“I could run faster than I could have dreamed of”

The 1960s featured several individuals who took their love of road racing and selflessly expanded the opportunities to run. Many regard Roland Dyer as the first of these, when he organized and directed road races, setting up a schedule for southern Maine and parts of central Maine starting in the mid-1960s. And there were others who did the same in other parts of Maine. In eastern Maine there was Dale Lincoln. And in northern Maine there was Conrad Walton.

A native of Island Falls, Walton went on to the University of Maine and Missouri State University. He spent his life as an educator, 34 years in the field, in the town of Caribou. For 13 of those years he coached cross country at Caribou, his teams winning Aroostook County titles six straight years.

After retiring from coaching in 1977, he decided to try running himself. "After watching the 1978 Boston Marathon I came to realize almost anyone could run in road races," said Walton. "I couldn't wait to get home and try a race. I soon found I could run faster than I could have dreamed of."

Walton went on to race for 18 years, saying that the person who had the greatest influence on his running was Bob Duprey who was his training partner all the years that he ran.

Among his long list of contributions to running in Aroostook County, Walton, along with Bruce Freme, Bob Duprey, and Sam Hamilton, founded the Aroostook Musterds Running Club in 1979 and served as team coach and co-editor of the club newsletter. He was also a founding member of the Joggernauts Running Club. Walton also organized the Caribou Track Club and the Greater Caribou Fitness Council.

He has directed at least 75 road races over the years, including 14 annual races that include the Caribou Labor Day 5 Miler, the Spudland Half Marathon, and the Maine Woods Marathon. He also organized weekly fun runs for runners of all ages.
Walton says that his single biggest race production was the Spudland Half Marathon. "The race was one of the first big budget races in Maine sponsored by Natural Light (BUD). From 1980 to 1982 we paid travel expenses for some of the best runners in the country." Among them were Bruce Bickford, Jack Fultz, Peter Fitzinger, Joan Benoit, Patti Catalano, Judi St. Hilaire, Hank Pfiefle, Jon Flora, and homegrown Andy Palmer. The race drew a field of about 175.

Walton organized and directed the area's first marathon, the Maine Woods Marathon, which lasted two years, 1979 and 1980. It attracted about 40 runners.

As a runner himself, Walton developed into one of the state’s best-ever masters and seniors runners. From 1979 through 1994, he held the fastest times in the state at 5-K, 10-K, 5 miles, and the half marathon. In 1991, he was top ranked in the 50 to 59 age group for five miles with a time of 28:35. That was 47 seconds better than the second-ranked runner, Bob Payne. That year Walton, who was 5-foot 9 and 135 pounds, was also ranked first at 10-K with a time of 35:02, almost two minutes ahead of the second-ranked Bob Coughlin.

In 1982, he won the County Challenge, putting him at the top of the point system in a series of races held annually in Aroostook County.

In 1992, at age 54, Walton led the state in three distances – 5-K, 5 miles, and 10-K – with times of 17:38, 27:43, and 34:52, respectively. He ran the 10-Mile Bowdoin and Back race, in 59:27, to record a personal best at the distance.

One of his proudest achievements was being selected as a member of the national Saucony Racing Team when he was 42.
His best marathons, all run in his early to mid-40s, include two run in 2:40, another in 2:43, and a fourth in 2:46. At age 51, in 1989, he was the fifth masters finisher in the NYC Marathon, clocking 2:48:01. This was his “greatest moment in racing,” says Walton.

His personal bests at various distances include: 15:45 for 5-K, at age 44; 25:42 for 5 miles, at age 43; 33:41 for 10K (Kingfield), at age 47; 27:46 for 8-K, at age 51; 59:27 for 10 miles, at age 54; 1:13:52 for 13.1 miles (Bar Harbor), at age 42; and 2:40:10 for the marathon (Casco Bay, 1981), at age 42.

As a seniors runner Walton has recorded bests of: 17:01 for 5-K; 27:07 for 5 miles; 35:22 for 10-K; 59:27 for 10 miles; 1:19:23 for 13.1 miles; and 2:48:01 for the marathon.

He has had eight overall wins in his career and an estimated 125 wins in the masters ranks and seniors ranks. He believes his best racing distance was five miles, and his two favorite races were the New York City Marathon and Pat's Pizza 5 Miler in Yarmouth.

He was named Aroostook County Runner of the Year in 1981, 1982, and 1989.

From 1977 through 1994 he ran more than 2500 miles per year five times. Walton had to stop running in 1994 when he developed osteoarthritis in his hips and knees.

Today, Walton holds the esteemed position of "Patriarch" of the Aroostook Musterds. Erv MacDonald, a long-time friend of Walton's and treasurer of the club, says that as Patriarch "his experience and wisdom is held in high esteem by the membership. The position is filled by the individual who has earned the highest respect of his running peers."

"Conrad has always placed a high value on relationships," MacDonald went on to say. "He has consistently demonstrated this characteristic to family, friends, students, athletes as well as all others encountering his presence. This approach is reinforced by a 13-year commitment to high school cross country coaching, directing over 75 road races, and to his known presence among Maine's running community. He has effectively served as a role model for running, demonstrating a year-round commitment to training and to high level performance at a wide variety of race distances."

Bob Duprey said that Walton "has set the standard of excellence in all aspects of Maine running. That is . . . as a coach. . . as a race director. . . as a runner."