By Les Gehrett
Albany Democrat-Herald | Posted: Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:00 am
Albany resident Chuck Cammack is approaching a milestone this weekend that is almost hard to imagine: He will run his 200th marathon on Sunday when he participates in the 2007 Eugene Marathon.
This one stands out not only because it represents a nice round number, but because it is his return to what he loves after a lengthy absence.
Cammack started running in 1978, near the height of American's fascination with the sport. But it wasn't just a fad for him and his wife Sue, it was a complete change in lifestyle.
"I was getting heavy and had quit smoking and tried to get in shape," he said.
He spent about six months preparing for his first marathon, which he ran in Portland in 1980. He was running about 70 to 80 miles a week and soon began to look for even harder challenges than marathons, moving on to compete in numerous 50-mile races.
"I've done probably fifty 50-miles," Commack said.
He even completed two 100-mile races, the Western States 100 in 1992, which he completed in 28 hours, and the Vermont 100, which he ran in 1993 in 19 hours.
"It wasn't near as rough. The trail was much smoother," he remembers of the Vermont course.
Over the years Sue joined him at many events, running 30 marathons herself. One of their favorites was the Nike Marathon held in Eugene in the early 1980s. But that race faded away, much to Cammack's consternation.
"Eugene was kind of the running capital of the U.S. and it was ridiculous they didn't have a marathon," Cammack said.
He ran multiple marathons a year up until 2004. In September of that year he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He underwent surgery to have his pancreas removed. That was followed by six months of radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
His daily running routine stayed surprisingly intact.
"I ran up until the day I had surgery because I felt alright," Cammack said.
He was hospitalized for 10 days after the surgery and was out running again two weeks after that. He kept running through his treatment, although he did have to cut back at times.
Still, he credits his running and walking regimen with helping keep his energy up throughout the ordeal.
By April 2005 he was able to compete in the Yakima Marathon. He finished the course despite a lot of discomfort and soon learned the price he would pay.
"I could hardly get out of bed the next day," he said.
He went back to the doctor, who quickly discovered that Cammack had fractured nine vertebrae during the race. The radiation he had undergone to fight his cancer had weakened his bones and the jarring on the course had created the fractures.
Cammack underwent an extensive recovery, including kyphoplasty, which involves injecting a bone cement into the vertebrae to fill in and strengthen the cracked vertebrae.
Once again, he slowly got back into his running routine and by last fall was back at full strength, putting in 40 to 50 miles a week.
So it is with great anticipation that he looks forward his first marathon in almost two years.
"This marathon's going to be pretty slow," Cammack said. "I'm not worried about it. If I start hurting, I'll just walk. I just want to finish this."