Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Ryan McGill and Jenny Lynn Davis, and courtesy of the Duer Family
At 91 years old, William “Bill” Duer has slowed down, but only a little.
A t-shirt hanging on the wall of his room at Water Oak Villa, the Jasper-based assisted living facility where he now resides, reads “2020 Sardis Dam 5K,” a quiet reminder that it wasn’t all that long ago that he was still running.
Oddly enough, he didn’t start out as an athlete.
“I was never active in school sports,” he admits. “Whatever I did was just personal, nothing organized.”
It wasn’t until he was 43 that he decided to take up running, first for his health, and then, simply because he loved it.
What started with casual neighborhood jogs quickly turned into something much bigger. His first official race, a 5K in Kingwood, Texas, sparked a competitive fire in him.
“From my very first race, I put in so much effort that I did pretty well,” he says. “And that just made me want to keep going.”
And keep going, he did. For over 20 years, Bill ran every single day, never missing a run, even when he was sick.
“Some days were on a treadmill, some on a track,” he says. “But most were long runs, marathons. The only time I ever took a day off was right before a marathon.”
Completing a race here and there wasn’t enough for Bill. He set his sights higher.
“One of my goals was to complete marathons in as many states as possible,” he recalls. “I ended up running marathons in 39 states before I had to stop competing.”
From Texas to Colorado, from Arkansas to the East Coast, Bill logged miles across the country, turning his love of running into an adventure that took him to places he might never have seen otherwise.
Of all the races he ran, the Pikes Peak Marathon stands out. A grueling race up a 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado, it’s not for the faint of heart.
“It’s not on a road, it’s a trail straight up the mountainside,” he explains. “I ran it twice. The second time, I even won a trophy in my age group. I think I was about 76 at the time.”
Asked what kept him running every day, he doesn’t hesitate.
“The sense of accomplishment. I thrived on the encouragement from others. Knowing that people noticed and respected what I was doing motivated me to keep going.”
His greatest supporter was his wife, Beckie.
“She was younger than me by 17 years, so she could keep up,” he says with a smile. “She was the most instrumental person in keeping me running in my later years.”
But while running may have defined Bill in one way, it’s only a piece of the puzzle. His life has been anything but ordinary.
“I’ve always liked a challenge,” he says. And he means it.
Take his love of flying, for example.
“In the early ‘70s, I bought a plane, not a great one, but I loved it,” he says. Later, his wife surprised him with a new one for Christmas. “That was a real treat,” he says with a grin.
Then there were motorcycles. “I rode for a while,” he says casually, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to take up both flying and motorcycles in the middle of life.
Later, he shifted from piloting planes to building and flying remote-controlled ones.
And then there’s his academic side. Bill has a doctorate in psychology and spent years teaching at various universities.
“I didn’t originally see myself going into education,” he admits. “But I had professors who encouraged me, and that made a huge difference.”
His work focused heavily on motivation and goal setting, principles he applied to his own life, whether in running, parenting his daughters Debra and Roxi, teaching, or taking on new challenges.
“My doctoral work helped me understand how people push themselves to achieve things,” he says. “If you set a realistic, structured plan and stick to it, you can accomplish more than you ever thought possible.”
Even now, he has advice for those thinking about starting something new, whether it’s running or anything else.
“Commitment,” he says firmly. “You have to set a goal and stick to it. Start with short walk-runs, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. Build up gradually. Most people quit too soon because they push themselves too hard in the beginning. It’s better to pace yourself and focus on consistency.”
Bill has never been content to sit still, and even now, he frequently walks the halls of Water Oak Villa, greeting friends, making it to Bingo games, and heading outside to enjoy some sunlight.
Whether it was running marathons, flying planes, or studying human behavior, he’s spent his life chasing knowledge, chasing adventure, and, quite literally, chasing the finish line.
“Running shaped who I am,” he says. “It gave me purpose.”
And even when the races end, the runner remains. WL
