Mark Warren; Still a Kid at Heart
Mark quips, “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” He started running as a result of Lesley’s running and the camaraderie with BHRC. He is now an active runner and volunteers to help with many of the Club events.
Mark and Lesley met in Alaska when they were both working in a parts department of a automobile dealership in Anchorage. He was born in Nebraska but raised in Minnesota on the White Earth Chippewa Indian Reservation at Mahnomen. The family had a small ranch on the reservation outside the town, which now features the Tribe’s successful “Shooting Star” casino. He started college at Moorhead State in Minnesota, but the call of the wild took him north to Alaska. He worked on pipeline construction for two years, returned to Minnesota and spent about a year “easy rider style” motorcycling around the United States. He later returned to Anchorage and was working for the automobile dealership when Lesley came in for a job interview. They were married in Anchorage in 1994.
Mark did not run in high school and smoked until he was 30. When his employer offered a $200 reward for anyone who would stop smoking, he took him up on it and quit “cold turkey.” He admitted that he did a little bit of running on a treadmill while in Alaska. Three years ago, your editor and Mark went to the Big Horns as support staff for the other runners. When Roger Heacock was able to walk on and register, we followed him and on-site registered for the 30km. Mark did well, finishing a full hour ahead of your editor. The next year when he ran it a second time, he took an hour off his previous run. This past year, he ran the 50km in 7-1/2 hours. He now runs 20-30 miles a week. The Big Horns run is his favorite, but he has also run the half marathon at the Deadwood Mickelson Trail and Crazy Horse half marathon last year. The Bridger Ridge 20-mile run has been the most challenging. He ran the CASA half marathon in 1:46. His goal for the Monumental Challenge half marathon is to finish in under 1:50.
Mark is more humble than he should be. He states, “I’m pretty slow at races, and they are just sort of a motivation to train… What I really like about running is the Wednesday night runs…, the weekend trail runs and all the great people I’ve met.”