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djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp4
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. Neilsen may be 80 years old (“just 80,” as he’s fond of saying), but the military veteran and former educator never stopped running, his hobby for years. He’s gone for runs in all 50 states.
TUPELO – David Neilsen isn't quite sure why he started running in his 30s while he was living in Memphis. What he does know, however, is that once he started, there was no stopping him.
Now, at age 80, the former U.S. Navy commander has completed his goal of running in all 50 states. Last week, he wrapped up a five-state trek in the northeast, which included Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and his final race in New York.
"I've been working on that goal for several years," Neilsen said Monday morning while training at Veterans Memorial Park in Tupelo. "I started with this organization called Mainly Marathons, and they do multiple states. They'll have folks run 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and ultras. And so there are folks out there that do what I did. We did five this time, and about two years ago, we did six. We started in Colorado and finished in Montana. We did North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Man, it was absolutely beautiful."
Seeing the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore were highlights of that trip, but more than anything, he remembers running by a lake in North Dakota.
"The wind was coming off the lake and the wind chill was 18 degrees. Nothing like today," he said after working up a sweat on Monday.
Neilsen — who retired from Itawamba Community College in 2007 after designing curricula and teaching networking, electronics and several other courses over the years — runs about three times a week to train.
"Over the 50 states, I can remember most of them, but there are a few I remember the most. One was South Carolina; it was drizzling rain and it was like 33 degrees," he said. "It was miserable."
But the past year may have been the most memorable. His destinations included Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas, Hawaii and Alaska in addition to the five he most recently ran.
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp3
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
"It was great doing all 50 states, and I would encourage anybody to go and do all 50," he said. "I mean, there was not a state I was in that there wasn't something absolutely new about that state."
Neilsen took up running when it seemed like nobody else was. Nor did he know anything about racing.
But there was something gnawing inside of him, a feeling that he needed to run. So, he did.
His first run began as so many others have — on his driveway. It was sloped a bit — about 15 degrees, Neilsen reckons, and he ran down it, and took a left.
"I ran down the block, two houses, and I was done,” he said. “I walked the rest of the way around the block.”
Eventually, that walk became two, then three. Soon, that walk became a run, and his distances increased until he could easily do three miles. And he ran several times a week. He then go work at ICC.
About two years after he started running, Neilsen read a story about the Gumtree 10K race.
"That's six miles; I'd never run six miles. So I said, ‘Yeah, why don't I give this a try?’" he said.
In his first Gumtree race, he was near the halfway mark of the race when he was passed by a runner who was pushing a wheelchair. Then another passed him. He wasn't sure what was happening in the middle of the race.
"Oh, that's pretty cool, I thought. And then another one passed me. And then another one passed me. And I thought, If I'm gonna keep doing this, I want to do that,” he said. “Turns out, back then, they started the Chad Payne Memorial Wheelchair Race five minutes after the regular race so that the people had a chance to thin out. So they were pushing these wheelchairs, and they were passing me at three miles. I said, OK I want to do that. So the next year, I did."
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp5
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
That first wheelchair race was a bit of a struggle for Neilsen, so the following year he ran with Craig Fields in the wheelchair.
"He couldn't walk and he couldn't talk, and he was as precious little kid," Neilsen said. "We'd be out on the course, and Craig went by Junior, and somebody would say, 'Hey, Junior!' And Craig would just beam. I mean, just beam.”
After they crossed the finish line, Craig was awarded a medal. For his part, Neilsen received a hug … which was better than any medal he could have received.
“(Craig took) those little arms and wrap them around my neck,” Neilsen said. “I don't care who you are, that will turn you into a puddle."
Neilsen pushed Fields and his wheelchair for nine years. But he had to take a break for a couple of years after being recalled to active duty after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"When I came back, Craig had passed away. It broke my heart," Neilsen said. "But I would encourage anybody. I did this Gumtree this year and I pushed a little. And there's nothing, there is no feeling, like crossing the finish line. And now, a lot of them, they'll get the chair up close to the finish line, and then we get them out of the chair, and they'll walk across the finish line. Oh, I'm telling you what, that is something else. So, so, I really would encourage anybody, that if you can do, if you can do the 6 miles, push the wheelchair. There's nothing like it."
Neilsen said a lot of younger people often look at him and say they hope they're like him when they get his age. He understands.
"All I can say is you’ve got to hang with it,” he said. “You know, just keep doing it.”
