90-year-old Oak Park man to be oldest to run Shamrock Shuffle

OAK PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- When the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle kicks off Sunday, one runner will carry a title that no one else can beat.

Bob Taylor, 90, of Oak Park, will be the oldest runner at this year's Shamrock Shuffle, which starts at Grant Park in Chicago at 8 a.m. Sunday.

It's been 33 years since the first time Taylor laced up his running shoes for the annual 8K run. This year, he has his very own age group - 90 and over.

"Am I lucky!" Taylor said.

Bob and his wife Stacia have been running together for nearly 40 years. It started out as a way for them to stay healthy, but has evolved into so much more than that.

"To go along with my good diet you need good exercise," Taylor said. "And as long as I'm running as exercise I've been like, why not enter races? Because that will be a motivation to keep me running."

Together the couple runs about 12 to 15 miles a week. The Shamrock Shuffle is one of their big races for the year.Oone for which they train and strategize.

"Bob is my coach," Stacia Taylor said. "He's always been my coach, not only in life but in running. He already has pre-gauged what would be important as far as time would be concerned."

And while these days Bob sticks to shorter distances, he is a two-time marathoner. He ran his first one at age 64. His last one at age 79.

"When you cross that finish line, there's a great euphoria that you've made it," Bob Taylor said. "And all my races that have been over 65, I've completed every race that I've started."

Bob and Stacia already have their next two races planned - a 5K in Oak Park next week and another in Ravenswood the week after that.