes, I have Parkinson's, you know, I'm also 80.

I, I didn't fall all because of that." Does that bother you? You know, thinking, "Oh, people know I fell, and they're gonna think, oh, it's 'cause..."

Steve Gilbert: it bothers me, not because of what people think, other than, uh, if they think I should stop running because of that, because I don't think

Ally Brettnacher: so. Right. I, I,

Steve Gilbert: one moment I thought, "Oh, I [01:08:00] feel like I've, my running is kind of a gift of God that has, a blessing that I have, and the, the ability to run and the perseverance to run is something kinda special at my age."

Yeah. And I thought, uh, oh, "Is this a sign," momentarily- Yeah ... "Is this a sign that maybe I shouldn't be running?" And then I thought, " Oh, the fact that I could get back up and finish- Right ... maybe is a sign that I really-

Yeah ... it's okay,

that I should- Right ... be able to continue." And so my main concern was, have I injured something?

Uh, because bones are more fragile- Sure ... at, at age. And I, I've really tried to be careful, and I was trying to be careful then, but, so accidents do happen, and this has to be prepared for. Yeah. But once, once I found out that I was okay, then I'm okay. Yeah. You're- And it's been, uh, three and a half years since I s- tripped, and this wasn't exactly a trip.

It was what's caused by someb- somebody else's actions,

So I justify it.

Ally Brettnacher: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Well, and there was another mini earlier on that you said that you... Did you stop and not finish the race [01:09:00] at one point?

No. Am

I remembering that right or

Steve Gilbert: no? No,

I think you th- maybe thinking of that Geist race, which I- Okay,

Ally Brettnacher: Okay, maybe

Steve Gilbert: concerned of not finishing. Okay. Maybe so. But,

Ally Brettnacher: don't so. Okay. Yeah. So there's never been a race that you have not completed.

Steve Gilbert: Correct.

Ally Brettnacher: So crazy. That's amazing with all the races you've

Steve Gilbert: one that I was sure ha- several I've been happy to be done with. Yes. I did the, the, uh, Winter Trail Frosty- You did. Okay ... one year. Okay. And, one was enough for me.

Yeah. Uh, it was a, it had frozen the night before, and it was just thawing as the race was starting. So we were on a ar- it had thawed before and then refrozen, so the-- we started out on a slush path that had, had a lot of footprints were frozen into the slush. It was very

Ally Brettnacher: Oh, geez. Yeah, that would be really hard to run

Steve Gilbert: very rough and slippery.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. And

Steve Gilbert: then, uh, we went on, and then the trail was starting to thaw. And of course it's, it's all trail and, and so what was frozen tundra w- turned into slippery mud-

Ally Brettnacher: [01:10:00] Oh, boy

Steve Gilbert: up and down the hills. And I thought, " You know, I don't have any business out here," but I had gotta get home.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. That's true. I have to get- I have to get

Steve Gilbert: You had to get back,

Yeah. And then near the end, there's a section where there's a, a s- little stream-like of- Okay ... of drainage that was about six inches deep of basically slush flowing down. There's only one way across it, and that's through it. So the rest of the race I, I had cold, frozen feet. Yeah. And I thought- Ooh

"I'm, I'm just thrilled to be done and upright." It was one of my slowest races, but, uh, I didn't mind. Yeah. I was, I was healthy and happy to be done.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. That race, I've never done. And if people... Winter Trail Frosty, if you think about the acronym for that- ... that might be what you think when you're on the

Steve Gilbert: It might be. Yeah. It might be.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. Maybe. Ugh. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna ask you the end of the podcast questions now.

Steve Gilbert: now. Okay.

Ally Brettnacher: Are you ready for those? Sure. They're easy. The first is, what is your favorite running song and/or mantra?

Steve Gilbert: My favorite running song is the theme from "Rocky" that I heard at the end of the first [01:11:00] marathon.

Uh, my mantra is counting one, two, three, and that comes from something Matt Eversol told me one time when I was having trouble getting my gait even And I, I was-- felt like I was loping and all my, my right leg was doing most of the work, and it, it was uncomfortable and probably not very fast. And he said, "If you count one, two, three, the one will always come on the opposite foot each time."

Hmm. So I don't know how many billion I've counted to. Geez, wow. But it's just something that comes up in my mind on a regular basis, even when I'm not doing the loping- Yeah ... gait. Yeah. Just because it, it works, and it, it keeps me kind of focused on getting that, my gait

Ally Brettnacher: even. Mm-hmm.

Well, if you're thinking one, two, three, you're not thinking, "Oh my gosh, this sucks."

