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Great Falls’ Bob and Donna Sims Run with Purpose By Bernice Karnop Donna Sims started running competitively when she was 48 years old. She would run to lose weight before that, and to encourage her children to be active. But she credits her husband Bob for getting her into the races. Bob credits Time Magazine for getting him onto the track. The since-retired meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Great Falls was catching up on the news when he came across this quote, “Every hour spent exercising you gain back in quality of life.” Bob, at 47, didn’t think he was competitive. He hadn’t excelled in high school sports. But the quality of life part caught his attention. He entered his first fun run and found out that, well, it was fun! He met fellow runners and the friendly competition and camaraderie pushed him to work harder and run faster. He was having so much fun that Donna wanted to go along. Of course she could, he agreed, but on one condition. She had to participate in the races herself. That was more than 20 years ago. The couple has no idea how many miles they’ve put on their running shoes since then but for a while they raced every weekend of the season, about 30 races a year. Some weekends they ran two races, and once they did three. Since becoming septuagenarians they’ve scaled back to about 15 per year. Although by now the Sim’s have collected seven plastic boxes full of medals, Donna didn’t win her first race. She took on this 10k run at Malmstrom Air Force Base without ever having run six miles before. She stumbled over the finish line dead last. She hadn’t expected to win, but she knew she could do better. She went home and practiced until she could run six miles. “I didn’t realize I’d win until I started winning,” she says with a laugh. “I’m always surprised. I always think someone can pass me.” (Continued on page 69) Bob and Donna Sims, Great Falls, show the medals they won at the March 9, 2013 Moonlight Run in Lethbridge, Alberta. This night run is one of their favorites. Look for the Sims at the Montana Senior Olympics in Great Falls in June. [Photo by Bernice Karnop]