CLEVELAND — Running is second nature for 72-year-old Terry Fox, who is a retired biology teacher and cross country coach in Cuyahoga Falls.

What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of people came to downtown Akron for the 23rd annual Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay on Saturday

  • Terry Fox is running in this year's relay race with the Grandmasters Rule running team, which is composed of athletes 55 and older

  • The first people to finish the marathon, half marathon and relay race were awarded in their respective categories, including by age.

“I actually started road racing in 1989 and I’ve been at it ever since,” Fox said.

He’s competed in 18 relay races since the FirstEnergy Akron Marathon, Half Marathon and Team Relay began in 2003. Now, thousands of people lace up their sneakers each year to take part in the competition. Since its creation, the event has brought in athletes from all over the country, and even across the globe.

“On the Saturday that they ran that race, the first year, I was in charge of a league cross-country meet at Firestone Metropark, so I didn't get to do the first one,” he said.

After leaving the textbooks behind, he's traveling the Towpath trail.

“This is the direction that the marathon runners and the relay runners never will be running on Saturday,” Fox said.

But Fox isn’t running these paths alone. He created the Grandmasters Rule running team several years ago, and it currently has five members and only two requirements.

“They had to be 50 or older, and they had to be faster than me,” he said.

After two consecutive wins in previous years, Fox said they’re preparing to take home the gold again.

“My friend Jackie here is going to be running two legs, two consecutively, you can do that,” he said. “And one of the guys, the guy who's taking our lead off, is actually running the half marathon, but he's running the first leg of the relay for us.”

Steve Marks, who cofounded the Akron Marathon with Jeanine Marks, said running is open to all ages.

“If you count the fun run, age two all the way up to 80,” he said.

Besides the encouragement he receives from his friends, Fox said his competitive nature has kept him going all of these years.

“I know every time we sit – go up the line and toe up the line, get ready to go — the butterflies are there every race and it's like, here we go,” he said.

Regardless of who winds the race, Fox said his journey is far from over.

“You don't stop playing because you get old,” Fox said. “You get old because you stop playing, and my goal is to play for as long and as hard as I can.”