University News
World Fittest Man to Lead WIU Homecoming Run
September 17, 2002
MACOMB, IL -- Think you can hang with the "World's Fittest Man?" Lace up those running shoes and test your mettle at the Western Illinois University 16th Annual Homecoming Old Stompin Ground Runaround 5K Fun Run/1.5 Mile Walk Saturday, Sept. 28.
WIU alumnus and Fulton County native Joe Decker '98, who is the World's Fittest Man according to Guiness Book of Records, will lead run/walk participants in a pre-race warm-up near the Sherman Hall circle drive around 8 a.m. Sept. 28. Then runners can see how they measure up to Decker during the race, which gets underway at 8:30 a.m.
"I would just love to get as many people as possible to join us at the Homecoming race. Health and wellness are so important. I want to get people moving and interested in their own wellness which leads to an improved quality of life," Decker said. "I want to challenge the campus and Macomb communities to come out, shake the dust off those tennis shoes and put those bodies to use."
Decker is a fitness trainer with his own business, Body Construction Fitness, in Gaithersburg, MD, near Washington, D.C. To earn the Guiness Book of Records honor, along with the Guiness title of "Workout King of the World," Decker competed in a 24-hour, 13-event fitness challenge in December 2000. He cycled 100 miles, ran 10 miles, hiked 10 miles, powerwalked five miles, rowed 10 miles, kayaked six miles, swam two miles and performed a variety of calisthenics. He also weightlifted an astounding 278,540 pounds, all in less than 24 hours. Decker has recently been chosen as one of three Americans to run the Marathon des Sables (Marathon of the Sands), known as the Toughest Footrace on Earth, April 6-12.
Six hundred competitors from 30 countries on six continents take part in this annual event, which takes runners nearly 150 miles across the Sahara Desert of Monacco over seven days while carrying all their food and gear.
Registration for the 16th annual Old Stompin Ground Runaround 5K Fun Run/1.5 Mile Walk will be held from 7:30-8:15 a.m. Based upon the number, ages and gender of the entrants, prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories with grand prizes going to the first male and female to complete the course.
The $10 entry fee entitles participants to a commemorative T-shirt. The event is sponsored by the WIU Alumni Association, the Recreation, Park, and Tourism Administration department and Coca-Cola of Macomb. For more information or to pre-register, contact the Alumni Association at 309/298-1914.
Posted By: Darcie Shinberger (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing
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