Denton's Shane Koch: 9 Marathons, 8 Straight PR's

In an edition of Runner's World within the last year, there was a profile of a 39-year-old Denton man named Darwin (Shane) Koch. If my recollection is right, Darwin, a social worker, was extremely overweight in the neighborhood of 430 pounds. By the time he was profiled in the magazine, he was down to the 280 range, had logged two marathons and was aiming to do five this running season (October 2004-May 2005).

Not only did Shane do the original five (5) Texas Marathon Challenge races, he was the only person that did all five marathons this year who lowered their time at each race. In fact, Shane completed his ninth marathon overall on Sunday at the Big D Texas Marathon and recorded his eight straight personal record. That's right! Every time out, he beat his time before.

Here is a look at his career list of marathons:

5:36:10 - 2003 White Rock Marathon (December; gun time - 5:39:29)
5:32:03 - 2004 Cowtown Marathon (February)
5:28:30 - 2004 Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (April; gun - 5:30:34)
5:06:59 - 2004 San Antonio Marathon (November; gun - 5:07:45)
5:03:44 - 2004 White Rock Marathon (December; gun - 5:06:36)
4:55:36 - 2005 hp Houston Marathon (January; gun - 5:01:14)
4:46:25 - 2005 Austin Freescale Marathon (February; gun - 4:52:26)
4:46:12 - 2005 Cowtown Marathon (February)
4:42:04 - 2005 Big D Texas Marathon (April; gun - 4:47:18)

54:06 - Improvement in overall marathon time
45:51 - Improvement in Cowtown Marathon time
32:26 - Improvement in White Rock Marathon time

I saw Shane walking out of Tower Hall at the State Fairgrounds Sunday morning as I was heading into register for the Big D Texas Half Marathon.

However, I couldn't locate him again prior to the start of the race. Somewhere between the first and second mile marker, I caught up to him and said, "You must be Shane Koch." We chatted for a little bit and I told him that I had found out more about him from Tracy Meyers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, who had covered private and parochial schools for the newspaper before. I told him about the Texas Marathon Challenge accomplishment this year and I think he was genuinely surprised.

What is so impressive about his accomplishment is that his current weight is not simply fat. Shane is probably 6'4" or 6'5" and he was easily distinguishable in the crowd as I came up to him from behind.

For a rookie like me, meeting an individual like Shane Koch is as equally impressive as meeting Bill Rodgers last year at the Little Rock Marathon Expo. Both have done great things with their God-given talents!