Please join us in sending out prayers for Fred Hable, a long-time friend on the local running scene who is in hospice care in Bloomer.
During a recent visit with him we found Fred his usual friendly, upbeat self, despite a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.
This was not surprising, as Fred has always been one to take on life in classic runner fashion—head on with good cheer.
Since the mid 1980s, Fred, 62, has been a fixture on the local running scene both as a participant and organizer.
His long list of running accomplishments includes finishing over 500 races through the years. He has completed 69 marathons, 10 of them under 2 hours and 50 minutes.
As a long-time member of the Indianhead Track Club (ITC), Fred served as club president; race director of the Tortoise and Hare 5K for 13 years; and organizer of numerous other events, including the See Dick Run and Beer and M & Ms fun runs.
Fred often hosted fun runs from his family’s farm in Bloomer as well.
For his many contributions to local running, Fred was inducted into the ITC Hall of Fame a number of years ago.
Along with his long-time presence at local running events, Fred has long been a fixture at Fleet Feet on Water Street where he has worked for many years.
Local runner John Bachman put it well in a recent post on the Chippewa Valley Trail Runners Facebook page when he wrote that “Buying a pair of running shoes from Fred is always an adventure. Three minutes about shoes and 20 minutes of running stories.”
With his kind soul, gift of gab and many years of running experience, Fred definitely has many great stories to tell.
One of our favorites is not so much a story as it is Fred’s take on what it’s like to experience a good run.
“It’s like catching a wave,” Fred says.
Thanks Fred for all of the fun waves that you’ve brought into our lives over the years.
Whatever the future brings, we know that you’ll be catching many more of them in the years to come!
