BAYFIELD, Colo.
–– In 1995, Jim Flint, 44, was a marathon runner and an Olympic
hopeful; in 2004, he is no longer a marathon runner nor an Olympic
hopeful, but running is still a part of his life.
BAYFIELD, Colo. –– In 1995, Jim Flint, 44, was a marathon runner and an Olympic hopeful; in 2004, he is no longer a marathon runner nor an Olympic hopeful, but running is still a part of his life.
Flint, originally from Hollister now lives in Bayfield, Colo with his wife and eight children ranging in ages from 6 to 21 years old.
While living in Hollister, Flint was training to qualify for the Olympic trials. When he finally made the required time, he got injured and his Olympic hopes were shattered.
Three years later, Flint received an offer for a partnership in Dayton Ohio, so he packed up and left Hollister.
Unfortunately, the partnership fell through and Flint moved to Colorado in June 2001 and started up his own civil engineering business.
The business takes up most of his time now, and Flint has little time to run, let alone compete in marathons.
“I miss running, I really do,” Flint said. “It’s the biggest void in my life now. I kick myself everyday for not training like I used to.”
At his peak, Flint was running in most of the major marathons across the country, including the Boston Marathon. He traveled to Minnesota, Alabama, Virginia, Hartford and Seattle to compete. Flint wouldn’t run on Sunday, however, which made finding marathons difficult to find.
Now between work and caring for his children, Flint’s running has taken a back seat.
Flint still finds time to run a couple of times a week. He even competed in a half marathon June 26 in Durango, where he placed first in the 40-and-up category and was third overall with a time of 1:20:28, just four minutes off the overall leader.
“I don’t know how he does it with all that he does,” said Flint’s father Bill. “He has high hopes and a power engine inside of him.”
Flint is not alone in his passion for running. His brother Ken, daughter Hidi and five oldest sons are all runners. His son Steve is perhaps the most likely to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Ken is the cross country coach at Fort Lewis College where Flint’s daughter attends.
Steve, who will be a sophomore in the fall at Bayfield High School, also took part in the half marathon, placing third in his category, finishing nearly three minutes behind his dad. He runs for the Bayfield cross country team where his dad is an assistant coach.
Despite the family interest, Flint tries not to push any of them too hard, including Steve.
“It just comes from within for Steve,” Flint said. “I can’t ask for more.”
Steve is among the top runners at his school and took ninth in the state finals.
With home prices in California being as high as they are compared to the rest of the nation, Flint said his move was a one way trip. Even though he may never come back, Flint still has a special place for Hollister.
“I certainly miss Hollister,” Flint said. “It still seems like home.”
By Cheeto Barrera
