Meet Mark Fisher, Striders Donor and Mount Washington Runner

The club now has a popup tent for races and other events, thanks in part to a donation from member Mark Fisher. While Mark lives in New Hampshire, he annually joins Strider friends on the Central Maine Striders team for the Mount Washington Road Race. He and his wife, Linda, also vacation often in Maine. Thank you for your generosity, Mark!

Get to know more about Mark below.

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Wife Linda, Chris Chadwick, Ron Paquette, Dean Rasmussen, and Mark Fisher at the Mount Washington Road Race.

I was an athlete in high school (Avondale High in Michigan) and thought in general running was a punishment versus a joy. After graduating my first college roommate was a runner. We started running our freshman year and kept it up through our time at Western Michigan. This is where I ran my first race, The Paper Chase 5K. 

For the past nearly 30 years I have lived in a number of places (Michigan, Illinois, North Caroline, Pennsylvania, and now Chichester, N.H.) and run consistently. I have completed two marathons and about a dozen halves. I've run in the capital area race series for about 10 years and have been an age group winner several times.  

I joined the Striders about a decade ago at the suggestion of Ron Paquette and Dean Rasmussen because I lost any excuses about not running Mt. Washington when I made the mistake of moving there. I am now 12 years in and would not miss it for anything. Ron, Dean, and Donna Jean Pohlman are not just my running heroes but life heroes as well. The joy is in the doing and being, not the time. 

Currently, I work at Sanofi Pharmaceuticals as part of the Organized Customer Group account team. I find the work challenging and rewarding and am energized in how we can help patients with our medicines. 

• Favorite race: Mount Washington of course.  But it is about the Guinness and pizza at the Shannon Door afterward.  Also love the Canterbury Shaker Village 5K XC
• Favorite run: Lakefront in Chicago is tough to beat, but vacation running near Moosehead Lake is tops. 
• Favorite piece of running gear: my silly iPad and podcasts ("99% invisible," "Judge John Hodgman," and "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!")
• Favorite running advice/mottos: To steal two: "Just one Hill" and " anything worth doing is worth doing poorly". ​

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The new Striders tent at Last Man Standing Ultramarathon at Pineland Farms in September