In March, Dennis Goodrich decided to make a change in his life. After ignoring his wellbeing for a long time, he set out to lose weight and become healthier. 

 

Right after St. Patrick’s Day, he weighed 255 lbs. and now he is an impressive 188 lbs. This 67 lb. weight loss has made him as light as he was in 1989! In early January, he hopes to be down to 175 lbs. so that it becomes easier to maintain his weight for optimal strength and endurance levels. His secondary goal for 2019 is to get his time under 23 minutes for a 5K (3.1 miles) distance. 

 

Although Dennis is 52 years old, he has proven that age is only a number. He competed in his first race since high school at the Monticello River Fest. There were 225 participants who ran, and he took second in his age group with a time of 26:39. The second race was Hanover Harvest Fest. At that event, 266 people competed, and he took sixth in his age group with a time of 25:10. The most recent race for Dennis was the Becker Harvest Festival, where 35 runners were in his age group. He placed second with a time of 26:16.

 

Dennis participated in track and field along with football and basketball from 7th to 12th grade. At the end of his basketball season during senior year, he sprained his ankle and was not able to excel in track and field that spring, the way he would have liked. It is something that has bothered him over the years—to not be able to shave time from his personal best mile, which was 4 minutes and 50 seconds as a junior. 

 

As a senior, Dennis hoped to improve that time to 4 minutes and 30 seconds but he didn’t get the opportunity to give it his all due to the injury. This time would have allowed him to qualify for the state meet his senior year, but he didn’t make it. With this disappointment haunting him for three decades, Dennis became determined to accomplish his goal from senior year.

 

Another reason Dennis took up running again was because he didn’t like the way he looked, and it was becoming tougher to bend over and tie his shoes. It didn’t make sense that he was working so hard to save for his 401K for the last 34 years but wasn’t investing in his personal well-being. When he realized that he wouldn’t be able to reap the benefits of his savings during retirement if he wasn’t in better health, he decided to do something about it. 

 

However, some will be surprised to hear how Dennis feels about running.

 

He says, “Oddly enough I do not enjoy running and never did. I was good at it, but never really enjoyed it. I push myself every time I run, I don’t just go for a nice easy jog. I might enjoy it more if I chose to slow down, but my goal is and always was to push myself to be faster, better, stronger--so no easy jogs for me.”

 

Although it’s not his favorite hobby, Dennis takes pleasure in knowing his sweat means he put in hard work, and he is usually in a better mood overall afterwards. The most challenging part for him has been trying to experiment with how to establish nutrition which meets his needs; he wants to choose foods that will allow him to lose weight but also give him the proper energy to build muscle. Fortunately, he is not alone in any of these endeavors. His wife, children, and oldest sister are huge supporters of all he does.

 

Dennis believes that to do something like this you have to find a motivator. For him, the motivator was to lose weight. He knew he wanted to lose weight so he was aiming for 220 lbs. then decided that he needed to lose way more in order to be “truly healthy and happy”.

 

 “For me, the motivational driver was to work to become the best runner that my body would allow and that I would give it my honest effort because I didn’t get the chance my senior year. As far as running itself goes, you have to start small and create achievable goals and as you get close to those goals you need to make new higher goals. You have to find yourself something personal to make you work harder and not want to let yourself down,” said Dennis.

 

Dennis and his wife Jennifer will be taking a trip with another couple to Ireland next summer. Ireland has been their dream destination for awhile, but they hope to do more than just relax. They are planning on running a 5K together if they find one in the area where they will be staying. 

 

Jennifer says, “Ever since he started running again, I see Dennis as a whole new man. He is happier, has more self-confidence, and most health issues have disappeared. He feels good and it shows!”