Interview Tuesday: Meet Kentucky and Masters Runner - Duffy Sutton

I this weeks Interview I talk to Duffy Sutton of Sterns Kentucky.  If you have run a race in and around Kentucky it is likely that you may have seen Duffy run in costume, he has after all run a 5K in 37 of 120 counties in the state - so far.  Enjoy getting to know Duffy and make sure to say hello to him at the next race you see him at.

1st ever race along with his sons Logan(L) and Cody(R)

Tell us a little about yourself not necessarily related to running: age, where born, education, area you live in, etc…..
My name is Duffy Sutton, I am 54 years old, I was born and grew up in Frankfort, Kentucky and now live in Stearns, Kentucky.  My parents are Gayle Sutton and Barbara Salyers. I have three brothers Jeff, Mike and Steve. I graduated from Franklin County High School in 1981 and attended Eastern Kentucky University where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in 1985. I have been married to my wonderful wife, Anita for 2 ½ years and have three sons Ryan, Cody, Logan and one stepson Bailey. I have two daughter-in-laws, Jackie, and Seirra, and one granddaughter, Fern.


What is your profession? 
I am a retired Police Officer. I retired from the Kentucky State Police in 2014 after having spent over 26 years in law enforcement. I do spend time in the fall and winter officiating boys and girls AAU basketball games.


How did you start running and what prompted you to do so? 
In 2009 I was told by my two youngest sons, Cody and Logan, that I should start running in order to improve my health, both were cross country runners for Somerset High School. I weighed close to 230 lbs with high blood pressure and the onset of diabetes. I was able to get my weight down to around 180 at one point and now weigh around 185, I feel better and my blood pressure is much better and my diabetes is controlled with diet and exercise. 


How long have you been running?

1st Race in a Costume

In May 2009 I started walking and running and by September 2009 I felt like I was ready to run my first 5K race, The Race to the Oasis. I finished in 29:43. I really enjoyed it and actually did another one before the end of the year. Gradually increasing my races every year. In 2010 I ran 9, in 2011 (10), in 2012 (11), in 2013 (22), in 2014 (22), in 2015 (27) in 2016 (35), in 2017 (41) and so far in 2018 I have run three. Not every race I run is a 5K, I have run a few other races of different distances, One Mile, Two Miles, 3K, 4K, 8K, 10K, 20K, 50K and Half-Marathon.


Did you participate in any other sports over the years?
Yes, I played basketball and baseball in high school.


Did you run in grade school, High School or College?
No, I did not run in High School or College.


So we get an idea of where you have been with running can you share your PR’s for: 5K, 10K marathon and any other distance you may have run in the past. 
My PR for a 5K is 24:54.  I haven’t run enough of the other distances to give you a PR for them. I have run a total of 182 races to date of which 165 have been 5K races, All of the other distances I have run total 17 races in all. I love the idea of competition with other runners, always competing to win, but also enjoying the sport of running. 

What is your most memorable race or races and share a little about at least one of them?
My most memorable race would have to be the 50K ultra trail run. Last year I ran the Yamacraw 50K. I had never done anything like that before in my life, I had a couple of my running friends talk me into it. I only trained a few times for that race, running no more than seven or eight miles each time and I only did those four or five times.  I knew mentally that I could finish the race, my concern was physically could I? The Yamacraw 50K for everyone that does not know what it consists of is a trail run through the Big South Fork National Forest. You have several thousand feet of elevation climb, tree roots and rocks to traverse, several creek crossings and just the distance itself.  It only takes one small mistake, tripping, slipping or falling and your day is done because of the high probability of being injured if you should fall and being a little older than most people that run those type of races, my body doesn’t recover as quickly as it did when I was younger. My goal was to just complete the race, I didn’t care if I finished last or next to last, I just wanted to finish and I did. I completed the Yamacraw 50K in 10 hours 36 minutes and 50 seconds, just under the 11 hour time limit. It is hard to explain the overwhelming rush of adrenaline and self satisfaction I felt when I crossed that finish line. Like many folks I have talked to that have completed that type of race for the first time, you are overcome with emotion.  If I can complete a 5K race in every Kentucky county, I’m sure that last 5K race will be just as fulfilling of a moment as the Yamacraw 50K race was. 


What is your favorite distance to run and race?
I love my 5K races. 

