Smith hits impressive feat with his feet

For the past decade it’s been not uncommon to see Doug Smith running on the streets of Boulder City – winter, spring, summer or fall.

But unlike any other in his five decades of hitting the pavement, 2023 was different.

By the end of the year, he had set a goal to run 3,000 miles. To put that in perspective, Las Vegas to New York City is 2,529 miles. And while he didn’t have a Forrest Gump moment when he ran nonstop, the tally is impressive, nonetheless.

“I should change my name to Forrest,” he said. “When people call me that, I just chuckle.”

He completed his 3,000th mile on Dec. 28 and finished out the year with 3,025 miles.

“A little group of my friends, about 10 of them, filmed me crossing the finish line,” he said of hitting the milestone. “My first thought was, ‘What’s left to accomplish?’”

Smith is no stranger to running, as he first laced up a pair of running shoes more than 45 years ago. As time went on, the total number of miles per year went from hundreds to eventually thousands. In 2022 he tallied 2,605 miles, almost all of which were in Boulder City. However, once he began averaging around 1,500 miles a year, with it came almost inevitable injuries.

“Then, I found out how to run high mileage without killing my legs,” he said. “It’s now been about 6,000 miles since the last injury.”

After averaging about 100 miles a month, he set the goal of doubling that but as he pointed out, there are only so many free hours in a day to do so. At that time, he was running 60 miles a month and walking another 60. He converted all the walking to running, which resulted in the number of miles increasing quickly.

“The way I did that was I now run everywhere instead of driving when doing errands around town,” said Smith, an electrical engineer. “I’ll run by Albertsons to pick up dinner and run home. It’s basically whatever will fit in my backpack. That definitely helped increase the mileage and now a typical month is about 260 miles.”

Smith said his goal last year was 2,600 miles as it had been the previous year. Then, when October rolled around, he was ahead of his pace the year before and realized 3,000 miles could become a reality.

“Once I had a chance at 3,000, I knew I had to make it,” he said. “You can’t end the year at 2,999. I knew I needed to add some additional runs. For example, the other day I did nine miles but that was made up of five errands. I’ve also found that’s a way to avoid injuries. Instead of one long run, break it into a few smaller runs hours apart. My style and technique in running are far different than even five years ago.”

Regardless if it’s 105 degrees outside or just above freezing, Smith said he tries to average the same number of miles each week. In winter, it’s a matter of wearing more clothing and in summer, carrying more water.

While his good friend, Nouh Nagi, often joins him on runs these days, a lot of the time Smith is alone. But music helps keep him company.

“People think I’m running but I’m actually dancing in a straight line to the beat of the music,” he said, laughing. “It’s a very long line dance. Otherwise, for an hour you have one foot in front of another and it gets a little boring.”

His music of choice – guitar instrumental surf music. He then played a bit of one of his favorite songs to run to called “Rescue at Mavericks.” The music has a real late 60s or early 70s vibe to it, which is appropriate since it was around then when Smith began running.

“It was when running was all the craze, so I started running,” the 76-year-old said, noting that he was never an athlete in high school or college. “That lasted about a year and everyone else quit and I kept going for the next 50 years. I don’t know why, because that first run, I thought I was going to die but I kept going. I don’t do it for the competition because I’m only competing with myself. But I’ve learned it’s the greatest stress reliever.”

Despite his love of being out on the roadways and it being a great way to relieve stress and stay in shape, Smith said some days he simply doesn’t want to run.

“But I do it anyway,” he said. “Last year, as I got closer to 3,000, that definitely motivated me.”

When asked what his goal is for 2024, he nonchalantly said, “just 3,000, again.”

While he doesn’t encourage new runners to set a goal like his, he does encourage people of all ages to lace up those shoes.

“The bottom line is that it’s fun,” he said. “The problem is, too many people go too fast, too far, too soon. The first run should only be a mile and half of it should be walking. Gradually, over maybe a month, you may get to where you can run the whole mile but slowly. Otherwise, people pull something or get hurt and then they stop.

“A lot of my friends are very competitive and keep besting their times but not me. I don’t do that because for me it’s all about having fun.”

Ron Eland is editor of the Boulder City Review. He can be reached at reland@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523.