You're clearing your mind and focusing on- Yeah ... numbers.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. And, and you know, If you're, if you're really trying, s- it's gonna get painful somewhere along the way. In some way or another, something's gonna hurt, uh, something's gonna stress, and that keeps my [01:12:00] mind off of that.

Ally Brettnacher: it. Yeah. Will you ever run the Phil- Philly Marathon?

You gotta do the Rocky

Steve Gilbert: steps. Uh, you know, you know, I don't know if, uh... Yeah. I, I would like to go there and do it whether I ran the marathon or not, but- Right

Ally Brettnacher: Like just go see the steps? Yeah. Yeah, that would be cool. Okay, and then next finish line and/or milestone, which we have talked about.

Steve Gilbert: if, if you'd asked me that a couple of weeks ago, I'd probably been pretty vague about it, but right now it's the Carmel 10K.

Yeah. There we go. There's no question about that.

Ally Brettnacher: That's cool. That's gonna be fun. I hope we have a good day. I pray we have a good day, weather day.

Steve Gilbert: Uh, it won't matter, but I'd like a good day.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah. I hope

for

Steve Gilbert: would like a good day. If it-- as long as it's good enough to hold the race,

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, that's what I mean, too.

Yeah. It's like, okay, can we just- Can we have the race, please? Yeah. And, um, and then are there other races outside of perhaps Boston again, maybe Chica- Are there other races that you would like to do if able?

Steve Gilbert: Well,

there's some that I imagine I would like to do.

New York, but I understand the logistics are really challenging there. It's a lot. Um, the [01:13:00] European majors, of course, but that's not likely that I would travel that, that distance to do a marathon,

you know. Um,

somebody that just did Big Sur was exclaiming what a great race that

Ally Brettnacher: was.

It looks beautiful, yeah.

Steve Gilbert: there's some that sound like a lot of fun, but there, there are others, nearby that I've done. Uh, Columbus,

Ally Brettnacher: Half Marathon- Oh, okay.

Steve Gilbert: Mm-hmm ... and that would be another marathon opportunity in, uh, in fall, which would be fun, so.

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, I've heard good things about that

Steve Gilbert: race. I, I like that. Yeah. Fort Wayne has a, a good marathon.

Ally Brettnacher: marathon.

Steve Gilbert: so there-

Ally Brettnacher: Yeah, we're so, we're so lucky here, I

Steve Gilbert: are plenty of opportunities that are not,

STEVE G INTERVIEW: a

Steve Gilbert: plain right

Ally Brettnacher: away. Right, Exactly. There's

so many you can drive to from here. Absolutely. Well, Steve, is there anything else that we didn't talk about or we missed, or you wanted to go, talk more about or share before we wrap up? Well,

Steve Gilbert: I, I, I was pleased to be able to, to- Mentioned the Red Tulip and, and Rock City Boxing. One thing I didn't give enough credit to was, Personal Best Training with Matt [01:14:00] Ebersole, Fisher's Running Club, their support, and a, a unique situation for a number of years, everybody on my medical team was either current or former runners, and I didn't choose them that way.

It was an, it was just a happenstance. Mm-hmm. But they-- That group has been so facilitating of my whims and goals and trying to help me achieve through my health the potential to do this, which they could have said, You know, you're crazy," and let it go. Yeah. And they, they didn't do that. They've been very helpful.

And also, uh, my PT at Forte Sports Medicine- Yeah ... Katie, was a great support and great help and got me through some slightly difficult physical times, to be a little stronger than I would've been otherwise.

Ally Brettnacher: than I would've been otherwise. Mm-hmm. How often do you do PT?

Steve Gilbert: How often?

Ally Brettnacher: often, yeah.

Steve Gilbert: Yeah. Uh, i- inter-intervals when I get something that's worthy of treatment.

Yep,

Ally Brettnacher: yep. So like most runners.

Steve Gilbert: Right now I'm not, but, uh- Yeah. Yeah.

yeah. Good. Well,

Ally Brettnacher: When are, when's the book coming out, Steve? [01:15:00] Come on, write us a book. Uh, I'm

working on it. I, I just am so honored to have spent this time with you and, you know, having the ability to share your story and parts of your story is just- Is, is wonderful.

So thank you so much Thank

Steve Gilbert: and the chance to share it makes me want to extend

Ally Brettnacher: heck yeah. All right. Well, thank you everybody for listening and, and happy running.

Steve Gilbert: Thank you.

Ally Brettnacher: If you enjoyed this episode of Finish Lines and Milestones, head to the show notes and sign up for email newsletters. I send one every Friday. If you already subscribe, you know that you can share this podcast to help get the word out, and certainly Steve's story deserves being shared.

and that helps others find the show. Thank you again to Noogs and Cure Hydration for supporting this episode, and I will see you again next week. Thanks for listening. Bye.

 

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