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Well-known runner killed Thursday crossing Philadelphia Pike

Alonzo Small, and Esteban Parra
The News Journal
John L. Schultz, 84, of Wilmington was struck and killed on Philadelphia Pike, north of the Washington Street Extension, on Thursday, Nov. 17.

If you ran a race in the Delaware Valley, you probably know who John Schultz is.

But today, the running community is mourning his death.

Schultz, 84, was killed Thursday night crossing Philadelphia Pike when he was hit by a pickup truck.

Known for his trademark red shorts and no t-shirt, Schultz didn't start running until the age 59 in 1990. The former consulting regulatory affairs chemist at the DuPont Co. missed the bus one day and decided to walk home from the DuPont Building at 10th and Market streets – in business clothes and dress shoes. Four miles later, a walk turned into a jog and a passion for running was born.

"What if I could just keep doing it?" Schultz told The News Journal in 2008.

Keep on doing it he did.

Schultz was scheduled to run two races this weekend: the Turkey Trot in Newark on Saturday and the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday. Then, per tradition, the Brooklyn, New York, native would travel home for Thanksgiving, where friends say he would likely find a race there.

“He had the tendency to do long distance runs back-to-back,” said Wayne Kursh, CEO, and chairman of Races2Run, an organization that puts on racing events in the region.

“You hate to lose a guy like John,” Kursh said, who’s known Schultz for more than 20 years. “I thought he’d be running until he was 100.”

A pickup truck rests at the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian struck by a vehicle on Philadelphia Pike at Bellefonte Avenue, reported about 6:50 p.m. Thursday.

State Police said Schultz was trying to cross the northbound lanes of Philadelphia Pike, just north of the Washington Street Extension at about 6:50 p.m. Thursday. Schultz was wearing dark clothing and not crossing at a crosswalk, according to Master Cpl. Jeffrey Hale.

Police say Schultz stepped into the path of a 2010 Toyota Tundra driven by 32-year-old man from Wilmington.

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He became the 12th pedestrian killed on Delaware's roads since Sept. 1 – three of those fatalities have occurred this week.

Many in the Delaware running community figured out that Schultz was the unnamed person killed in the accident based solely on a picture of the victim's shoe on delawareonline.com.

Delaware State Police officers investigate at the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian struck by a vehicle on Philadelphia Pike at Bellefonte Avenue, reported about 6:50 p.m. Thursday.

Ralph McKinney, 71, was a friend of Schultz for more than 35 years. They were often "traveling buddies" and he described his friend as a "unique personality who was very intelligent and in no way ready to slow down."

“It’s a tragic death because you weren’t prepared for it," McKinney said. "He was a healthy 84-year-old, and he was the oldest competitive active runner Pike Creek Valley Running Club,” McKinney said. Schultz was inducted into the organization's Hall of Fame in 2007.

“He would be running any chance he could,” McKinney said.

Schultz ran more than 100 races a year, including four marathons. It’s the reason Schultz was so well known.

“He may have competed primarily in the Tri-State area, but he was admired nationwide for his motivation, inspiration and determination to actively run at his age,” McKinney said.

Schultz averaged a 17-minute mile and while his finishing times may have decreased as he got older, McKinney said his workload did not. Schultz seldom missed races and never cut on the amount of races he ran.

Christina Richter, a neighbor of Schultz, said the running community lost a dear friend. She would always see him running and walking the same trails.

“Him and his red shorts were such a beloved part of the community,” she said.

Schultz had just completed a Dover marathon around Halloween, according to Richter.

At 84, running kept his mind, body and spirit young. It’s probably why the lover of opera and choir member at St. Helena Church, never stopped.

“Those few seconds are worth the hours that you put in up to that,” Schultz said. “Running, to me, is like a parable of life. Why are you running at all? Because there's a finish line… I figure I've got nothing to lose in the last couple hundred yards. All that's a big thrill.”

Contact Alonzo Small at (302) 324-2856 or asmall@delawareonline.com.