By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Looking ahead at the forecast, Tom Coles knew Oct. 19 was supposed to be a nearly perfect fall day, complete with warm temperatures, blue skies and only a slight breeze.

“The type of day anyone would want to spend outside doing yard and housework,” Coles explained. “I knew that’s what most of my family would be doing.”

So while his family worked, Coles and his wife, Nancy, made their way to downtown Detroit. It was their little secret, and a big challenge.

Before the morning was over, Coles, a Grosse Pointe Woods resident, would attempt to finish his 18th marathon.

And at age 77, he did just that.

“It was too nice of a day, and they’ve seen me run before. They didn’t need to spend hours standing around,” Coles said with a laugh, explaining why his run was a secret to his family. “I had my wife there to cheer me on. That was good enough for me.”

Coles certainly didn’t disappoint. As the second-oldest finisher in a race featuring more than 18,000 runners, he crossed the finish line in a time of 6 hours, 25 minutes, 21 seconds.

“There were three of us over 75 who finished the race, and I took third,” Coles laughed. “But as always, it was a great experience. I kept a pretty good pace for myself, mixing jogging with fast walking. But the time wasn’t important to me. I just wanted to have a good time.”

Participating in marathons is nothing new for Coles, who ran his first Detroit race at the age of 48. Since then, he has run 14 more in Detroit, one in New York and two in Chicago. His first attempt in Detroit was 1978, when he completed 15 of the 26.2 miles.

“I had never trained more than six miles before that one,” Coles recalled. “The path of the race went right past my house. So when I got to that point, I just called it a day.”

His enjoyment of racing isn’t tied so much to the physical act of running as it to just being healthy. Coles still does about three miles of fast walking and jogging every day, along with an hour of weight training. His last marathon prior to this fall was two years ago, when he was one of only two runners 75 or older to finish the race.

“I’ve always believed in fitness; it’s something very important to me,” said Coles, a graduate of Lincoln Park High who worked in hospital administration during his career.

“I’ve never talked to a marathoner who didn’t think you have to be a little bit compulsive to do this. But honestly, I thought two years ago would be my last race. But I was given the opportunity to run and raise funds for the Mental Health Research Association. It was an excellent cause, so I figured I’d do it again.”

So was 2008 his last run?

“I hate saying ‘no’ about anything in the future,” Coles said, choosing his words carefully. “Training for something like this can be a great chore, especially at my age. … This may have been my last, but I can’t say for certain.”

And if Coles decides not to run again, he can spend the day of next year’s race helping around the house.