A little more than 30 years ago, while I was enrolled as a student at then Mankato State University, I took an ethics course through the Philosophy Department. The professor was Ron Yezzi and he had a unique, laid-back style coupled with a vast knowledge of the subject matter.

Yezzi was about 40 years old at that point and it was then he decided to take up running to keep in shape. The now retired philosophy professor, who still teaches part time, has been running ever since.

On Saturday, Yezzi joined the unofficial 30-70-50 club. He’s been running for 30 years, he’s 70 years old, and he just completed his 50th marathon as he covered the Grandma’s Marathon course in Duluth in 6:13.39.

“I certainly never set out to run 50 marathons,” said Yezzi, who also submits letters to the editor regularly at The Free Press. “It’s just that one race leads to another and my body has held up pretty well. When I was younger I averaged two marathons a year for 20 years. The other years I ran one.

“I guess when I reached 47 or 48 I realized it was a goal to shoot for. Obviously it’s something I’ve enjoyed or I wouldn’t have done it for this long.”

Yezzi cautions that purists might find his 50-marathon milestone somewhat dubious. In all but about 10 of the races he’s walked at least part of the course. Last Saturday he walked the final six miles of Grandma’s.

Yezzi credits his longevity to his membership in a loosely-knit running group that goes out every Saturday morning. He’s always appreciated the camaraderie he’s experienced with his fellow local runners, who keep one another pumped up during training and like to visit with each other as they decompress.

Yezzi says there’s a good chance Saturday was his final marathon. Unless he can find a way to get under six hours — and he admits his love of sweets will probably prevent him from losing the 15 pounds he’d probably need to drop to do so — he’ll likely stick to half marathons for awhile.

As for completing 50 marathons, Yezzi can see how a non-runner would see that as something sort of crazy.

From his perspective, however, he doesn’t see it as anything special.

“The number 50 doesn’t have any real meaning,” he said, the philosopher side of him starting to emerge. “It’s one more than 49 and one less than 51. The whole 30-70-50 thing is a little strange, though.

“In some ways, running for me has been as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. It just takes persistence.

“I don’t have any great running style; it’s like your mind and your body are in this marriage and it has all the complications of any marriage. There are high points and low points. Sometimes the body can be telling the mind ‘how the hell did you get me into this,’ but some how you find a way to persevere.”

Few can deny that Yezzi has, indeed, persevered. Whether it’s circling the streets in his running shoes, enlightening a new generation of students at the college, or addressing a variety of issues on the opinion pages, Yezzi is a vibrant contributor to the community.

We’re fortunate to have him.