Sen. Chuck Grassley announces he’s running ... 3 miles a day, 4 days a week
The Iowa Republican prefers to go it alone — and you won’t catch him with ‘plugs’
Kathryn Lyons
Keeping Instagram abreast of the latest #CornWatch developments happening back at the family farm in Iowa isn’t the only responsibility Chuck Grassley prioritizes on a regular basis. When he’s in D.C., the 85-year-old senator dedicates four days a week to running 3 miles — rain or shine.
“I just wanna get out and do something so I don’t get fat, I guess,” the matter-of-fact lawmaker tells me. (Don’t we all?)
The oldest sitting male senator in Congress, who wasn’t a runner for most of his life, got an unusually late start at the age of 65 while chairman of the Aging Committee. Frequent visits to Iowa nursing homes left him disturbed that residents were hardly motivated to exercise.
“I wanted to make sure I was in shape so I didn’t get in that position … so I started running,” he says. He chose running because it’s low maintenance — it’s free, doesn’t require any equipment, and even better, no people are necessary.
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The early hour is by choice; it means he can leave for work before 6 a.m., giving him the luxury of beating rush hour traffic in the nation’s gridlocked capital.
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But don’t for a second think the discomfort that comes with the repeated slapping of one’s feet against hard pavement is enjoyable to Grassley. He claims that “anybody that says they love to run is lying” — and I don’t disagree.
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Without headphones clogging up his ears, he can clear his head and “think things over.”
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Even though running might not be everyone’s preferred mode of movement, “everyone should have some sort of recreation,” Grassley advises. “Running is best for me, but for someone else, it might not be.”
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