We’re very proud of our Salomon Independence Run and Hike Team Member Ron Lund who recently ran 2:59 for the marathon at the age of 59.  This makes him one of only 35 other people in the world to run a sub-3 hour marathon in 5 consecutive decades!  This was no easy feat for Ron, he put in a ton of hard work and ran countless miles in order to reach this goal.
Running has always been a huge part of Ron Lund’s Life.

From an early age, the Basalt High School cross country coach  would lace up his running shoes every morning and hit the pavement, track and trails looking to get in a good workout. After watching his oldest brother compete in a marathon, Lund was inspired to give it a try.

The now 59-year-old completed his first marathon — the Mission Bay Marathon in San Diego — just a month before his 15th birthday.

From there Ron set off on a competitive running career that he capped off May 7 at the Mount Charleston Marathon just outside of Las Vegas with a sub-3 hour (2:59:15) finish, joining a prestigious club of just 35 people in the world who have completed at least one marathon in less than three hours in five consecutive decades.

Ron spoke with us a bit about this huge achievement.

“Making the 5 Decade Sub 3 hour club was a huge goal of mine. It started in 2010 when I first became aware that the list existed and it was something I could attain with a sub 3 this decade. After 4 failed attempts over 5 years and several injury plagued seasons I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen. After a close call in November (3:05) I thought I would give it another try, this time in a spring Marathon on a course that looked fast.

My training over the winter went very well, and 7 weeks prior to the race I ran a 1:30+ half-marathon on a flat course that indicated I was on schedule to give it a solid effort. I ran several threshold runs a week, always on slight or steep downhills to prep for the course. To avoid getting injured I kept my mileage under 70 mikes a weekand  my longest run was 18 miles.

I knew I was going to need good weather if it were to happen and that is exactly what we got, unseasonably cool for Vegas in May. It was also very beneficial that my training partner Giles Cote was in the race. Though we didn’t run together but maybe a mile or two during the race I could gauge how I was doing based on where he was and the pace he was running and vise versa. It ended up being a very special day, and I can’t thank my friends and family enough for all the support and encouragement over the years.”