ANDY ORTBALS ANDY ORTBALS
Leawood’s Andy Ortbals played football and ran track at Harrisonville High School. He graduated in 1980 but didn’t start distance running until after college. “I always loved running,” he says. “It is one activity that I can always do even when I don’t want to do anything. One day, my wife and I wanted to try a road race. Typically someone might start with a 5K, but we signed up for the Chicago Marathon, and the rest is history.” Andy, who now competes in the 55-59 age group, has completed 12 Boston Marathons in a row, run in the Grand Canyon Rim2RIM2Rim, two 50-mile Ultras and two Leadville 100 attempts, missing the cutoff at 60.5 miles both times. His best marathon finish is 3:19. What is his training regimen for marathons? “I have tried just about everything from running three days to seven days a week,” he says. “Now I really don’t follow a training plan. “All I know is you can’t fake a marathon. You have to put in the miles if you want any good results, and maybe you should be at a race pace or faster.” Andy and his wife have owned a manufacturing business, Photo-Graphics Co. Inc., for 30 years. The Leawood resident isn’t into just running. “My wife and I are really into hiking and backpacking,” he says. “We have hiked and camped in many of the national parks.” And the couple had three grown children—two of them in graduate school—along with one grandbaby.
January 2018 | Leawood Lifestyle
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