Don Cotton is convinced that if he can run a 5K, anyone can, and he’s earned 14 medals in the past year to prove the point.

His story starts with a walk that went very wrong.

“As I got into my fifties, my doctor stayed on me that I needed some exercise. He commented, “If you’d just walk every day, and get your heart rate up for about 15 minutes, it’d do you a world of good.”

Walking in his neighborhood bored him, so he changed his routine.

“I go to the post office every day at 10:30,” he said. “So I started going early. I’d park, walk around the square, see people and speak to them, and head back to the post office.”

He was headed back toward his car one Saturday morning, crossing the street from Sonic to the Daisy Cleaners, when a truck turned off East Three Notch Street.

“He didn’t stop,” Cotton recalled. “IN the last instant, I thought, ‘You’ve got to get up.’ I knew if he knocked me down, he’d run over me.”

The truck did, indeed, hit him. But Cotton pushed on the hood and jumped “as high as my overweight body could.” When he fell, he rolled to the curb, out of harm’s way.

Cotton motioned the driver, whom he knew, on his way, and started walking toward his car. By the time he reached city hall, the adrenaline had worn off, and he realized he did, indeed, hurt. Someone who’d witnessed the accident pulled alongside of him and offered to take him to the hospital, but he declined.

“I went to the doctor on Monday,” he said. “Nothing was broken, but I got scared to walk, because people in Andalusia aren’t paying attention to walkers and runners and bicycles.”

Weeks later, Jan White arrived to help him with his Sunday morning radio show and told him she was going to run a 5K.

“I was like, ‘Yea, OK,’ ” he recalled. “She said, ‘No, really. I am.”

He watched her complete a 12-week training program and, sure enough, run a 5K.

“I thought if she could do that, I could,” he said. “So when they started the Run for God training last fall, I signed up.”

Cotton had never run before, and never been an athlete. He didn’t know many of the participants. Casey White was his team leader.

“The first day out, we were going to walk for five minutes, then she would blow the whistle and we would run for one minute, then she’d blow the whistle and we’d walk for five minutes again.”

That first minute of running seemed like an eternity, he said.

“Matter of fact, I really thought her whistle was broken,” he said. “It was all I could do to run.”

But he stuck with it. The Run for God program is based on the couch to 5K running plan, but also incorporates a spiritual element.

“The inspirational, spiritual-based tie-in, plus the camaraderie, friendship and accountability that goes along with it helped me,” he said. “With somebody counting on me and expecting me to be t here, I could do it.”

His class “graduated” with the Civitan 5K that was part of Candyland last December. This year’s class also is timed to prepare people for that run.

“But some of us kept going,” he said. “We call our group ‘staying fit for the king.’ Cindy Howard was gracious to let us work from St. Mary’s, so we meet there in the afternoons.”

Cotton said when he participates in 5Ks, he often sees 80-year-old participants.

“Maybe in another 20 years, I can do it,” he said.

Meanwhile, his cholesterol and blood pressure have improved, and he’s dropped 20 to 25 pounds. Being in the habit of running makes him think twice about desserts, he said.

“I look at it an say, ‘I can live without it.’ ”

Approximately 130 people signed up for the spring class, and roughly half of them finished. The fall class that begins next month will be divided into three groups, with early morning, morning, and evening classes.

Related story: Next running class begins in September

Jennifer O’Neal, who was instrumental in starting the group, will lead the 5 a.m. group with the help of Kathy Alexander and Teresa Ward.

Doty Henderson and Dana Kennedy will lead the 8 a.m. class; and Cotton will lead the 5:45 p.m. classes.

“The class is the same for everybody each week, so if you miss one, you can pick up a run, or join another class,” Cotton said.

“This has really worked for me. If I can do it, anybody can.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Cotton is convinced that if he can run a 5K, anyone can, and he’s earned 14 medals in the past year to prove the point.

His story starts with a walk that went very wrong.

“As I got into my fifties, my doctor stayed on me that needed some exercise. He commented, “If you’d just walk every day, and get your heart rate up for about 15 minutes, it’d do you a world of good.”

Walking in his neighborhood bored him, so he changed his routine.

“I go to the post office every day at 10:30,” he said. “So I started going early. I’d park, walk around the square, see people and speak to them, and head back to the post office.”

He was headed back toward his car one Saturday morning, crossing the street from Sonic to the Daisy Cleaners, when a truck turned off East Three Notch Street.

“He didn’t stop,” Cotton recalled. “IN the last instant, I thought, ‘You’ve got to get up.’ I knew if he knocked me down, he’d run over me.”

The truck did, indeed, hit him. But Cotton pushed on the hood and jumped “as high as my overweight body could.” When he fell, he rolled to the curb, out of harm’s way.

Cotton motioned the driver, whom he knew, on his way, and started walking toward his car. By the time he reached city hall, the adrenaline had worn off, and he realized he did, indeed, hurt. Someone who’d witnessed the accident pulled alongside of him and offered to take him to the hospital, but he declined.

“I went to the doctor on Monday,” he said. “Nothing was broken, but I got scared to walk, because people in Andalusia aren’t paying attention to walkers and runners and bicycles.

Weeks later, Jan White arrived to help him with his Sunday morning radio show and told him she was going to run a 5K.

“I was like, ‘Yea, OK,’ ” he recalled. “She said, ‘No, really. I am.”

He watched her completed a 12-week training program and, sure enough, run a 5K.

“I thought if she could do that, I could,” he said. “So when they started the Run for God training last fall, I signed up.”

