TSR Runner of the Week-Chris Fannin
By: Kayla Dodd
Congratulations to TSR Runner of the Week Chris Fannin, from Greenup, KY! He has been on his running journey for 5 years now and is loving it. Running has had a huge impact on his life and he is also able to help others through his running journey. His first race was the Old Fashioned Days 5k in Greenup. His current PR is 48 miles at a 12 hour race in Dayton, OH (2016). His 2017 running goals are to complete his first marathon in under 4 hours. He said, “Hopefully this will take place at the Youngstown Marathon in June. The most important goal for this year, however, is to complete at least 1,000 miles. I started a campaign called “Chris Runs For Kidneys” to raise money for a childhood friend who is scheduled to receive a kidney transplant very soon.” How awesome is this?!
When asked what motivates him to run, Chris said, “Getting healthy motivated me in the beginning. From that, I started to see that my kids were paying attention so that helped serve as motivation. I believe seeing me teaches them about setting goals, working hard, and reaching them. This year’s motivation has been centered on “collecting pennies”. I have had a significant amount of friends and coworkers pledge to donate a penny for every mile that I run in 2017. All of those pennies will go to assist my childhood friend.”
Running across the bridges in the Florida Keys at the Ragnar Relay event was definitely the coolest running experience for Chris. He also said, “I’ve ran in several Ragnars and you honestly see so many weird things at those events. There are just too many to mention.” He has alot of running plans and events on his running calendar but the upcoming races he is currently training and working towards are the Youngstown Marathon, Bourbon Chase and another 12 hour Ultra this coming October. His dream race is of course the Boston Marathon!!!! He said, “My plan is to be able to qualify once I get into the 45 year old age group.” His favorite running/motivational quote is: “Embrace the suck.”
When asked what has been his best experience from running he said, “Running with my wife. I would have never dreamed ten years ago that we would be participating in so many running events together. We train together on Fridays and I consider those sessions as sacred.”
Chris had a little trouble deciding his favorite brand of running shoes but ended up saying that Asics are his favorite. “Asics. I mean Adidas. No, Asics…” His favorite piece of running gear is his Garmin. He mentioned that he doesn’t feel like the run happened unless it was recorded on his Garmin! His farthest race distance to date was a 48.60 mile run in October of 2016.
When asked what advice he would give to a beginner runner he said, “Don’t get 'hung up' on your time compared to everyone else’s. Like I tell my 14 year old son, you’re are racing against your last time. That’s the only thing that is 100% under your control.”
Like I mentioned earlier, running has had a huge impact on Chris’s life and benefitted him tremendously! When asked how much it has changed his life he said this, “Oh, let me count the ways. Obviously, I feel healthier. Most importantly, though, it has changed the way I view my life; past, present and future. Running has proved to me that so many roadblocks that we see in front of us are either placed there by us or not nearly as difficult to navigate around as we believe. My running experiences have taught me what people mean when they speak about the 'human spirit'.”
To follow Chris on his 1,000 mile journey, you can check it out on his Facebook Page “Chris Runs For Kidneys” https://www.facebook.com/ipledgeapenny/! Congrats to Chris on all of his running achievements​ and accomplishments. We know you will knock out this 1,000 miles. Keep up the awesome work, Team TSR will see you at the Finish Line!