Marathoner Harms runs through life's obstacles

By Libby James
North Forty News

It's dark and icy cold out and Joanne Harms is lacing up her running shoes after a busy day as mental health outpatient coordinator at Veterans Administration in Greeley.

After nearly 30 years on the roads, she no longer wears a watch or bothers recording distances. She's never owned a heart monitor. She runs for the simple joy of it. "The longer the better," she said.

Once out the door of her home near Richards Lake in northeast Fort Collins, the concerns of the day slip away.

"It's what our bodies were meant to do," she said. "Running reminds me of what it felt like to be a kid."

The dramatic "runner's high" she felt during the first years she ran has settled into a satisfying sensation of overall well-being. She still appreciates the opportunity running provides for meditation, prayer and talking to God.

Harms, 58, has had more than her share of life's challenges. Following 18 months of ill health just before she turned 30, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a disorder that causes inflammation, scarring and obstructions in the intestine. When treatment relieved her symptoms, she began an exercise program in order to become strong. She was introduced to running through her aerobic dance instructor, and surprised herself by running two miles without stopping her first time out.

A short time later she entered a 3k race in Oklahoma City where she lived at the time. "I didn't know enough to run in a straight line," she remembers. "I traversed back and forth across the road."

She finished feeling good and she's never looked back.

She ran in defiance of doctor's orders. He thought running would cause weight loss, a potentially dangerous situation should she have a relapse. But after several years, as she continued to do well, her doctor acknowledged that running was doing no harm. She's convinced that it has helped her.

Over time she's had four abdominal surgeries to clear obstructions. She figures she's lost about 2 feet of intestine. Because her body has difficulty absorbing fluids, she's careful to take in fluids before long races and drinks two full cans of Ensure before a marathon. She carries Colorado-made honey stinger gels that dissolve slowly and help maintain her energy level.

Harms' love of distance led to longer races. In 1987, she did her first marathon in New York in 4 hours, 36 seconds. In 1994, inspired by a 10k race in Denver, she resolved to do a marathon every year for the rest of her life. A personal best time of 3 hours, 30 minutes in Dallas qualified her for Boston, an event she did five times. Slowly Harms increased her marathon count until she was running eight to 10 a year.

"I realized that if I did enough marathons, interspersed with short training runs, I was always trained up and ready to go," Harms said.

In 2007, two weeks after completing her 50th marathon in Olathe, Kan., she did Oklahoma City. In December 2009, she chalked up number 75 in Las Vegas, Nev. She has seven or eight in mind for 2010 and looks forward to a hilly Estes Park course in June.

Harms has a hard time naming her favorite. There are fond memories of the inaugural Rim Rock Marathon on the Western Slope in Colorado where she ran 13 miles up into clouds and snow, and then 13 miles down, and of Leading Ladies, an all-women's, all-downhill race in South Dakota.

Harms is in the record books in Oklahoma and frequently wins her age group in Colorado races.

"I used to see myself as a sub-elite runner, but these days I'm happy when I place in my age group," she said.

She moved to Colorado in 2008 and the same year met and married Hunter Harms, her number one cheerleader. He's named their car the Runmobile, and its license plate reads 26 miler. Their social life revolves around people they've met through running, and most weekends are planned around a race. Hunter doesn't run because of creaky knees, but takes great pleasure in supporting Joanne.

"She's a machine," he said. "I'm her greatest admirer."

Harms gives back to running – she founded the Edmond, Okla., Running Club and is now secretary of the Fort Collins Running Club. She has coached for Leukemia Team in Training and is currently involved with the Harvest Farm AIR Foundation, which uses running as part of a substance abuse recovery program.

Nothing keeps Harms away from running for long. In a 30-mile ultra event in Hunstville, Texas, she fell at mile 22 and cracked a rib. Even so she finished second in her age group. For more than a year she babied a hamstring injury that kept her out of races.

For a girl who hated to sweat in high school, Harms has come a long way. "Born to Run" is a popular book title and three little words that epitomize Joanne Harms.