Cotton had never run before, and never been an athlete. He didn’t know many of the participants. Casey White was his team leader.

“The first day out, we were going to walk for five minutes, then she would blow the whistle and we would run for one minute, then she’d blow the whistle and we’d walk for five minutes again.”

That first minute of running seemed like an eternity, he said.

“Matter of fact, I really thought her whistle was broken,” he said. “I was all I could do to run.”

But he stuck with it. The Run for God program is based on the couch to 5K running plan, but also incorporates a spiritual element.

“The inspirational, spiritual-based tie-in, plus the camaraderie, friendship and accountability that goes along with it helped me,” he said. “With somebody counting on me and expecting me to be t here, I could do it.”

His class “graduated” with the Civitan 5K that was part of Candyland last December. This year’s class also is timed to prepare people for that run.

“But some of us kept going,” he said. “We call our group ‘staying fit for the king.’ Cindy Howard was gracious to let us work from St. Mary’s, so we meet there in the afternoons.”

Cotton said when he participates in 5Ks, he often sees 80-year-old participants.

“Maybe in another 20 years, I can do it,” he said.

Meanwhile, his cholesterol and blood pressure have improved, and he’s dropped 20 to 25 pounds. Being in the habit of running makes him think twice about desserts, he said.

“I look at it an say, ‘I can live without it.’ ”

Approximately 130 people signed up for the spring class, and roughly half of them finished. The fall class that begins next month will be divided into three groups, with early morning, morning, and evening classes.

Jennifer O’Neal, who was instrumental in starting the group, will lead the 5 a.m. group with the help of Kathy Alexander and Teresa Ward.

Doty Henderson and Dana Kennedy will lead the 8 a.m. class; and Cotton will lead the 5:45 p.m. classes.

“The class is the same for everybody each week, so if you miss one, you can pick up a run, or join another class,” Cotton said.

“This has really worked for me. If I can do it, anybody can.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don Cotton is convinced that if he can run a 5K, anyone can, and he’s earned 14 medals in the past year to prove the point.

His story starts with a walk that went very wrong.

“As I got into my fifties, my doctor stayed on me that needed some exercise. He commented, “If you’d just walk every day, and get your heart rate up for about 15 minutes, it’d do you a world of good.”

Walking in his neighborhood bored him, so he changed his routine.

“I go to the post office every day at 10:30,” he said. “So I started going early. I’d park, walk around the square, see people and speak to them, and head back to the post office.”

He was headed back toward his car one Saturday morning, crossing the street from Sonic to the Daisy Cleaners, when a truck turned off East Three Notch Street.

“He didn’t stop,” Cotton recalled. “IN the last instant, I thought, ‘You’ve got to get up.’ I knew if he knocked me down, he’d run over me.”

The truck did, indeed, hit him. But Cotton pushed on the hood and jumped “as high as my overweight body could.” When he fell, he rolled to the curb, out of harm’s way.

Cotton motioned the driver, whom he knew, on his way, and started walking toward his car. By the time he reached city hall, the adrenaline had worn off, and he realized he did, indeed, hurt. Someone who’d witnessed the accident pulled alongside of him and offered to take him to the hospital, but he declined.

“I went to the doctor on Monday,” he said. “Nothing was broken, but I got scared to walk, because people in Andalusia aren’t paying attention to walkers and runners and bicycles.

Weeks later, Jan White arrived to help him with his Sunday morning radio show and told him she was going to run a 5K.

“I was like, ‘Yea, OK,’ ” he recalled. “She said, ‘No, really. I am.”

He watched her completed a 12-week training program and, sure enough, run a 5K.

“I thought if she could do that, I could,” he said. “So when they started the Run for God training last fall, I signed up.”

Cotton had never run before, and never been an athlete. He didn’t know many of the participants. Casey White was his team leader.

“The first day out, we were going to walk for five minutes, then she would blow the whistle and we would run for one minute, then she’d blow the whistle and we’d walk for five minutes again.”

That first minute of running seemed like an eternity, he said.

“Matter of fact, I really thought her whistle was broken,” he said. “I was all I could do to run.”

But he stuck with it. The Run for God program is based on the couch to 5K running plan, but also incorporates a spiritual element.

“The inspirational, spiritual-based tie-in, plus the camaraderie, friendship and accountability that goes along with it helped me,” he said. “With somebody counting on me and expecting me to be t here, I could do it.”

His class “graduated” with the Civitan 5K that was part of Candyland last December. This year’s class also is timed to prepare people for that run.

“But some of us kept going,” he said. “We call our group ‘staying fit for the king.’ Cindy Howard was gracious to let us work from St. Mary’s, so we meet there in the afternoons.”

Cotton said when he participates in 5Ks, he often sees 80-year-old participants.

“Maybe in another 20 years, I can do it,” he said.

Meanwhile, his cholesterol and blood pressure have improved, and he’s dropped 20 to 25 pounds. Being in the habit of running makes him think twice about desserts, he said.

“I look at it and say, ‘I can live without it.’ ”

Approximately 130 people signed up for the spring class, and roughly half of them finished. The fall class that begins next month will be divided into three groups, with early morning, morning, and evening classes.

Jennifer O’Neal, who was instrumental in starting the group, will lead the 5 a.m. group with the help of Kathy Alexander and Teresa Ward.

Doty Henderson and Dana Kennedy will lead the 8 a.m. class; and Cotton will lead the 5:45 p.m. classes.

“The class is the same for everybody each week, so if you miss one, you can pick up a run, or join another class,” Cotton said.

“This has really worked for me. If I can do it, anybody can.”