Just Another Runner’s Story April 2025 Written by Gale Fischer
A Body in Motion Stays in Motion
“I don’t run to add days to my life; I run to add life to my days.”
—Ronald Rock
The benefits of exercise are well-documented. A lifestyle that includes physical activity can add years to one’s life. Although living a long life is never guaranteed, staying active can increase one’s odds of extending life into the eighties, nineties, and triple digits. Longevity is something that many wish for, but continual movement can also enhance one’s quality of life into the golden years. It could be the difference between leading a sedentary existence in the later stages of life or remaining independent at home and throughout the community. This month’s featured runner, Linn Kracht, has enjoyed the benefits that years of exercise and running have provided him and continues to reap these benefits today at the age of seventy-seven.
Linn was exposed to being active early on in life. He grew up on a farm in Western Iowa, which gave him a healthy appreciation for interacting with the outdoor world. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, playing and working on the farm as a young child paved the way for his lifelong desire to be outside moving. Running would become a part of his life as a young adult, but before this, he participated in other sports as a school-age boy and teenager. Linn talked about his stint as a high school athlete. “I played basketball in high school and some baseball earlier in my childhood. I tried football but realized I was too small. After getting knocked to the ground by our school’s all-conference linebacker during one of our practices, I decided that football was not for me.” Linn continued to enjoy basketball into his late sixties while participating in pick-up games at Full Blast.
Linn can’t recall exactly why or how he started running, but when he finally tried it in his late twenties, it became an important part of his life for the next fifty years. “I first tried running in 1975 at the age of twenty-seven. Looking back now, I would say that I kind of integrated it into my exercise routine,” Linn recalled. “My wife Colleen had started graduate school in Denver. We packed our bags and moved from Indiana to Colorado.” After relocating to Denver, Linn became reacquainted with a buddy. “I connected with a friend of mine I had first met a few years earlier while in seminary who was living in Denver. Colleen and I were still a young couple without kids. We had developed an active lifestyle and spent much of our free time playing tennis and racquetball with my friend from seminary and his wife.”
Linn doesn’t remember why, but he decided to start running. Being fit turned into an important facet of his life, and running would become a component of this. Initially, running was something that Linn enjoyed by himself. “When I started running, I ran on my own,” Linn explained. His running routine at the time was rather informal. He wasn’t following a training schedule, keeping track of his miles, or participating in any races. During the first few months, running wasn’t necessarily an activity he longed for like he does today, but it began to grow on him. “I enjoyed playing tennis and racquetball and being active with Colleen and our friends, but running was different. It was a time for me to work out by myself. I found that I appreciated this alone time along with the other feelings associated with running.”
After Colleen finished graduate school, they moved to Manhattan, Kansas. Linn’s love for running began to rub off on Colleen. He talked about this new chapter in his running journey. “Colleen started running when we moved to Kansas. Even though we were both running, we were both usually running on our own. We weren’t running together, but it was fun to share the same passion. We also began running some races, which was a new experience for me. I found that I enjoyed the atmosphere of the races.” While in Kansas, Linn and Colleen were blessed with the birth of their first child, Kyle.
A few years later, in 1980, Colleen and Linn moved again, taking up roots in East Peoria, Illinois. This move helped to create another change in Linn’s running routine, making it an even more important part of his life. He reflected on this transition in his running journey. “My brother-in-law, Paul, and sister, Chanda, lived in Galesburg, Illinois, near East Peoria. Paul was also a runner. Up until then, I wasn’t running longer distances. Paul introduced me to the marathon distance. I ran my first marathon in Madison, Wisconsin, after moving to Illinois.” Linn’s first marathon was a success. He felt great physically.
Paul became an influence for Linn as a runner. During his time in East Peoria, Linn participated in many races. Linn talked about one of his favorite races. “Paul and I ran the Syttende Mai a few times, a twenty-mile race that started in Madison, Wisconsin, and finished in Stoughton, Wisconsin. This was one of my favorite races.” During his time in Illinois, Linn taught some fitness classes at the local YMCA in Illinois, which fit well into his active lifestyle. He was also racing often. He has run nine marathons altogether, most of them during the time that he and Colleen lived in Illinois. He has run the Chicago Marathon twice, posting his fastest time for this popular race with a three-hour and seventeen-minute finish. The last marathon that Linn completed was a few years ago. He talked about this marathon. “I ran my last marathon, the 2018 Grand Rapids Marathon, at the age of seventy. I became very dehydrated for this one and had to go to the hospital afterward. This will most likely be my last marathon.”
Linn and Colleen were blessed twice again with the birth of twin girls, Kami and Kari, in 1984 before moving to Battle Creek in 1986, where they would settle down in the Riverside area. Linn experienced something new as a runner in the Cereal City. “Up until our move to Battle Creek, I ran primarily on my own,” Linn recalled. “When we settled into our new home in Battle Creek, I began running with a group of guys. We would meet every Saturday morning, with the remainder of the week dedicated to running on my own.” The Saturday morning group became a nice routine for Linn. “Our group wasn’t all that big. On any given Saturday, we would have between two or three runners to as many as twelve. There were times when my daughters would also come and run with us. Like my runs the rest of the week, we would log our Saturday miles in the neighborhoods surrounding Riverside Elementary School.”
Linn has left an imprint on others in Battle Creek in the last forty years. Many have seen him out running, perhaps inspiring some to start running themselves or to become more active in other ways. Seeing both of their parents run has rubbed off on Linn and Colleen’s children, with the entire family being involved in an active lifestyle. Perhaps Linn’s biggest impact on the community is his desire to bring a long-distance race to Battle Creek. This desire led him to organize the first committee that ultimately led to the culmination of the Battle Creek Half Marathon put on by Cereal City Athletics.
At the age of seventy-seven, Linn is a great example of how being active can have a positive impact on the quality of life. He is a role model for many. He reflected on how running has fit into his life. “I try to run five days a week between twenty and twenty-five miles. I plan to keep running as long as my body allows me to run. I attribute longevity to running on asphalt rather than concrete and rotating shoes as a runner. Running brings me a great deal of happiness, so even though physical health is part of why I run, it is more the joy that it brings to me.”
Linn loves seeing others taking an interest in their health. He talked about this. “I believe it is very important to stay active. Over the last few years, I have seen a lot about people setting a goal of 10,000 steps a day. It’s great seeing people take an interest in their health. Unless one has a job that requires a lot of movement, achieving a goal of 10,000 or more steps a day requires an activity such as a daily run or walk. My advice is when you start an activity such as running, to give it time. You may not enjoy it at first, but give it at least six months before you decide to give up on it.”
Running has remained an important part of Linn’s life. He explained how he has adjusted his routine. “At this stage in our lives, Colleen and I have become a little more picky about running conditions. We won’t run in the rain now or if there is ice or snow on the ground. We are more cautious about our footing and falling. Although Colleen and I don’t always run together, it has been great to share this similar interest with her. We enjoy talking about running and planning our runs. She is my inspiration.”
Trying to take care of physical, mental, and emotional health can be a challenge, but it is always important in enhancing quality of life and extending the length of life. An activity such as running can check off all three. The physical benefits of running are always there. If it becomes an activity that you love, then your emotional and mental health will also be enhanced. Linn’s story is a great example of this.
Everyone has a story. Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.