Food — something almost every college student loves to devour and jump through hoops to obtain.
A 2005 Mississippi State graduate, Petey Crowder was your typical food-loving college student.
Always somewhat athletic, Crowder enjoyed running around the Cotton District with his now wife Ashley and the occasional round of disc golf.
But upon leaving Starkville, Crowder’s workout routines subsided, but his food consumption did not.
“I was probably eating about 5,000-6,000 calories a day with barely any exercise,” he said. “I fell into that trap of eating out almost daily and was choosing a lot of soda over water.”
Maxing out at 235 pounds, the 5’11” MSU graduate was no longer the image of good health, and he knew it.
“After having a child and starting to work, you begin to forget about your well-being and lose touch of how you’re putting on all this weight,” Ashley Crowder said. “He was still the Petey that I loved, but I could tell he was not as confident as in the past.”
Following a move to Oregon, Petey Crowder’s friend Andy kept insisting Petey join him running. The incessant bothering was what Petey Crowder needed to finally give in.
“It was nothing short of begging, actually. Andy asked me three or four times to go run because he didn’t want to do it alone,” Crowder said. “The first night we went about one mile switching between running and walking, and Andy never got impatient with me. Although I was nervous every time we ran for the first couple months, I started to enjoy it.”
One year and almost 70 pounds later, Crowder is not only a competitive runner but an ambassador for Nike and its annual Human Race.
“I had a friend ask me when the Human Race was this year and I had no idea what they were talking about, so I Googled it,” he said. “The only thing I found for it was this tiny blurb on being an ambassador, and you get all this free stuff. I love free stuff, so I sent in a 500-word essay and they chose 10 ambassadors out of the tons that applied.”
While the reward spiked his interest, it was the message behind the race which spoke to Crowder. The 10K race will involve more than one million runners worldwide on Oct. 24 as they raise money for the LiveStrong Foundation and awareness for healthy living.
The race has three official locations in the United States, but anyone can participate in their current location by using the Nike-plus software system.
“The race is not about who gets the best time, but it’s more of a global thing with uniting humanity through running and developing a community,” Petey Crowder said. “I think there is a great power behind the event, and it’s a way to spread my passion of running.”
Now with his weight under control, Petey Crowder’s love of running has spread throughout his family and friends.
“Even our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Emery loves to run now with the family,” Ashley said. “She is always running laps around the house, and even yesterday, she ran the last two hundred yards of my run with me.”
Petey Crowder’s twin brother Bubba has also gotten into running, losing almost 20 pounds.
“I never really thought about running until Petey started and I saw all the changes his body underwent,” Bubba Crowder said. “I have a ways to go before I can catch up to Petey, but I hope there comes a day where I can win in a race against him.”
But while Bubba Crowder has worked to transform his physical appearance, he is not about to stop there.
Although he does not consider himself to be naturally athletic, Bubba Crowder said he wants to be known as the “common man” runner. Just four months into his regimen, he had already run in his first half marathon, finishing in the top 20 percent of the field.
Bubba Crowder said if he can perform well as a runner, so can anyone.
“Running is not as easy as it sounds, and it doesn’t come easy,” he said. “There’s a saying in running that if you can get over three miles, then you can easily go five, six or even 10 miles easy. It’s about breaking that three mile barrier and enjoying what you can achieve with your body.”
The Crowders currently live in Dallas where Petey will run his personal 10K on Sunday. For more information on the Human Race and Crowder, visit nikerunning.nike.com.