Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette (From left) 92-year-old Ken Seaton, his daughter Kim Hope along with Gary and Gale Olds are all smiles after the 5-mile walk.

HANCOCK — At age 92, Ken Seaton, could easily be called the elder statesman of the Canal Run. However, it is not just his age that would allow him to earn that title. Even more impressive is the fact that Seaton hasn’t missed a Canal Run since its debut in 1976.

“I started with the 10-mile run back then. That’s all they had,” he said. “Then they added the five-mile run and over the last several years I’m good for the five-mile walk. Today (Saturday), was one of the best walks I’ve ever had.”

His daughter Kim Hope knew the reason for his success.

“He had a good partner who wouldn’t shut up,” she quipped with a smile.

His partner on the wall was Gary Olds of O’Fallon, Illinois. This was his first Canal Run. He and his wife, Gale, along with Kim and her dad, Ken, finished the five-mile walk at 1:28.

“Ken’s got some great stories. We think alike,” said Gary. “In fact, I was having a hard time keeping up with him, and that was humbling.”

Seaton, a Hancock native and Michigan Tech alum, didn’t mince words on why he keeps coming back decade after decade to do the Canal Run.“You’ve got to keep moving,” he explained. “My friends that stopped moving died. That’s not me. You’ve got to do something everyday.”

Scott Couture is a fellow believer in the importance of exercise. The Ishpeming retiree was the fastest male runner for the half marathon in the 60-69 age group with a time of 1:48:59. The 62-year-old said if you would have told him 10 years ago that he would be running a half marathon on Saturday, he would have said no way.

“I retired as a nurse at Jacobetti (Home for Veterans) several years ago, and I thought what was I going to do,” he said. “I was no good at golf and was not going to watch TV all day. So I discovered a running group. We call ourselves the ‘muffin runners’ as we run around the park in Marquette on Wednesday morning and then go out for coffee and muffins afterwards – thus the name. The group is very inspiring and keeps me going.”

He added that Saturday’s run was his fourth half marathon. He recently did his first full marathon in Paradise, Michigan.

Also keeping him going is his wife of 30-plus years, Karen. Eleven years ago she had a liver transplant. However, that did not stop her from getting out and exercising with her husband. On Saturday, while Scott was running, she was walking the five-mile Canal course.

“It was good to finish it and I was pleased with my time,” she said.

As they put their arms around each other for a finish-line photo Scott summed it up best.

“Life is a journey, and every day is a gift,” he noted. “You’ve got to pick up your feet and go.”