Roanoke’s Marion Childress is a Running Inspiration

For many in the Roanoke Region, Marion Childress defines running.

He’s a race day regular. (He’s already finished 41 races this year and has another coming up on Saturday.) But not only is he a regular, he’s always smiling, taking pictures, and encouraging other runners before they start and when they hit the wall.

Since he started running in the 1980s, Childress has logged more than 800 races. 800!

So it’s no real surprise to those that know him that Childress has been named one of five national Mizuno “Power of Running to Inspire” winners. He was nominated by Fleet Feet Sports in Roanoke, won at the local level, and then was presented with the national honor.

“The power of running to inspire award is so special because of the runners that help me every day along the way in encouragement and motivation,” Childress said. “I feel that all my runner friends share in this award and to earn the award — even the other four that were selected at the Fleet Feet store in the first group — was such an honor.

“I was floored to receive the national award. 150 stores+ with 5 runners and I am amongst them is so great. Many thanks to Fleet Feet and Mizuno. Thanks to my wife Irene who supports me through these 32 plus years of racing and my mother Tracy as well.”

Childress is one of the founders of the C&C Runners group and is active in plenty of other community and running events.

Here’s a snippet from the Blue Ridge Marathon blog about Childress (who has run that race all seven times):

“On paper Marion Childress fits all the criteria of what makes someone exceptional … war vet, cancer survivor, the fact that he is still running marathons in his 60s. But once you actually meet this man, you understand instantly why he’s more than just exceptional … he’s genuinely inspiring. First off you’d be hard pressed to find a running event in a 25 mile radius of Roanoke that Marion isn’t a regular participant in, from pub runs, to the C&C Running events to every 10k, half marathon, or marathon on both trail and road … you can count on Marion. The sheer number of events he participates in each week is baffling.”

While Childress finds inspiration in all the other running around him, he does have a little advice for runners of all experience levels:

“Follow your passion whether new to running or not, run for life, run with passion and make running a lifetime pursuit, you will never regret it. Be sure to record your racing, and use your gift to take you far and fast. Keep moving!”