Local runner not planning to slow down

Technically Bud Stumbaugh is a senior citizen.
But only technically.
“I say I have the energy of a 40-year-old,” he told The Nugget. “It’s easy to do the math since that’s half my current age.”
And you may have noticed that youthful energy on display on the roadways of Dahlonega as the soon-to-be octogenarian can be seen running in his trusty Nike Airs everyday.
Yes, everyday.
No matter rain or shine or coldness or sweatiness, he makes sure to clock in 3 miles a day.
It’s a workout regimen he started more than 50 years ago.
And he hasn’t stopped since.
Back then Stumbaugh’s motivation was simple.
He just didn’t want to be Wilber.
RUNNING FROM WILBER

“I was 30 years old and I came down the stairs for breakfast,” said Stumbaugh. “And my six year old daughter Stacey was at the breakfast table and she didn’t mean to be critical but she pointed at my stomach and said ‘Daddy, you look like Wilber.’”
Wilber was a church member who was known for his impressive size.
Or as Stumbaugh put it: “Wilber looked like he was about eight months pregnant, and with quintuplets on top of that.”
Stumbaugh didn’t want to be the next Wilber.
And so he started to run.
“That afternoon I decided ‘I’m going to start jogging,’” he said. “I probably went a quarter of a mile and that’s all I could do I was so out of shape.”
Now, 50 years later, the 79-year-old Stumbaugh could easily outpace his 30 year old self.
There’s a good chance he could outrun his daughter too.
The now Stacey Andrick said she and and her husband are avid cyclists, but they still can’t manage to keep up with the elder Stumbaugh.
“He can’t sit still,” she said. “... We’re strong and young and athletic and he still runs circles around us.”
Even doctor’s orders couldn’t slow Stumbaugh for too long.
“Once I had surgery and the doctor said you cannot run for a month. And I took his advice,” Stumbaugh said, “for a week.”

THREE STAGES

Stumbaugh stopped eating most sugars 10 years ago and he also keeps his muscles toned by lifting weights four days a week.
When asked if people are often surprised by his age he said yes…in a way.
“They’re surprised because I look like I’m 100,” he said. “Then they find out I’m actually almost 80. Then they realize that energy wise I’m about 40. So they just have to go through those three stages.”
Stumbaugh’s energy doesn’t stop on the running route though.
He’s a motivational speaker and still holds down a regular job in Marietta.
“I am really lousy at retirement,” he said. “The first time I retired I was 48 years old.”
That retirement lasted one month.
Stumbaugh went on to start another company and retire at 55, before starting another company and retiring at 68.
“And I retired, I thought for the last time, at 75,” he said. “But my old company keeps calling me back for special projects, so I’m still working.”
That company is AssuranceAmerica Insurance Co, which is situated on the sixth floor of an office building off I-285.
Stumbaugh never takes the elevator. And he often gets his run in around the office before jumping into the car for the long commute back home.

‘FORCE OF NATURE’

If Stumbaugh’s name sounds familiar that could be because he served as a state senator from 1976 to 1990. (They named a bridge after him.) He also ran for Lt. Governor in 1990 and campaigned by hiking around the entire state. He passed through Dahlonega that year and still remembers having a friendly chat with then sole-commissioner JB Jones.
The Alabama native said he’s wanted to live in Dahlonega for years. And he and his wife Tania finally made the move about 18 months ago.
Once he arrived here he made his presence known by handing out a business card emblazoned with the slogan: “This Bud’s Really For You.” He also jumped into the local volunteer scene with vigor as he’s currently on the board for The Holly Theater.
Fellow board member Nathan Gerrells can attest to Stumbaugh energy.
“He is a force of nature,” he said. “I have seen him show up to board meetings in a track suit because he had to squeeze his run in before the meeting.”
That drive transfers to recruiting fellow volunteers as he serves as the Development/Fundraising Committee chair.
“It is almost impossible to tell him no,” said Gerrells.

CAN’T STOP FOR COVID

Though he may be listed in the "at-risk" category, Stumbaugh has jogged his way through the coronavirus era. Never faltering from his 3-mile a day run.
He’s concerned, of course, but not frightened.
“I’m going to do everything I can to take care of myself,” he said. “But I’m not going to cringe at the possibility that something bad might happen.”
Andrick said she socially distanced from her father during this time period, but it wasn’t easy. And though she was worried for her dad, she also took comfort in the fact that he’s not the usual old-timer.
“I do think that if anyone in the world could beat COVID-19 as an 80 year old, he’d be the one,” she said.
Andrick added that her dad is an inspiration to her, and also her coworkers, as she once invited him to her workplace as a motivational speaker.
“I brag on him all the time,” she said. “I’m very proud of him and I love him dearly.”
When asked if she can take credit for her dad’s healthy lifestyle change Stacey responded with a quick laugh.
“Exactly,” she said.

JUST DO IT

True to his motivational form Stumbaugh said his success isn’t due to any kind of magic secret. Anyone can do it, he said. It’s just about getting out there and actually doing it.
“Here’s my philosophy,” he said. “Don’t worry about being better than others, or outpacing others, what you need to do is be better than yourself.”
Stumbaugh will officially turn 80 in August. He plans to celebrate by buying himself two new pairs of Nikes.
And as he nears that landmark age, he admits that eventually he’s going to have to slow down and take it easy.
Just not in this life.
“I have very reluctantly given up the notion that I’ll continue to jog three miles everyday,” he said with a grin. “After my funeral.”