By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Salinan Michael Fontes runs marathons for fun, but his passion for running has transcended the sport. For Fontes, running is a way of life.
"I would have to say my original motivator was curiosity, the desire to see what I had in me and the drive to conquer something that scared me," Fontes said. "What happened after the first race hit me more like a lightning bolt and it brought a bit of a competitive streak in me. Some of why I run is about my love of running and competing, and to feel the satisfaction of meeting a goal that seemed unrealistic at one point. For me, running has become the way I live life, I like how it feels to step out of my comfort zone and test my abilities and push my limits."
Fontes said he began running on July 5, 2012.
"I decided to run to lose weight, at the time I weighed over 205. I now weigh around 150. My first marathon was the 2013 Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita. I was 50. I have been running marathons for eight years and I have finished 28 marathons and over 140 other races," he said.
Fontes has completed marathons in 22 states and hopes to stay healthy enough to run a marathon in each of the remaining 28 states. He also has a goal of completing the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world.
Since Fontes started tracking his miles in January 2015, he has run more than 19,500 miles, he said. And the more he runs, the better he gets.
"In the past two years, I have been placing in my age group," Fontes said. "Recently I placed first in my age at the Louisiana and Alaska marathons."
While his family, friends, and co-workers at Blue Beacon International are aware of his zeal for running long distances, his passion for running and the successes he has had also has garnered him international attention...from Abbott World Marathon Majors.
Fontes has been invited to be one of 40 men from around the world to represent the male 55 to 59 age group in Abbott's first Marathon Age Group World Championship. The marathon is scheduled to be in London on Oct. 3 and is a part of the 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon.
"I am going to London to run. I have been trying to sign up for the London Marathon through the London Lottery for the past three years without any success," he said. "London will be my fifth major, in my goal of running the six marathon majors: Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, London, and Tokyo. After London I will try to run Tokyo in 2022 or 2023 depending on pandemic."