Avera Race Against Cancer: Jim Berman

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Follow updates as Jim Berman trains to run with the Dakota News Now team in the Avera Race Against Cancer May 13.

Jim Berman, President and General Manager, 62

Week one update:

I thought the first week went very well.  I’ve been doing a lot of training over the past 18 months to get myself into the best shape I can, so I responded well. That being said, when you’re in your 50s and 60s in particular, no matter what kind of shape you’re in, you have to be careful.  Stretching is so important, not only before a workout but afterward as well.  Today, for example, I ran for 30 minutes and felt stiff because I didn’t stretch following the run.  I won’t make that mistake again. I’m already underway with Week 2.  Looking forward to another fun and challenging week!

Bio:

It’s been an interesting journey for me. I started running in the Avera Race in 2011. I got myself in great shape and was able to run these races every year through 2016. Then as I was training for the 2017 race, I noticed something was wrong. It turned out I had significant blockages and as a result needed double bypass surgery. I worked hard to get myself back into shape, and I triumphantly returned to the Avera Race in 2018. You can click on this link to see that story!

It was a real sense of achievement to just be able to be in the race again, but I still had a long way to go to get myself back in the kind of shape I had been in before. Then COVID hit, and during that time I put on 40 lbs. So it was truly back to square one for me. Now, 18 months and 40 pounds later, I’m arguably in the best shape I’ve been in in 10 years. I’m ready to get back out there and see if I can recapture my best times in the 27-28 minute range. That’s one of my goals. But the most important goal is to do my part to call attention to this very important cause. Over the past 34 years, the Avera Race Against Cancer has raised over $9 million for cancer research. I want our efforts to help get that total to come close to or even surpass the $10 million mark. And with your help, we can do it!

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