Watch CBS News

Colorado Runner Sets Goal 40 Years Ago To Log 100,000 Miles

By Mark Haas

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) - Kevin Follett has run over 100,000 miles in his life. If you want proof, you can just check the meticulous logs kept by the 56-year-old Fort Collins resident.

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_99
CBS4's Mark Haas interviews Kevin Follett. (credit: CBS)

"It wasn't something I had to do, but something I wanted to do," Follett said while running on the track at Fort Collins High School. That's where he once coached cross-country.

Follett started his running log as a teenager on New Year's Day 1977, using a calendar his father had given him for Christmas. When Follett hit 10,000 miles a few years later, he set the ambitious goal to run 100,000.

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_129
(credit: Kevin Follett)

"I was going to run anyways, but it really became a lifestyle," Follett said. "Because every day when you are thinking about your day I had to think 'when will I get my run in?'"

Over the next four decades, Follett would generally run six days a week.

"The average run on a day was 8.45 miles. I averaged 203.3 miles per month and my best month was October where I averaged almost 212," Follett said, reciting stats from all of his different charts. It is probably no surprise that Follett became a math teacher.

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_205
(credit: Kevin Follett)

Follett also kept track of where he ran -- all 50 states and 22 countries -- and the animals he saw: 16,809 deer, 14 bears, and 12 harbor seals among many others.

He also kept note of who he ran with -- more than 350 different running partners.

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_805
(credit: CBS)

If you run a mile with Follett, you get a "Follett Mile," and the top of the rankings is filled with family members.

"I know I am a lot closer to my family because of those deep conversations we had on runs," Follett said.

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_2360
(credit: Kevin Follett)

Follett's daughter and professional runner Katie Mackey is ranked #1. Another daughter, Kirsten Martin, is #3. His wife, Karen, is #4 and daughter Kelsey Schnoor is #7.

follett daughters
(credit: Kevin Follett)

"You get into a conversation and you aren't thinking about other things and you just get to know each other and that's what happened with me and my family," Follett said. "Especially those one-on-one runs, those were some of the best times with my daughters."

For years, fellow Fort Collins High School math teacher and cross-country coach Craig Luckasen held the #1 spot, until recently getting passed by Katie.

"We solved a lot of the problems of the world," Luckasen says about conversations they had during their runs together. "We didn't have pencil and paper, but we took care of a lot of things over those times."

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_3423
Kevin Follett (center) and Craig Luckasen (right) (credit: Kevin Follett)

Luckasen says he didn't think Follett was serious when Follett first told him about his goal, but Luckasen adds was happy to see his friend prove him wrong.

"It is a tough thing to do," Luckasen said. "You can't imagine how going through 100,000 miles and you might end up with an injury here or there or you have a bad day and don't want to go for a run, but he stuck with it."

KEVIN FOLLETT ALL ACCESS PKG 01_14_frame_1045
(credit: CBS)

Luckasen was there with other family and friends, when mile #100,000 for Kevin Follett was logged into the record books on Dec. 23rd, 2017.

"It was hard to take it all in," said Follett. "It was something I thought about almost every day for the last 40 years since I set it as a goal, and when it happened I don't know that it has completely settled in."

And now that he has 100,000 miles, Follett says he will keep running, but that he'll also take a few more days off.

LINK: Running With Follett

Mark Haas is a sports anchor/reporter for CBS4. Read his bio or follow him on Twitter @markhaastv or on Facebook.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.