Dennis Roach

Hometown: Marietta, GA

Races Completed: 19 marathons

Fave Streaker Gift: I still enjoy a green streaker baseball cap I received several years ago. I wear it often. People see the "STREAKER" on the back of the cap and ask me what that means. I tell them - "it means that I was there for every race."

Favorite Memory: A couple of years ago while standing in the corral waiting for the marathon to begin, I noticed a tall runner just in front of me. He seemed ready for the run and I thought "it is good to see the young people coming out to run." When the race started he took off pretty quickly and I concentrated on my run. At mile 22 I looked ahead and saw the same young man just ahead and he was walking. As I got up beside him I asked him how he was doing. He said he was fine and we began to chat. He said that this was his first marathon and that he had not trained for it. He had simply registered for the run and on race day showed up. He said that he hadn't realized how hard it was to run a marathon. I asked him if he wanted to run together to the finish line. He said "yes" and we ran and walked the remaining four miles. His family was waiting on him at the finish line and they were cheering and hollering his name. When we crossed the finish line together he gave me a big hug and said "thank you." I told him "you gave it your all, you crossed the finish line, and now you are a marathoner." Congratulations young man." I think he relished the new title. It was another one of those happy runner moments I have had over the several decades of running that has sustained me.

Streak Obstacle: The effect of aging. The human body, after decades of wear and tear, simply doesn't respond as it did.