Runner Spotlight - Steve Bush
“Running” for Office
My running career started back in the third grade at Parkwood Elementary School in 1976. I went on to run at River Valley middle school. Our class was the first class to attend all three years first, since it was a new building. A highlight during my time at River Valley was setting a school record each year in the 800, 1200 and the mile my 8th grade year at 5:14. I ran at Jeffersonville High School becoming a letter winner and running 16:41 for the 5k in cross country and a 9:54 two mile time during track. I only started to really train during my senior year and into my college years, running in the off months from cross country and track.
I attended Indiana State University as a walk on and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Criminology and minoring in Psychology. I ran all 4 years from 1986-1990 running track events from the mile to the steeplechase and 10k. I became a letterman my second year. I mostly ran the 5k in track which was my favorite event. It required speed along with strength. I don’t think I really ran as fast as I could over my college years related to my training. I don’t think I grasp how to train until my later years, meaning well into my 40’s and actually during marathon training, which I will explain later. I ran my fastest 5k indoors at a meet at the IU facility. I ran a 15:18 during my senior year but did not run any faster. My mile PR was done in a workout during my senior year in track (mile hard, 5 miles at sub 6-minute pace, mile hard). I posted a 4:29 my first mile in that workout. I ran the 10K once and the steeplechase a few times.
Once I graduated from ISU, I was employed with the New Albany Police Department in 1991. I have been with them for over 29 years. I am currently at our highest merited rank of Captain overseeing a patrol shift. I was in an executive command staff as Major overseeing payroll and budgets, commander over our Criminal Investigation division, SWAT team member, bike patrol coordinator, general instructor and a field training officer. During my time as a patrol officer, I developed a reputation that the bad guys would not get away from me. There were many challenges on this front but only a few had succeeded. As runners, take into consideration that I was carrying an extra 20 lbs. of equipment, they usually had a head start and I was not wearing running shoes or warmed up. I would go from a resting heart rate of 50 to chasing someone with a heart rate I am sure of exceeding 100.
Between the years of 2004 to 2016, I was a Floyd County Commissioner and President 6 of those 12 years overseeing planning and zoning of Floyd County. My professional career has led me to run for Floyd County Sheriff, which will be in 2022. I look forward to continuing to serve my community that I have raised a family.
All this has led me to finally pursuing the opportunity to run a marathon. I ran my first marathon in 2015 at the Chicago Marathon in hopes of breaking 3 hours. I feel short running 3:26, walking and jogging the last 5 miles. I was not prepared and did not respect the marathon distance enough. So, I wanted to try again but more importantly I wanted to quality for the Boston Marathon. I ran in the Louisville Marathon in 2017 running a qualifying time for a 49-year-old in 3:06:49. During that year at age 49, I ran in the Anthem 5k running 16:28(2.93) short course so probably a 17:15-17:25, which is my master’s PR. During that year I ran Fast Freddie’s 5 miler in 28:57 and Lanesville 8 miler in 51:05. During 2016 at age 48 I ran a master’s mile PR of 5:00.05, Derby Festival half marathon PR of 1:23:02. Training for a marathon made me stronger to run faster in other races, logging more miles and strength workouts.
So, it began, training for one of the most iconic marathons in history, the Boston Marathon in October 2017. This time around, I started by building my miles up the first three months. Then 4 months of three workouts a week including a long run on the weekends and marathon pace workouts. During this 27 weeks of training for one race, I ran the most miles since college in a week 62 at the peak point in my training, most miles in a month and my longest training run of 22 miles, which I ran by myself. I arrived in Boston in April 2018 prepared but I was not expecting the weather. It was 41 degrees, 30 mph head wind and rain. The windchill was below freezing. However, I was not going to change my goals. I did not put in all the hard training plus cost to just jog it. My goal was to break 3 hours and that is what I set out to do. I went through the half-way in 1:28 and some change and feeling alright. I stayed on pace and made it through the Newton hills. Those hills and heart break were no joke. I was still on pace up to 22 and then the wheels started to come off. The last mile I was seeing spots and lightheaded. I finished in 3:06:05 with a new PR. Not the goal of breaking 3 but more important is the fact that I had the courage and will power to finish. It is a race that I will never forget and will use to tell stories.
In 2020 during a COVID pandemic crisis most races have been cancelled and gone to virtual. Something we all had to get use to or adapt. I decided, without structure training plan, to run the virtual Marathon Core Marathon tri-fecta at the request of my sister-in-law and nephew. This included a 31-mile run, 10k and a marathon. You had a little over a month to complete but I did them in 3 three weeks. Up first was the 31-mile run. I had two friends help me through 18 and then I was on my own. I completed all 31 miles in 4:29:49, moving time around 8:15 pace. Once I passed the 26-mile point in this run, I realized that I was going to become an ultra-marathoner. At 28-mile mark though, my knee popped out and I had to pop it back in place. I finished but this was the first time it popped out while running that I could remember. I went on to finish the 10k the following week and then the marathon the next week in 3:26:37. The knee felt weak and so no running since. A torn meniscus surgery completed on Feb. 1, 2021 and recovery begins.
