7 minute read
Road Runner
from July 2022
ROAD RUNNER
By Elizabeth Owens-Schiele
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ULTRA-ENDURANCE ATHLETE TOM JONES IS ON A MISSION TO USE WHAT HE CALLS HIS DIVINE ATHLETIC ABILITY TO HELP OTHERS REACH THEIR GOALS AND TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CAUSES HE’S PASSIONATE ABOUT
Tom Jones is quit proof.
At age 59, Jones is about to complete his 76th consecutive marathon. Yes, that’s right—76 marathons in 76 days. He’s been running 26.2 miles every day for two-and-a-half months for a total of 1,991 miles. Crazy, or just extreme?
Jones is neither. A Marine veteran and former professional boxer, he’s on a mission to make a difference using his gifts to inspire others while raising money for causes near and dear to his heart. His sports of choice are running marathons, paddleboarding and surfing, but he’s also a master of karate and Muay Thai kickboxing. He’s broken world records, received awards and has been recognized for running more than 50,000 miles in his lifetime. But it’s not just about being outside, enjoying the sports he loves and pushing beyond his physical limitations. It’s also a mental game—mind over matter to from Key West, Florida,to New York City to seta world recordbeat the odds and achieve the unthinkable. Ryan Murtha has witnessed that as a member of Jones’ team. He is visually documenting Jones’ journey. A U.S. Navy reservist and recent film school graduate, he’s been working side-by-side with Jones in their 32-foot Winnebago Minnie Winnie RV and telling his story, especially the last two months.
“I feel like he’s the greatest athlete I’ve never heard of. It’s not rainbows all the time. He’s out there working his best,” Murtha said, adding Jones is “slow and steady” while inspiring others daily. “It’s about getting up and doing whatever your marathon is for the day.”
Jones continues to overcome his own physical and mental challenges to inspire others with his life lesson.
“I believe that in life, we have two choices—we can either be a victim and take the role of the victim, or we can be the victor and take the role of the victor,” Jones said. “And no matter what your circumstances are, there’s a victim on one side and there’s a victor on the other side, and in the lane in the middle, there’s something called life. And life happens to all of us,” he said.
Ultra-endurance athlete Tom Jones was a professional boxer and one-time sparring partner of Chuck Norris.
His backstory
Jones grew up with a father who was terminally ill and a mother who was chronically mentally ill.
“I was removed from my home when I was 12 years old for child abuse. The state intervened and placed me into a children’s institution that was run by pedophiles,” Jones said. “I had to deal with that for several years until I ran away and joined the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps was a great parent—they taught me right from wrong. They taught me integrity and esprit de corps, which is doing things for people above and beyond yourself.”
Jones graduated No. 1 in his boot camp class of 3,000 in San Diego and went on to serve in the Marines from 1982 to 1986 in Okinawa, Japan, the Philippines, Iraq and Afghanistan. After being honorably discharged, he mastered the mixed martial arts and toured with the USO. He also spent time as a bouncer at a Huntington Beach club owned by the legendary Chuck Norris. Jones soon became a training and sparring partner to Norris.
“Chuck was another really great positive influence on me,” Jones said. Norris, an action film actor, is also philanthropic, working with the Make-a-Wish Foundation for children who are terminally ill.
Later, Jones went on to work for Glenn McCusker, president of V2 Technologies Inc. At the time, Jones was a full-time professional fighter but became McCusker’s personal bodyguard, traveling the world with him. McCusker often hosted events with motivational speakers and partnered with professional athletes who were involved in community outreach.
One day, McCusker asked Jones to fill in for one of the athletes who was supposed to tour an immediate care facility for children. Jones saw clingy toddlers, hardened teens and infants in body casts who had suffered from child abuse.
“When I finished that day, I felt really guilty that I had turned my back on that world,” Jones said. “I had an empowering story to tell because I was only afforded a sixth-grade education and I was doing things that no kid should ever be doing and I ended up making something out of myself.”
When he learned the residents of that children’s facility wanted a playground, he decided it would be a good idea to run a long distance to raise money. So, he did. It was 1998 when Jones ran 1,250 miles from Oregon to Mexico.
“When we dedicated that playground, my life changed,” he said. “I felt enriched and fulfilled and worthwhile.
“That’s how my ultra-endurance athletic career was born,” said Jones, who is also an endurance mindset coach at quitproof.com. “It was because it became a feel-good addiction to me.”
—TOM JONES
Just getting started
That feel-good addiction drove him to run 121 marathons in a row from Huntington Beach, California, to New York City. That means he ran at his own pace 26.2 miles every day for four months, for a total of 3,170 miles.
Twenty-five years later, Jones is still running marathons. This year, it’s for United We Pledge, a private, nonprofit organization established to “celebrate freedom, family and faith,” according to its mission. The organization is fundraising to build an American Village West in St. George, Utah, to teach the public about American history and government.
It’s an immersive experience for children and families to learn through historical reenactments. The village will be modeled on the original American Village in Montevallo, Alabama. Jones is currently running “village to village,” from Alabama to Utah.
This was the first time Jones was approached by an organization to help raise money and bring awareness. Jones is also a spokesman for Balance of Nature, a fruit and vegetable supplement owned by Lex Howard, who also owns United We Pledge. Before that, he would identify a cause and find corporate sponsors who wanted to cobrand with his athletic ability for a cause.
That ability, he said, doesn’t come easily. Jones considers it a divine gift to be able to run that far, but it doesn’t come pain free. He leverages what he learned in the Marines to overcome mental and physical hardship. It’s called OODA: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.
“When I come up against the challenge, I observe what’s going on, I orient to that challenge, I make a decision and then I act upon it,” Jones said. Another trick he uses is to develop a sentinel in his mind which will alert him when he’s going down the wrong track mentally. “I redirect myself into a positive state of mind and then I maintain that positive state of mind.
“Pain is only temporary, and quitting lasts a lifetime.”
Ran
the length of California from Oregon to Mexico at a pace of 15 miles each day
Set
first-ever stand-up paddleboard long distance world record by paddleboarding from Oregon to Mexico—1,250 miles in 93 days
Set
the first ever flat water world record paddling 500 miles in 16 days
Ran
across North America from Huntington Beach, California, to New York City at the pace of a marathon (26.2 miles) each day for 121 consecutive days
