When Rob Neufeld was in his early 40s, he stepped away from the family business he had known his whole life. He felt a strong sense that it was time to move on, but didn’t know what would come next. In the months between jobs, running became an integral part of his life.
“I had always enjoyed running somewhat, but I’d had trouble making time for it,” recalls Neufeld, now 65. “Then, I felt the freedom to be able to take the time I needed and wanted to get out and run. I started running a little more consistently and I discovered: I really like this. I want to keep doing this for the long haul.”
While many runners aspire to run a marathon, Neufeld thought the idea of training to cover 42.2km (26.1 miles) seemed arduous and likely to leave him injured. “I just wanted to be running longer term and an idea came to me that maybe instead of running 26 miles I could go for 26 years,” he says.
That was back in 2000. Neufeld has now been running consistently for 25 years and, though he once lacked the courage to line up for a race, he’s completed roughly 75 road and trail races since he signed up for the Saskatchewan Marathon 10km in 2004. Neufeld remembers that race being tough, but he did well and a friend soon persuaded him to join a team competing in that year’s Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay.
“What a fantastic experience,” Neufeld recalls. “We placed reasonably well as a team and had a blast together. That gave me confidence that I could compete in these things. So I kept entering them.”
Neufeld ran a 15-km leg at the Kananaskis 100 Mile Relay and it’s remained his longest race to date. Mostly he targets 10km events, pushing himself to get as close as he can to his personal best of 42 minutes and 13 seconds, which he set at the Saskatchewan Marathon weekend back in 2008.
Neufeld knows his fondness for shorter distances is puzzling to some; one of the most common questions he gets when people hear he runs is whether he runs marathons. “It’s like if you don’t run marathons, you’re some kind of a loser,” Neufeld says with a laugh. “I don’t run marathons, I prefer the 10k distance. And if you think that’s easy — try racing it.”
Over the years, Neufeld has become a fixture at Saskatoon Road Runners Association events and has competed in races across Canada. Setting his PB at the 2008 Saskatchewan Marathon remains one of his most memorable races and another unforgettable event came this summer at the Fin Island Trail Run 9.2-km in the Battlefords. There, he finished third, less than 30 seconds behind the pre-teen leaders who he spent most of the race chasing down. “Had there been an actual podium after the race, I think it would have been pretty cool to see the three medalists up there, aged 11, 12 and 65,” he says. “To me, it says that age need not be a barrier to competitive racing. It was a thrill for me to place well and to finish behind these two outstanding young athletes. They have a great future in front of them.”
Neufeld’s competitiveness has been an asset, driving him to keep running for more than two decades, but he knows it can become a detriment if he lets it, especially as his times naturally slow with age.
“I have to be careful with racing because, if you’re competitive, you can get a little obsessed,” he says. “I have to remind myself time and again: ‘Rob, it’s supposed to be fun.’ It’s really important to keep grounded and just enjoy the process.”
Something that’s helped keep Neufeld grounded is the perspective he gained through work. After leaving the family business, he did some consulting and eventually launched a 20-year career in fundraising. Before retiring last year, Neufeld worked for Sherbrooke Foundation, which raises money to support long-term care centres in Saskatoon, and he saw care centre residents who would give anything to be able to walk, let alone run.
“One of the key reasons I’m doing this is because I can do this,” he says. “You’re only given one body and, because I have the ability to walk and run, I feel an obligation to steward that ability and to make the most of it. I run because I can, but I also run because there are lots of people who cannot.”
With 26 years approaching next summer, Neufeld is being diligent about strength work and eating healthy to ensure he reaches his goal — and he doesn’t plan to stop there.
“I’ve been modifying the goal. I thought: I’ll use the same analogy, but just convert it into metric,” he says. “Instead of running 42 kilometers, I’ll see if I can run 42 years from when I started. So maybe I can run until I’m 82. We’ll see how that goes.”
