Dibble and his daughter compete in a marathon back in 1991.

Who says you have to slow down after 50 and settle into retirement?

Meet 74-year-old, Mission Viejo resident, Steve Dibble, who has done his fair share of running – in fact, he has clocked more than 75,000 miles – (keep in mind it’s only 2,450 miles from LA to New York) and he’s competed in more than 30 marathons.

“I have kept a daily log and have run 77,832 miles and as for races, I have run 30 marathons and more than 300 shorter races (half marathons and 10k’s),” says the retired owner of Mission Medical Pharmacy. “They were all enjoyable from the Boston Marathon to the Los Angeles Marathon Races.”

While he may be a retired, Dibble is still working but now concentrates on property management and consulting with surgical centers. According to his wife Linda, he also helps divorced and widowed ladies with their finances.

“I always wanted to be an engineer/architect, but I could not draw a straight line,” he jokes.

But when it comes to running, he is clearly the master – Dibble started when he was 30 years old and it was because he was out of shape. His drive and motivation are strong and he is incredibly devoted.

“Being a ‘Type A’ personality and having bad genes, I need to run to stay alive,” he says. “All of this keeps me mentally and physically young.”

Dibble enjoys running with friends, runs regularly and can’t think of anything he enjoys more. However, if he is on vacation, it can be challenging to squeeze in a run.

Always the go-getter this top marathon runner says he put himself through college by being a smoke jumper parachuting out of planes on forest fires for the government.

Later on, he was politically active in the National and State Pharmacy Associations serving as Past President of the California Pharmacy Association and Past President of the State Board of Pharmacy (appointed by the Governor).

Born in the small town of Winthrop with a population of 397 in the State of Washington, his advice on running if you’re interested in taking it up is: “Be consistent, run when you do not feel like running.”

His own running heroes/mentors include: The late runner Jim Fix and his high school Coach Al Valderson.

This father of three grown children and 13 grandchildren likes to play bridge and travel and says he looks forward to more running especially through the lovely trails of Mission Viejo.