128 Races in a Year? Read Below

As I was searching for something else on the Internet this morning, I came across a bio of Vera Balic's Dad, Boris (pictured above at the Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15K in Bellingham, Washington), that was included in Arlen Isham and Jack Lippincott's summer 2003 edition of Houston Veteran's News.

It seems that Boris is a bit more interesting in what I learned from him while I was in Bellingham! Here was the bio in that newsletter (as he was a pacer during the 2003 marathon as was my good friend, Bill Dwyer) --

Bo-reeece! He’s a marathon-runnin’, soccerplayin’, rope-skippin’, Yugoslavian boxer (or is it the other way around…??) This man is truly one of a kind. Not just a gifted athlete, but a loving husband to his wife, Romana, and a devoted father to Dusan and Vera. Mr. Balic has been a fixture on the Houston road-racing scene for many years. It took him awhile to get here, though…

Boris started running in 1950, as a soccer player back in his home country. He later took up boxing, and fought for the Yugoslavian national team in 1959. In 1960 he moved to Germany, and eventually boxed for THAT national team as well. He came to the U.S.A. in 1976, but not before spending 12 years in Canada, where he was eventually crowned as a Canadian national champion lightweight boxer.

Shortly after coming to the states, however, he hurt his hand while sparring. At that point, he gave up boxing and took up running for its own sake. And boy, did he take it up in a big way!

Though Boris didn’t try a marathon until 1979, his eventual best times were 3:12’s at both Houston and Dallas, in the early 1980’s. He also had serious PR’s at all of the popular distances, including 18:52 for the 5K, 39:54 for the 10K, and 2:09:54 for the 30K. He qualified for Boston as a 50-year-old, with a 3:17 time, and has run at least 56 marathons and ultra runs, including 22 Houstons.

None of this may sound particularly unique, but listen to this. During 1979, Balic competed in 72 races of various lengths, placing him second in a contest put on by Inside Running magazine. Boris doesn’t like second place. The next year, he completed 128 races, to convincingly win the contest. But, that’s not all that sets him apart from the rest of us “semi-normal” distance runners. In 1983, he “skipped rope” through the whole Houston marathon! Seems like that race should count at least twice… Say hello to the man next time you see him. He’s got some stories worth hearing.