JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – You know the saying, “You’re never too old or it’s never too late”. August Leone is the embodiment of that. On Saturday, he will run in his 24th Gate River Run.
“I believe the only reason I’m here is because of diet and exercise,” Leone said.
Leone has run the Gate River Run every year since 2001 except for one year.
“I was 84 that year,” Leone said. “So 2014. I didn’t because of a cruise. I got talked into going on a cruise so I regret that.”
He has the most age group records in this race, dating back to when he was 81 years old.
“Getting the awards is a lot of fun,” Leone said. “It’s exciting so I get disappointed because I can’t beat the 80 year olds anymore.”
Leone’s running journey began later in life when he retired from his engineering job. He had the idea to make healthier choices and start running. That’s when he found a training program for the annual Disney marathon.
“That’s how I got started,” Leone said. “Doing the training program and it really works if you follow it. When I did that first marathon, I finished. The wife says, ‘I hope this is the last one’. As tired as I felt, I said, ‘No’. That hooked me that I could really accomplish that. I said ‘I didn’t do all of this just to do it once.”
In fact, that wasn’t Leone’s first - just his first of many with nearly two dozen Gate River Runs in the book, including 36 half marathons and 48 marathons.
Leone records each race with details on how he did. He only keeps the medals for running Gate River Runs, half marathons, and marathons. But Leone has ran other smaller races as well -- hundreds more. And he has the bibs to prove it.
“Around 470 bibs and I even filled out the bibs with what I did on each one of them,” Leone said. “One race I’ll always remember? It would probably be my last marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. That was my last marathon at age 85. On the course, you always saw a bull moose and calf. So I’ll always remember my last marathon.”
Over the past 16 years, Leone has averaged three races each year.
“Well, always the goal is just to finish, but then I have my running time goal, for this it will be 2:45,” Leone said. “Just to finish is always the goal. As long as you finish it’s a successful run.”
Leone has cut back on his workout schedule now that he’s in his mid 90’s, but you can still find him running through his neighborhood most mornings.
“Now I’m down to like three, four days a week,” Leone said. “Mostly just three and I try to get 12-15 miles a week now. That’s about it.”
If you see him out on the course, he’ll be doing a combination of running and walking.
“I’m expecting a 17:00-17:30 pace for the Gate River Run,” Leone said. “It’s kind of embarrassing when I’m doing my run/walk and a walker passes me.”
If there’s one thing Leone has accomplished other than his 470 races - it’s that he’s proven you’re never too old to start and it’s never too late to finish.