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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars beat all competition during Homecoming and Family Weekend for a full sweep. At SIUE the top prize also applies to staff. With a time of 2:55:30, marathon runner Jeff Price, Information Technology Services (ITS) manager of Help Desk, had a first-place finish in the Belleville marathon held a few weeks earlier on September 30.

“I did the race in 2018 and it was the worst race of my life. I was miserable,” said Price. “This was my hometown race because I’m from Belleville, so it was a really nice one to win and I can now forget about the experience in 2018.”

Cheering Price on was Sarah Laux, Phd, ITS specialist in instructional design and learning technologies, and Mark Dorris, ITS manager of Learning Spaces who brought his son, Archer, who made signs.

Laux, who began running nearly 20 years ago as a stress reliever during grad school, completed the Belleville half marathon earlier that day. “Jeff and I both ran the Chicago marathon last fall. Today I decided to just enjoy myself, settle in, cruise and have a good time.”

Laux recalled seeing Price when she reached the halfway point where both races turned. When noticing how far ahead Price was without any other marathon bibs behind him, she got worried. “He’s on the wrong course. He made the wrong turn. And then it hit me,” Laux said. “I think he’s in the lead!”

After finishing her own race Laux joined Dorris to watch Price cross the finish line. Dorris would go on to participate in the Border Wars Half Distance Triathlon in Litchfield, IL less than 24 hours later, where he came in second for men and third overall.

That was a half Ironman. Dorris did a full Ironman in Louisville, KY in 2014, which involved a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon.

“It was 14 hours for me,” Price said. “You just keep going and eat as much as you can.” Dorris was inspired by both Price who had done an Ironman a few years earlier, and a competitor in Hawaii who Dorris remembers hailed from his hometown of Bethalto, IL. 

In 2015 Dorris, who started running in fifth grade then high school track and cross-country, checked one more race off his bucket list. “I got to do The Alcatraz Swim,” said Dorris. “It was very cold water, about 60 degrees, and sharks feed there.” 

He continues to look for the next challenge, and finds support on the SIUE campus. “There is such a neat community here of people involved in endurance sports.”

Terry Yan, PhD, department of Mechanical and Mechatronics engineering in the School of Engineering, and his wife, Cindy Wang (SIUE, MS’ 96) finished the 49th Berlin Marathon among 48,000 runners from 156 nations. This is Yan’s eighth full marathon.

“My wife started running about 10 years ago and I was motivated to run with her,” said Yan. “We found running as a sport and a lifestyle much later in our married life. And she is a better runner!”

The Yans have been married 28 years. Dr. Yan’s race time qualifies him for next year’s Chicago Marathon. His wife’s time qualifies her for next year’s Boston Marathon.

As for Price, his 2024 plans include a possible triathlon or riding The Katy Trail. 

“Working at SIUE is great for training,” Price said. “You can run at lunch and there’s a gym where you can go clean up. We’ve got all the trails on campus so there’s a lot of opportunities to work out right after work, or right before work.” 

PHOTO: Belleville Marathon winner Jeff Price and Sarah Laux, PhD, Terry Yan, PhD, and Cindy Wang