The 70-year-old Thomas, who could pass for Tom Cruise’s older brother, is a retired New Jersey school leader. The former superintendent of the Salem County Special Services and Vocational Technical School District, former superintendent of the Pittsgrove Township School District and former principal at several schools, Thomas is busy planning to enter a 100-mile race and to ride his motorcycle across the United States, camping along the way. Technically, he is not retired, as Thomas volunteers as a yoga and environmental teacher and mentors Temple University grad students in education.
Thomas has a compulsion that seems to originate within his DNA, stimulating like an electrical current every bone, muscle and nerve fiber in his 5-foot-9-inch, 175-pound frame and manifesting as a relentless and unquenchable drive for movement. He seeks movement the way the Kardashians seek publicity or, on a more elemental level, the way a plant grows toward the sunlight.
He describes himself as having an addictive personality and is grateful that he never used drugs or alcohol. Thomas’ addiction has driven him to complete 101 marathons and ultramarathons, including several runs of more than 50 miles, and one 24-hour run without stopping. “My friends describe me as a genetic anomaly,” he said, referring to the fact that his body seems to thrive on the intense workloads and his recovery from super endurance events is remarkably fast.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1390939488/1685990646/articles/OGIoR6PZ31686834426925/5166876658.jpg]
In 1997, Thomas completed his first major adventure. He rode his bicycle across the United States, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. On the 46-day trip, he averaged 83 miles a day with five days off to rest.
After that warmup, a few years later, Thomas and his dog thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail of 2,178 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Maine’s Mount Katandin. Encounters with wildlife were numerous on the five-month trip, including frightening experiences with rattlesnakes and a close call with a mother bear and her three cubs.
Thomas has pursued physical challenges on several continents. In Nicaragua, he competed in a nine-hour jungle survival run that took him through a dormant volcano. In Thailand, he ran the Bangkok marathon and then spent five days meditating in a Buddhist temple. He climbed the 20,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and hiked the Salkantay Range in Peru and the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1390939488/1685990646/articles/OGIoR6PZ31686834426925/5861788588.jpg]
It is impossible in a brief profile to even begin to list the countless races and challenges that Thomas has attempted. It is simply his way of life, as natural to him as the act of breathing.
But what makes Loren Thomas run? Thomas, who lives with his partner, Rosy, an executive coach, is divorced with three children (one deceased) and four grandkids. He continually pushes himself to extremes that would intimidate and even break most physically fit individuals 50 years younger.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors,” Thomas said. “When I was 5, my dad bought me a pup tent,...
Thomas has a compulsion that seems to originate within his DNA, stimulating like an electrical current every bone, muscle and nerve fiber in his 5-foot-9-inch, 175-pound frame and manifesting as a relentless and unquenchable drive for movement. He seeks movement the way the Kardashians seek publicity or, on a more elemental level, the way a plant grows toward the sunlight.
He describes himself as having an addictive personality and is grateful that he never used drugs or alcohol. Thomas’ addiction has driven him to complete 101 marathons and ultramarathons, including several runs of more than 50 miles, and one 24-hour run without stopping. “My friends describe me as a genetic anomaly,” he said, referring to the fact that his body seems to thrive on the intense workloads and his recovery from super endurance events is remarkably fast.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1390939488/1685990646/articles/OGIoR6PZ31686834426925/5166876658.jpg]
In 1997, Thomas completed his first major adventure. He rode his bicycle across the United States, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. On the 46-day trip, he averaged 83 miles a day with five days off to rest.
After that warmup, a few years later, Thomas and his dog thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail of 2,178 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Maine’s Mount Katandin. Encounters with wildlife were numerous on the five-month trip, including frightening experiences with rattlesnakes and a close call with a mother bear and her three cubs.
Thomas has pursued physical challenges on several continents. In Nicaragua, he competed in a nine-hour jungle survival run that took him through a dormant volcano. In Thailand, he ran the Bangkok marathon and then spent five days meditating in a Buddhist temple. He climbed the 20,000-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and hiked the Salkantay Range in Peru and the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1390939488/1685990646/articles/OGIoR6PZ31686834426925/5861788588.jpg]
It is impossible in a brief profile to even begin to list the countless races and challenges that Thomas has attempted. It is simply his way of life, as natural to him as the act of breathing.
But what makes Loren Thomas run? Thomas, who lives with his partner, Rosy, an executive coach, is divorced with three children (one deceased) and four grandkids. He continually pushes himself to extremes that would intimidate and even break most physically fit individuals 50 years younger.
“I’ve always loved the outdoors,” Thomas said. “When I was 5, my dad bought me a pup tent,...
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Jersey's Best (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2023