Recent Costume

I hear you like to dress up for races.  What got you started doing this?  What is your favorite outfit?I was challenged once to run a race in a costume of sorts in December 2012. I dressed in Christmas attire. After the race I had several people say that they loved my outfit and from that point on I always try to look for a costume of some sort for each race I run, trying to tie it to the theme of the race. I don’t know that I have a favorite costume but I can tell you about some of the costumes I have run in. I have run as  a Rabbit, a Dog, Father Time, Batman, Superman, Spiderman, a Leprechaun, a Turkey, Santa Claus, an Elf, a Police Officer, an Escaped Convict, a Rock Star and The Green Man,  I could go on and on. I have almost all of the pictures on my Facebook page. The people who run a lot of the races I run are always asking me what I am going to dress up as at my next race? The costumes that I wear have  taken on a little different meaning in one way as to why I dress up like I do at races now. I once had a girl tell me at one of my earlier races that seeing me dressed up like I was, made her day just a little better. She told me that she was a little down and out and that seeing me dressed like I was made her smile and made her day just a little better. I thought wow, what a compliment, at that point I thought why not do this costume thing more often. If I can make just one person laugh or smile just for a little while by dressing in a crazy outfit, why not? I know that when I dress up it is not going to change someone's life or solve whatever problems they might be having that particular day but if I can make them laugh or smile for just a moment, what if someone else came along after me and did the same thing for them and maybe the person after? I have had two or three other people that have now told me basically that same story the first girl did.  I look at it like this, the world we live in today is sad in many ways, what better way to make it just a little better by making someone laugh or smile doing something as simple as dressing up in a crazy costume. If the worst thing anybody ever said to me was you look stupid dressed like that, then I don’t have much to worry about. 


Do you have any long-range plans?
Once I started running races in different counties it struck me, why not try to run a 5K race in every Kentucky county and we all know how many counties Kentucky has (120).  I am up to 37 as of right now and hope to be close to 50 or 55 by the end of this year. I know it is a long shot to be able to complete a goal like this but I enjoy the challenge as well as getting to see other parts of the state that I have not seen in a long time. Even if I fall short for one reason or another, I will have been blessed to meet some of the most wonderful people in the running community. I have spent the better part of the last two weeks putting together my race schedule for this year. One of my biggest problems is not every county has several races in it each year, some only have one or two and that creates a challenge in scheduling. If I have to go a long distance to run a race I try hard to get two races in the same day or same weekend in a neighboring county. I am always looking for help from others who might know about counties that only have one or two races a year in them. Some counties in Kentucky don’t have any, at least not yearly anyway. 


What do you like best about living and running in KY?
I guess the thing I like best about running in Kentucky is that Kentucky is so diverse in its landscape for running.


What do you struggle with most with regards to running?

After Injury

The one thing I struggle most with is the thought of  my health. Back in 2015 I had an accident while working on some property my wife and I had bought. I was clearing it and ran over a piece of buried barbed wire with a push mower. The wire was not visible because of the height of the weeds. The mower sheared off the barbed wire off and sent it into my leg.. The local emergency care center Dr. was unable to remove it in the office and scheduled surgery to have it removed. The piece of barbed wire was so rusty that my leg got infected before I had the surgery the next day. The surgeon that performed my operation told me that had it been another 24 hours that I would have lost my leg do to the aggressive nature of the infection. I was sidelined for about eight weeks. My wife Anita was a great nurse to me. She helped with giving me injections in my stomach and flushed out my pick lines I had in my arms to help get antibiotics into my bloodstream much quicker.  I was also taking oral antibiotics. Like I said, I was sidelined for about eight weeks which meant no running or anything of  the sorts. That was very difficult, I thought maybe my running days were over but with my wife and great medical people taking care of me and the positive thoughts and prayers from my many friends and family and most importantly the good Lord above I was able to return to running again. I slowly got back into it, even doing half of a two mile run on crutches. I thought I was good to go but another set back occurred. I began having pain in my leg and went to the Dr. I learned I now had a blood clot in my leg that ran from my hip to my ankle. I began taking blood thinners to help with that and again the Lord was good to me as I was able to recover from that as well. I was able to fully recover from what I thought once were injuries that would put an end to my running. Wonderful treatment from all the medical folks I met during my injuries, prayer,  positive thinking and the support of great friends and family are what pulled me through those tough times. So to say what I struggle with most would be the thought having a recurrence of my leg injury or another type of injury that would end my running days prematurely. I plan to keep running, walking if necessary to complete my goal of running a 5K race in every Kentucky county before I stop running. 


What do you see as a trend in running?
I see a trend of wonderful people always encouraging others to do their best or improve every time they run a race. The support that I have seen runners give to others they are competing against is really something. Most sports these days you don’t see athletes encourage other athletes they are competing against to do better for fear of being beaten, at least  I don’t see that in races that I have been a part of. I guess that is one thing that I really love about running. 


If you had one, well maybe two or three, things to say those that are running to encourage them what would it be?

1. Try running/walking. The community of people you will meet is wonderful.

2. Always push yourself to improve each time, even if it’s only a little bit.

3. Don’t give up, run, walk, crawl, you can always do it.


Do you have a website or other social media site you would like to share?

• Facebook: Duffy Sutton
• Twitter: @33Duffy
• Instagram: 33pops

Any closing comments?
I would like to give a big shout out to my wife Anita who is always very supportive of my running in that there are  many times when we are not able to spend time together because I am running a race somewhere. She even runs some races with me and I love that. I also want to say a big thank you to my two youngest sons Cody and Logan who got me started running. I have to say thank you to everyone who along my journey of races has had something positive to say or encouraged me in some way. Lastly I want to thank the most important person in my life for allowing me to do something I dearly love to do and that is My Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Romans 12:1-21