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Submitted Photo St. Cloud resident Denny Fryman, 65, has 904 marathons under his belt, with his next goal to reach 1,000 by his 70th birthday. He ranks number third in active North American marathon runners and 18th in world megamarathon (over 50 miles) rankings.

By Tiffanie Reynolds Staff Writer

For Denny Fryman, one running goal wasnt enough.

The 65 year-old St. Cloud resident has 904 marathons under his belt, with his next goal to reach 1,000 by his 70th birthday. He ranks third in active North American marathon runners and 18th in world megamarathon (over 50 miles) rankings.

His secret? To only compete with yourself. Thats what got him started running his first marathon in 1977, making it in four hours and 12 minutes. A couple of months later, he found himself completing three more trying to beat that time.

He was running a third consecutive marathon when he met Sy Mah, a Canadian who worked as a college physical education teacher and became Frymans running mentor. He was impressed by Frymans drive and started to give him more goals as a runner. He also gave Fryman two pieces of advice: Dont worry about whos faster and always stay hungry.

Always have an appetite for the next event, have an enthusiasm for the next event, and savor it, and youll never get burnt out. I carry it to this day, Fryman said.

Every year after that, Fryman ran six marathons, then eight, then ten. Now, he runs between 20 to 25 marathons a year, usually averaging around 23. His longest marathon was a 24-hour run, in which he was able to complete 87 miles.

The rest is here:
St. Cloud retiree runs up more than 900 marathons, 3rd in U.S.