KALISPELL — One of the perks of the Missoula Marathon is that a fast enough time will qualify you for the Boston Marathon, which is exactly why Steve Kreitner from Kalispell recruited his son to train him.
“I just love the grind, I like the training. The racing's fun, but I like the training even more,” Kreitner said, talking about his love for running, which he has kept alive for over 40 years.
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This weekend will be Kreiter’s 32nd marathon in 32 years, but this year he is hoping to do more than just finish the race.
With hopes of earning a qualifying time for Boston, Kreiter decided he needed to enlist help from his family of runners, so he called on his son Jonas.
”I get texts now and then from him saying ‘go to bed’,” Kreitner said. “He knows me so well, and he knows where I need to be held accountable, my weaknesses, my excuses, then on top of that, he’s just super knowledgeable about running, and it's just been super fun to reap the benefits of that.”
Although Steve has reaped the benefits, for Jonas this is his first time coaching anyone in running, and there have been learning curves along the way.
“Obviously, my dad is not 19 like I am, and so training obviously is going to look a bit different for someone who's 60 than someone who's my age,” Jonas Kreitner said. “I think it's been cool to kind of combine what I know and what works for younger athletes like me and then sort of adapt that for a runner like my dad, who's a bit older.”
Now, with some proper training and decades of experience, Kreitner hopes he will reach his goal of a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.
He also hopes he will get the most out of the next race he will run in Missoula.
“Having run for 40-some years and having this be my 32nd marathon, I just appreciate every marathon more,” Kreitner said. “It becomes more meaningful as I go, just the effort, just being with all the people as part of the marathon is just super fun.”
The Missoula Marathon begins Sunday at 6:00 a.m.