Originally from Washington state, Neilsen’s career in the Navy took him to Millington, Tennessee, where he met a southern belle name Carolyn, to whom he's been married for 52 years. The two of them have traveled the world together.
One memorable stop was in Greece while he was on active duty. He was stationed at the Marathi Pier Complex, which is located within the Souda Bay Hellenic Naval Base on the Akrotiri Peninsula.
"It's a NATO port, and some of the officers there found out I was a runner. The most I'd run was a 10K, and they said, 'Why don't you come run the marathon with us in Rome?'" Neilsen said. "Whoa, wait, what? That's from 6 miles to 26 miles. But they said they'd train me."
Five months of training later, Neilsen ran that marathon, which started and finished at the Coliseum. It was a historic run in every sense.
"I remember running past the Tiber thinking Julius Caesar was right here, and thought about Paul and his journeys ... that's one of those things you cannot forget," he said. "That's the only marathon I've ever ran."
Neither the Boston Marathon nor the New York Marathon are on Neilsen’s bucket list, which is nearly. But there is still the spot he's hoping to get to: somewhere north of the Arctic Circle. He came close a few years ago with a half-marathon in Finland, but it was known the southern end of the country.
"I'm still looking forward to that run north of the Arctic Circle," he said with a smile.
And Neilsen figures he has plenty of time to get there. After all he's only 80.
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp2
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
"Somebody asked me last Wednesday, 'How old are you?' I said I'm only 79. That was the day before my birthday," he said. "But I've been saying that for I don't know how many years. I'm only 74, I'm only 79. And now I'm just saying I'm only 80, you know? I got a long way to go. On the day that I turned 70, I was doing the Navy 10 nautical-miler in Millington, Tennessee."
There's no telling how many people Neilsen has inspired to take up running over the years. In fact, he suggests anyone with even the slightest hint of interest just give it a try.
After all, it’s nothing complicated. Just one foot in front of the other again and again and again.
"Just get out there. Get a good pair of shoes. That's it. And sometimes it helps if there's somebody to encourage," he said. "Other than that, I'm hit and miss. You know, sometimes I'll do this over here, sometimes I'll do that over there. But it works for me, you know?"
Continue reading...
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss. Neilsen may be 80 years old (“just 80,” as he’s fond of saying), but the military veteran and former educator never stopped running, his hobby for years. He’s gone for runs in all 50 states.
TUPELO – David Neilsen isn't quite sure why he started running in his 30s while he was living in Memphis. What he does know, however, is that once he started, there was no stopping him.
Now, at age 80, the former U.S. Navy commander has completed his goal of running in all 50 states. Last week, he wrapped up a five-state trek in the northeast, which included Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and his final race in New York.
"I've been working on that goal for several years," Neilsen said Monday morning while training at Veterans Memorial Park in Tupelo. "I started with this organization called Mainly Marathons, and they do multiple states. They'll have folks run 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and ultras. And so there are folks out there that do what I did. We did five this time, and about two years ago, we did six. We started in Colorado and finished in Montana. We did North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Man, it was absolutely beautiful."
Seeing the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore were highlights of that trip, but more than anything, he remembers running by a lake in North Dakota.
"The wind was coming off the lake and the wind chill was 18 degrees. Nothing like today," he said after working up a sweat on Monday.
Neilsen — who retired from Itawamba Community College in 2007 after designing curricula and teaching networking, electronics and several other courses over the years — runs about three times a week to train.
"Over the 50 states, I can remember most of them, but there are a few I remember the most. One was South Carolina; it was drizzling rain and it was like 33 degrees," he said. "It was miserable."
But the past year may have been the most memorable. His destinations included Idaho, Kansas, Arkansas, Hawaii and Alaska in addition to the five he most recently ran.
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp3
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
"It was great doing all 50 states, and I would encourage anybody to go and do all 50," he said. "I mean, there was not a state I was in that there wasn't something absolutely new about that state."
Neilsen took up running when it seemed like nobody else was. Nor did he know anything about racing.
But there was something gnawing inside of him, a feeling that he needed to run. So, he did.
His first run began as so many others have — on his driveway. It was sloped a bit — about 15 degrees, Neilsen reckons, and he ran down it, and took a left.
"I ran down the block, two houses, and I was done,” he said. “I walked the rest of the way around the block.”
Eventually, that walk became two, then three. Soon, that walk became a run, and his distances increased until he could easily do three miles. And he ran several times a week. He then go work at ICC.
About two years after he started running, Neilsen read a story about the Gumtree 10K race.
