Local octogenarian still running strong

SANDPOINT — There’s a photo that shows Sandpoint’s Dick Neuder crossing the Bloomsday finish line surrounded by many fit-looking people with one thing in common: They’re all less than half his age.

Dick Neuder, an 80 year-old retired dentist from Sandpoint, recently won his age group at the popular 12K run in Spokane, clocking a respectable 1:15.19 and besting the rest of his competition by more than three minutes.

To those who’ve seen him run — he runs essentially the same two-mile loop in Sandpoint nearly every morning — the prestigious win comes as no surprise. In fact, the biggest surprise to those who know him is seeing him in running shorts. Bloomsday, which he has run the last 23 years, is the only time all year he doesn’t run in the same jeans and sweatshirts he wears on a daily basis.

So just how does an 80 year-old veteran of the Korean War churn out 7.5 miles at such a surprisingly quick and even pace?

“He’s always prepared, always has a plan and it always works,” says friend and former dental assistant Susie Puckett.

Part of that plan includes running everyday, and a strict and devoted adherence to Covert Bailey’s “Fit or Fat” book. The only time he varies his regimen is when he builds up to a six mile run across the Long Bridge and back the week before Bloomsday, then rests leading up to the race.

“He’s really an incredible man,” says Jane Davis, one of many locals who see him running on a daily basis. “He’s so humble, he’s probably like ‘it’s nothing.’”

Neuder and his wife Mary moved to Sandpoint from Michigan in the 1960s, having fallen in love with the place on numerous visits. For more than 40 years, Neuder ran a popular and successful dental practice in Sandpoint. Two years ago he finally retired, although he continued to volunteer his time by administering dental care out of a bus to local uninsured and underinsured patients.

His son Steve Neuder, a local minister, welled up with tears while describing his father and the impact he and Mary have had on the community over the years.

“Their love of the community is what gets me most,” says Steve, mentioning that four people recently brought meals by the other night as the family deals with an illness. “The love of the community has come back to them in ways that blow my mind.”

While running nearly every day for the last 40 years might seem like a passion that can’t be trumped, Neuder’s love of gardening gives it a good run for the money. This year alone he has planted more than 750 of his favorite species: the dahlia. He cross-breeds them, recently coming up with two new breeds of dahlias to name after his two granddaughters, Julia and Camille.

“It was a very proud moment for him, he’s the dahlia king,” says Steve, noting his father’s green thumb extends well beyond dahlias. “He’s taught his granddaughters, who are five and eight, how to plant things and they love it.”

But running remains Neuder’s rock, a place where he can find peace and solitude. He has begun using an ipod on his early morning runs, admitting that Glenn Miller helps him “keep the pace up pretty good.” He even managed to climb Scotchman Peak last year, a strenuous, steep 4,000 foot climb that is tough for anyone, let alone a 79 year-old.

This year when he crossed the Bloomsday finish line he received an unexpected surprise. Unbeknownst to him, Puckett’s daughter Milissa Bond had been following him for the entire race, and the two high-fived each other as the crossed the finish line. Bond was amazed at the crisp, even pace Neuder was able to keep.

“She snuck behind him because she knew he’d say to go ahead,” says Puckett, who marvels at both Dick and wife Mary. “They’re so involved in life completely. It’s something for us all to look up to.”

Neuder admits he’s not sure how long he’ll keep running, but he’s certainly not showing any signs of slowing down.

“When I can get out, I go,” he says, adding that he loves the solitude running provides and uses it as a chance to organize his day. “I get a lot of waves and ‘good mornings’ expressed. What can you say, it’s just a great community.”