BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com
Corey Plotner is on pace to run 2019 miles in 2019.
The Ogden native picked up running as a freshman at St. Joseph-Ogden High School in 1991 just to stay in shape for basketball season.
“I played basketball that one year and it was all running after that,” he said.
But Plotner didn’t choose to stick with running because it came easily to him.
“My first distance race was freshmen year of high school,” he said. “I only beat one kid that day and he had the nickname of ‘Pumpkin Head’ for certain reasons. Needless to say, I was not fast at all.”
Since that day, Plotner has run countless races, participating in everything from the mile to a 26.2-mile marathon.
“I will probably never race farther than that, my body likes the mid-level races like the 10k and half marathon,” he said.
There have only been a few highlights he can remember.
Beating St. Joseph-Ogden’s Chelsea Blaase, who went on to run at the University of Tennessee, is one.
“I made a wrong turn and ran about a half mile farther than her,” he said. “I still give her a hard time about that whenever I can,” Plotner said.
The other moment happened last fall.
When his daughter, Jillian, who is a junior and a distance runner at SJ-O, finished a 1600-meter indoor race at the UI Armory, Plotner told her he was going to beat her time when he ran there a few days later.
“She laughed at me,” Plotner said.
When he crossed the finish line, his time was one second ahead of Jillian’s.
“My wife told me that Jillian was stunned and a little mad in the bleachers, but we had a great laugh about it when I walked over to her,” he said.
“I think she finally has figured out that trash talking me just gets me more motivated, and it makes me work just a little bit harder.”
Plotner relies on a consistent workout schedule to keep in shape.
“I try to get out and run six days a week and average somewhere in the 40 miles per week range,” he said. “I just passed 900 miles for the year at the end of May, on my way to at least 2019 miles this year.”
With the end of the year in December, Plotner may get to end his feat in some of his most favorite conditions.
“For me, there is nothing better than a nice run in lightly falling snow,” he said. “It is the most calming and peaceful time. The beauty of the fresh snow with the quietness of the world is truly breathtaking.”
But it was in warm spring temperatures that Plotner surpassed his goal of receiving the Masters Award on June 2.
“As a runner, you always have to have goals, both short term and long term,” he said. “Ever since I came home with my first trophy in high school, it was a goal of mine to get a diverse collection of awards.”
The Master’s Award is given to the first-place runner when the runner is over 40 years old.
“I have had my share of race wins and top five places, but the one that I had trouble getting was the Master’s Award,” he said.
“It truly is hard to achieve, because as we all know, life gets in the way. The older that we get, the harder it is to get back the fitness that we may lose due to injury, sickness, or just things in your life that take you away from the sport for awhile.”
Plotner experienced one of those moments in 2018 where he lost some ground he’d gained, but he resolved to get back into shape.
“For me to race last weekend and finally grab the overall Master’s Award at a race was great,” he said.
“It was a huge confidence boost. I am happy with it, but not satisfied by any means. I have another goal to get after now and we will see if I can reach it by the end of the year.”
He also hopes to help his athletes on the St. Joseph Middle School Cross-Country team reach their goals in the upcoming fall season.
He can relate to those who do not enjoy the work, but said runners always have to find a reason to keep going.
“Every runner has times that they want to quit,” Plotner said.
“Truly, knowing that my children were growing older and starting to run kept me going. I have always told them that one day they will beat me in a race, but that they would have to work their tails off to accomplish that feat.”
As of today, his children have yet to beat him.
Jillian, he said, is close.
“I don’t think she truly started to love the sport until she got to high school,” he said.
“I also think that that was partly my fault, as her father and coach all the way through middle school, she couldn’t ever get away from it.
“It wasn’t until I stepped back that she learned to love it for herself. But now, she truly loves it and is having some success at it. I am very proud of her.”
While running has been an outlet for staying in shape, Plotner has learned so much more just by staying the course.
“Running has truly saved me on more than one occasion in my life. It has given me an outlet to deal with a lot of stressful times that otherwise might have swallowed me whole.
“Through the friends that I now call my family, to all of the athletes that I have coached for the last 10 years, I can say that I am truly blessed.
“The running community is one of the best to be a part of. Everyone knows each other and wants to see everyone flourish. There truly is nothing like it in the world.”
Like all things in life, Plotner said that there are no shortcuts in running.
“To make a goal and reach it, the only way to get there is to be honest with yourself and toe the line with purpose every day,” he said.
“It is a great life lesson, natural talent will only take you so far, but to truly be the best each of us can be, we have to work for it.
“I will be out working on my goals. How about the rest of you?”