"That's six miles; I'd never run six miles. So I said, ‘Yeah, why don't I give this a try?’" he said.
In his first Gumtree race, he was near the halfway mark of the race when he was passed by a runner who was pushing a wheelchair. Then another passed him. He wasn't sure what was happening in the middle of the race.
"Oh, that's pretty cool, I thought. And then another one passed me. And then another one passed me. And I thought, If I'm gonna keep doing this, I want to do that,” he said. “Turns out, back then, they started the Chad Payne Memorial Wheelchair Race five minutes after the regular race so that the people had a chance to thin out. So they were pushing these wheelchairs, and they were passing me at three miles. I said, OK I want to do that. So the next year, I did."
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp5
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
That first wheelchair race was a bit of a struggle for Neilsen, so the following year he ran with Craig Fields in the wheelchair.
"He couldn't walk and he couldn't talk, and he was as precious little kid," Neilsen said. "We'd be out on the course, and Craig went by Junior, and somebody would say, 'Hey, Junior!' And Craig would just beam. I mean, just beam.”
After they crossed the finish line, Craig was awarded a medal. For his part, Neilsen received a hug … which was better than any medal he could have received.
“(Craig took) those little arms and wrap them around my neck,” Neilsen said. “I don't care who you are, that will turn you into a puddle."
Neilsen pushed Fields and his wheelchair for nine years. But he had to take a break for a couple of years after being recalled to active duty after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
"When I came back, Craig had passed away. It broke my heart," Neilsen said. "But I would encourage anybody. I did this Gumtree this year and I pushed a little. And there's nothing, there is no feeling, like crossing the finish line. And now, a lot of them, they'll get the chair up close to the finish line, and then we get them out of the chair, and they'll walk across the finish line. Oh, I'm telling you what, that is something else. So, so, I really would encourage anybody, that if you can do, if you can do the 6 miles, push the wheelchair. There's nothing like it."
Neilsen said a lot of younger people often look at him and say they hope they're like him when they get his age. He understands.
"All I can say is you’ve got to hang with it,” he said. “You know, just keep doing it.”
Originally from Washington state, Neilsen’s career in the Navy took him to Millington, Tennessee, where he met a southern belle name Carolyn, to whom he's been married for 52 years. The two of them have traveled the world together.
One memorable stop was in Greece while he was on active duty. He was stationed at the Marathi Pier Complex, which is located within the Souda Bay Hellenic Naval Base on the Akrotiri Peninsula.
"It's a NATO port, and some of the officers there found out I was a runner. The most I'd run was a 10K, and they said, 'Why don't you come run the marathon with us in Rome?'" Neilsen said. "Whoa, wait, what? That's from 6 miles to 26 miles. But they said they'd train me."
Five months of training later, Neilsen ran that marathon, which started and finished at the Coliseum. It was a historic run in every sense.
"I remember running past the Tiber thinking Julius Caesar was right here, and thought about Paul and his journeys ... that's one of those things you cannot forget," he said. "That's the only marathon I've ever ran."
Neither the Boston Marathon nor the New York Marathon are on Neilsen’s bucket list, which is nearly. But there is still the spot he's hoping to get to: somewhere north of the Arctic Circle. He came close a few years ago with a half-marathon in Finland, but it was known the southern end of the country.
"I'm still looking forward to that run north of the Arctic Circle," he said with a smile.
And Neilsen figures he has plenty of time to get there. After all he's only 80.
djr-2026-06-16-news-david-neilson-twp2
David Neilsen of Tupelo goes for his morning run in Veterans Park on June 15, 2026, in Tupelo, Miss.
"Somebody asked me last Wednesday, 'How old are you?' I said I'm only 79. That was the day before my birthday," he said. "But I've been saying that for I don't know how many years. I'm only 74, I'm only 79. And now I'm just saying I'm only 80, you know? I got a long way to go. On the day that I turned 70, I was doing the Navy 10 nautical-miler in Millington, Tennessee."
There's no telling how many people Neilsen has inspired to take up running over the years. In fact, he suggests anyone with even the slightest hint of interest just give it a try.
After all, it’s nothing complicated. Just one foot in front of the other again and again and again.
"Just get out there. Get a good pair of shoes. That's it. And sometimes it helps if there's somebody to encourage," he said. "Other than that, I'm hit and miss. You know, sometimes I'll do this over here, sometimes I'll do that over there. But it works for me, you know?"
Continue reading...
