Bill Stokes: 
Weekend Warrior Productions • Winter Training for Runners
When Bill Stokes found himself retired six years ago at 55, he got bored, started a new company and took up running.
“After awhile, I began to notice that everybody was getting injured all the time,” he said. “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be one of those people,’ so I decided to figure out why it was happening.”
What he found would change both his training style and his life: contrary to popular belief, running isn’t a good way to get in shape.
“A lot of people run to lose weight or get in shape, but distance running breaks down the body instead of building it up,” Stokes said. “Running is something you do after you get in shape; it’s not something you do to get in shape. The repetitive stress accentuates your weaknesses. The mechanics of running are based upon having a physique that is perfect to begin with. If you have weaknesses in your legs, your core, or your posture, you’re running on that. You see runners start to develop all sorts of bad habits as the body compensates.”
So Stokes, certified to coach through the Road Runner’s Club of America, began teaching classes for runners who want to avoid injuries, build endurance, and even set personal records. Instead of teaching runners how to run better, he teaches them how to prepare their bodies for running in the first place.
Stokes instructs his pupils to cut sugar out of their diets, and his intense workouts are similar to Crossfit but use mostly body weight, so the exercises can be done just about anywhere.
“Through body-weight exercises, you can develop that core stability and strong center of gravity so that you can go out and run a halfmarathon with just a little bit of training,” he said. “You’re running more efficiently.”
Using this method, Stokes says he set a personal record in the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon in April 2013.
“Because I had such a strong muscular
structure, when I got to mile 10, we were starting to head into Lincoln Park, and I wasn’t intimidated at all by the big hills,” he said. “I ran the strongest last two miles I think I’ve ever run. I was 60 years old doing that, and I wasn’t running the training miles that everybody else was, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had running a half-marathon.”
In addition to training runners, Stokes organized Springfield’s first full marathon race in October 2013. More than 1,500 total runners participated in the marathon,
marathon relay, half marathon, and 10k races. He expects the race to draw even more participants this year. Currently, Stokes is keeping Springfield runners busy through the winter with his Ice Man Series of runs, which feature 12k and 5k runs around the city.
“It’s all a part of discovery,” Stokes says.
“We’re only in this body for a number of years, and I believe that exercise is the fountain of youth. This movement of getting a strong core and muscular strength is a way to push out the grim reaper a few more years.”
