EDWARDSVILLE – Don Oplt, 64, of Edwardsville, still has the competitive drive to enter area road races and it paid off for him Saturday in Alton.
Oplt had a big day in the Alton Half-Marathon and 5K, placing second in his 60-plus age division with a time of 31:23. He followed his age division winner Robert Janet, who won with a time of 28:16. Richard Basden was third with a time of 33:37.
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“I have belonged to the Alton Road Runners and running clubs in Illinois and Missouri through my time of running,” he said. “I recommend running or walking to anyone who is healthy enough to do it Running is what keeps me healthy and it will do the same for other people.”
Oplt said he runs three or four times a week outside on bike trails in Edwardsville, now that spring has come. During the winter, he said he typically runs inside on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville indoor track.
The Edwardsville man is retired and said he spent 33 years working for a chemical plant in East St. Louis. Oplt has completed an astonishing 30 26.2-mile marathons in his running career.
“My first marathon was in Chicago in 1988,” he said. “I did the Boston Marathon in 1994. It was a really nice race. People kept talking about the legendary hill at Boston, but I didn’t pay too much to it or the crowd. I also did a marathon in Dublin, Ireland.”
Oplt said he tries to keep a 9- or 10-minute-a-mile pace in road races and plans to continue to run and compete “as long as I can.”
