‘Part-time’ runner still going strong at 51

Rawlins, 51, won the men’s 50-54 division with a time of 35 minutes, 29.16 seconds. The 6.2-mile race — all on a track — was held in Oshkosh, Wis.

“It was the first time I’d run a track race since 1981,” Rawlins joked.

Rawlins, a three-time Olympic trial qualifier, now has his winning medal displayed on a shelf overlooking his dinner table.

Rawlins has two sons, Chris, 22, and Kevin, 19.

“Chris has autism so he’ll be with me the rest of my life,” Rawlins said. “I have to give a big thanks to my mom and dad (Tom and Shirley Rawlins). They watched Chris the whole weekend I was in Oshkosh.”

“It’s been a long career, about 100,000 miles of running,” he said. “I’m still going strong.”

In his words

"This whole running thing is pretty much my life. It's what I do. It's who I am.

"My brother got me interested into oldies music. The Beach Boys just came to Dayton. Of course, there's only two left.

" 'Andy Griffith' is the only show to me that's still clean, wholesome. Me and about three or four other people at work play the characters and say the lines. We have a good time.

"I consider myself a bowler now, and just a part-time runner. I'm working on that 300 game. I average about 190.

"My favorite sport is actually football — I'm just too small for it.

"(The Florida Gators) will win it all this year. I don't see how they can lose. They've got everyone back."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9377 or asedlak@DaytonDailyNews.com.