By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - What do farming and running marathons have in common?
"I'm still trying to figure out where they go together," Justin Gillette joked Tuesday afternoon.
Gillette, a 23 year-old farmer from Niles, won the Sunburst Marathon just this past weekend in South Bend, Ind. with a time of 2:30:17.
"I really wanted to win Sunburst because it's so close to home. I didn't want someone else to win in my own backyard," Gillette said.
This is Gillette's 23rd marathon run and fifth marathon win in 10 years and he doesn't plan on throwing in the towel anytime soon.
"I'm real close to qualifying for the Olympic trials and my objective is to do that before May of next year," he said.
In order to qualify for the Olympics, one must run a marathon in 2:20:00 or under. Gillette's best time came in Pennsylvania just last month, where he posted a time of 2:27.
"I have a race coming up in October and I hope to get it then. If not, then I'll keep trying at other marathons," he said.
Gillette competes in marathons all over the United States, including the Boston Marathon, which he has participated in three times and finished in the top 100 in 2002. He claimed wins at the Athen's Marathon in Ohio, the Johnston Marathon in Pennsylvania and the Springfield Marathon and Berrymen Marathon, both in Missouri.
Gillette began running when he was 13 years old. He attended high school in Missouri, where he lived with his mother. After graduation, he moved to Niles with his father and went to Goshen College.
"I've had family here since the 1840s and I really like the area, so it was nice to be able to move back with my dad," he said.
Gillette's days are spent on the farm with his father and two brothers, where he can put in as many as 14 hours in one day. With his hectic work schedule, Gillette knows that hiring a training coach would be impossible, so he trains himself and has his own schedule that he follows everyday. It doesn't consist of little jogs around the block or mile-long walks. In fact, it doesn't even consist of a certain meal plan. Gillette hits the pavement for a 10-12 mile run daily and, since he is so busy, relies on peanut butter crackers to get him through the day.
"On Monday's I do my long run of 16-20 miles. Wednesday's I run hills on Weaver Road and Thursday's I do hard speed runs. All the other days are just the 10-12 mile runs," Gillette said.
Gillette stated that he runs after work is complete for the day and that he enjoys his evening runs. However, he doesn't like going out too late – not because of the darkness – but because of motorists who can sometimes be very unfriendly.
"I was shot with a BB gun late one night and I get bottles thrown at me. People can be pretty mean sometimes," he said.
Even during the Sunburst race, Gillette was hit with an object. Only this time it wasn't flying debri, instead it was the tire of a police motorcycle that led the runners through the race.
"He was going too slow and I had to tell him to speed up a few times," Gillette said with a laugh. "At one point, when we were turning into the stadium, I don't think he was sure what I was doing, so he turned right into me. It was kind of inconvenient, especially after running over 20 miles, but I know he didn't mean it."
Gillette admitted that he has always liked sports. "I like to compete. It's something I enjoy." He said he would even like to play in an adult softball league because he was never part of a baseball team growing up, but his goal of qualifying for the Olympic trials have put his days on the field on hold for now.
"I don't want to take any chances of getting hurt because softball is a little more physical than running," Gillette said.
Until that day comes, Gillette will continue participating in marathons, hoping that soon he will reach his goal.
"I would love to be able to run trials in 2008," Gillette said as he continued hard at work, mowing hay at the family's farm.