The biggest advice I would give other runners is this, have fun. Have fun no matter what level you are. Enjoy the process of being fit and know it will not happen overnight. It’s truly a marathon and not a sprint.
I enjoy running the River City rRces because they are close to home. There is no feeling like showing up and preparing to compete with area runners. Each morning of the races, the excitement is in the air and to toe the line to compete is exhilarating. As I get older, the goals change, but God has blessed me to keep running and do so at a competitive level with other runners my age.
Thank you for allowing me to share my journey.
Check out Steve's campaign video here, it's truly inspiring!
Racing & Reminiscing - 1995 KDF miniMarathon
The 1995 KDF miniMarathon was the 22nd version and a second win for Jim Estes (also won in 1988) and the first win for Lexington's Becky Reinhold.
Estes also won the Vencor Stakes 15k so was two for three in the 1995 Triple Crown (he did not run the first race, the Rodes City Run).
Nice weather helped draw a record 4500 finishers to the race which still started out by Iroquois Park and finished at Fifth and Market.
If you have any memories and/or pictures of the 1995 KDF miniMarathon, we'd love to see and you can share them on our Facebook page or email to runrivercity@gmail.com and we'll post them for you.
Racing & Reminiscing - 1995 Rodes City Run
The 1995 edition of the Rodes City Run, first leg of the Louisville Triple Crown of Running was the 15th Anniversary of the race and had the closest finish in the history of the race.
The battle to the finish between eventual winner Rob Shoaf and Bob Kelly was settled by a lean in 30:16 for 10k. Just over 3,800 finishers in near perfect weather for the 15th edition. Karlene Herrell was the overall women's winner with Junior Rice and Nanc Spillner winning the wheelchair divisions.
Click here for the article and photos and here for the results.
If you have any memories and/or pictures of the 1995 Rodes City Run, we'd love to see and you can share them on our Facebook page or email to runrivercity@gmail.com and we'll post them for you.
Runner Spotlight - Suzanne Dodson
Hi! My name is Suzanne Dodson and I run to burn off the crazy (true fact! I have WAY too much energy)!!! What started in the Fall of 2011 as walking to get away from an unhappy
situation morphed into running when my friend, Jan Shekell, who was a REAL runner (she ran Boston TWICE!) challenged me to run the Mini Marathon in the Spring of 2012! I’m an Aries and a natural redhead so of course I took the challenge and started running! Lucky for me that someone caught me early on and told me that I should TRAIN for a Half Marathon - normal people don’t just up and run 13.1 miles one day because they feel the urge! Best. Advice. Ever. I downloaded a plan and trained and in the Spring of 2012 the addiction became real! That first half marathon was the most fun!!! And every single race since then has only fueled the fire!!! I love to run!!! I ran by myself for the longest time and it was great, but then about six years ago I discovered my Fleet Feet running family and things have only gotten better!!!
Favorite Distance? I like a good Half Marathon. I’ve done a few Marathons and they are fun, but there is SO much training that goes into one!! A Half Marathon is fun and exciting and just about the time you start to get a little tired, it’s done! I have one last Marathon on my radar and then I will stick to only the Halfs!
Best Running Advice: Take the time to enjoy the run! Training is fun and getting faster is fun, but honestly running should be a good way to relax and shrug off the troubles of the day or the week or the year! Find your team and let them make your run better. The support you will get from a fellow runner is like no other. They will lift you up when you are feeling down or cheer you across the finish line or support you when you have an injury and are losing your mind because all you want to do is run! Oh! and never skip a good hill!!! Hills are the challenge that can make your day! I have a friend who hated hills when we both started running together - I swear she is starting to look forward to them now because you feel like such a bada** when you run all the way to the top together without breaking stride! I LOVE to run the hills!!
River City Races: I do love the River City Races! The Polar Bear Grand Prix races are some of my favorite races!!! They are super affordable and you get to run Cherokee Hills! And there are usually tons of my FF teammates running together, all of us pushing ourselves to win one of the finisher medals!! I have a very fond memory of my friend Kaitlin pushing me SO HARD during the Frostbite 5K to win a medal! The Santa Sprint has been a great deal of fun over the years we even ran it in the pouring rain a couple of years ago! The Downtown Doubler on the Greenway is so much fun!
There will be days when I don’t know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have!