By Kristie Rop
LocalSportsJournal.com
Most people look forward to the day they can retire. But for 81-year-old Jim Ingalls, retirement is not something he’s planning on doing until he’s at least 90.
After all, when Ingalls ran track as a Shelby High School student, he finished dead last in every race – now he’s truly elite in a running discipline.
“People told me I had good form and not to give up,” he recalled those Shelby days. “And now I’m the best in the world.”
Ingalls is an avid runner and currently the 2026 United States Track and Field 100-mile Men’s 80-84 Ultramarathon national champion. Ingalls finished the grueling event in 38 hours.
“It’s a pretty big deal,” he said. “It means you’re the best of the best.”
To even qualify for the race is a feat in itself. Most marathons include the following things and steps: Application, entry fee, throw it in the mailbox, wait for acceptance.
However, to run in the USTAF race in Henderson, Nev., you must supply a running resume. You must tell them how many races you have completed, with proof, and list all your accomplishments. After meeting all the requirements, a select committee trims a list of about 200 applicants down to just 90. “You have to be the best of the best in the world to be invited,” Ingalls said.
There are many types of runners and many different races. There are hundreds of runners who have run 100-mile marathons in all 50 states – they are called “100-mile Maniacs.” But only five people in the world have completed an ultramarathon in every state. Ingalls has done both. He has more than 30 finishes in the 100-mile races.
Ingalls always has been driven. Brought into the world Dec.1, 1944, as a twin, his brother passed away several days after birth. Ingalls survived, but suffered from pneumonia, allergies, and other complications. The doctor told his parents if they didn’t move to a warmer and drier climate, he would surely die as well. His dad didn’t have a job at the time so he loaded his wife, Jim, and his older brother and sister into the family car and drove to Texas.
Thriving in a drier climate, Jim Ingalls outgrew his health problems and the family returned to Michigan when he was 11 or 12 years old, settling in Shelby until graduation.
After graduation, Ingalls worked at Howmet for 15 years. Then the company sent him and his wife, Margaret, to Wichita Falls, Texas, to open a new plant. The couple bounced back and
forth between Michigan and Texas for many years while still working for Howmet.
It was in 1979 when Ingalls realized something that changed his life.
“My weight was OK, but I noticed going up and down steps, I was out of breath,’’ he said. He told Margaret he was going to start jogging to get back into shape. Seems easy enough, he thought.
Ingalls told Margaret he was going to run out to the church down the road from their home, up a hill, and back – about two miles. “I got about a half-mile out and had to turn around and walk back,” he said. “That’s when I realized how bad of shape I was in.”
Ingalls sent Margaret on an errand to the local mall to purchase some good running shoes. He also bought a copy of “The Complete Book of Running,” by James F. Foxx. And this is where the next chapter began.
In his first 10K race, Ingalls finished behind a 12-year-old boy and in front of a 60-year-old man. “I looked back at both these individuals and I was so excited,” Ingalls recalled. “You can run at this age or you can run at that age. Everybody can inspire somebody.”
Margaret Ingalls started this journey riding her bike, following her husband while he ran. Soon the duo was running 5K and 10K races every other weekend. Not long after that, Ingalls decided he wanted to run an ultramarathon, which is any race over 26.2 miles. His wife, though supportive, thought he was crazy.
They say you “hit a wall” around mile 20. Ingalls has heard the saying, but he’s not yet experienced it. In his first ultramarathon, he was “feeling good” until mile 22, when he hit the proverbial wall.
“I wasn’t upset,” he said. “I told my legs to run and my legs said, ‘NO! We are going to sit down on the curb for a while because we are out of gas.’”
Ingalls thought he could walk to the finish line. Many runners passed him, but he wasn’t upset.
“There’s many ways to run a marathon,” he remembers thinking.
Following that race, he purchased another book, and in it Ingalls read, “People don’t stop at 26.2 miles, they run 50 or 100 miles.”
“I thought, ‘How do they do that?’” he said.
Ingalls found out another key to running success was about to be revealed, which would turn out to be the key ingredient to his success.
Ed Jackson puts on a 50-mile race every year in Texas. He shared with Ingalls: “Besides being in good shape, you have to fuel yourself, and it’s not drinking water. Most runners make a gallon of caffeinated tea and add a pound of sugar.”
“That will juice you up for about 50 miles and then you’ll start throwing up because it’s too sweet,’’ Ingalls said.
So he decided to alter the drink just a bit to possibly get a better result.
Ingalls made the new “fuel” recipe, but decided to use brown sugar instead of white. And in 1985, in Leland, Miss., he finished third using the new “fuel.”
“After eight hours of running, it got a little bit harder to swallow,” he said.
At the running aid stations, Ingalls is able to replenish his critical “fuel,” change shoes and/or socks, and tend to blisters. Margaret makes sure he has what he needs at each station. He
can replenish and restock on necessities to keep running.
“Margaret is vital to my success,” Ingalls said. “If you stay fueled, there’s no limits. There’s nothing you can’t achieve.”
While competing in the USTAF championship five months ago, Ingalls ran for 38 hours without any sleep. Margaret also went sleepless because she was taking care of him.
“Margaret helps to adjust me like a carburetor on an old car,” he said.
Over the years, what the Ingallses dubbed “Jim Fuel” changed and improved into the perfect recipe.
“It’s down to a science now,” he said.
The exact recipe is a secret, but it includes just the right amount of electrolytes, protein and a few other key ingredients. You can’t buy this type of “fuel” in any store, said Ingalls.
“Once you have fuel and that desire, you’re good,” Ingalls said. “‘You can develop training programs, use the best shoes, etc., but something you can’t coach is desire,’ said Bill Bowerman, who coached Steve Prefontaine, one of the greatest runners of all time.”
There’s no doubt that Ingalls has that deep desire. He said he has the desire to beat the other runners in his age group, every race.
“When you’re a twinless twin, usually you have that desire because your twin didn’t have the opportunity, so you usually have the desire to excel,” he said. “I think my twin brother would be very proud.”
Ingalls will be returning to Henderson, Nev., in February 2027 to defend his title in the USATF Ultramarathon Championships.
“I’m the only one in the world with this medal and I’m going to defend my title,” Ingalls said.
“I’m just amazed by him,” Margaret said. “I don’t have his desire. I just run to stay healthy.”
Runners who complete this 100-mile race receive a belt buckle, but only those who finish first in their age group receive the medal.
In 2005, Ingalls ran in the Bad Water 135-mile Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif. Ingalls suffered heat exhaustion and they pulled him out of the race for a few hours. It’s the toughest race in the world, with temperatures exceeding 130 degrees in the daytime.
“The pavement is so hot, it melts your shoes,” Ingalls said. “If you don’t run down the white line in the center of the road, your shoes melt.”
The team/crew packed Ingalls’ arms and groin with ice and after a bit he was allowed to return to the race.
“I knew it would put me through hell, so I was only going to do it once, But when I didn’t get the buckle, I had to try again,” he said.
Due to extended time added because of the time he was treated for exhaustion, Ingalls didn’t make the 48-hour time limit to earn a belt buckle.
In 2007, Ingalls returned with hopes of a better finish. He trained harder, longer, and had the very best crew there. He ran the race in 46 hours, “All thanks to Margaret and my crew,” he said.
Ingalls drank 12 gallons of his fuel during the race in the 46 hours.
When asked if they would go back to Nevada to run a third time, the couple said, “No!” in unison. “I have the buckle now; only 600 people have it,” said Ingalls.
So that’s a wrap on that grueling race.
Ingalls said he was pushed beyond the limit in 2007.
“It was so difficult to get through in the 46 hours,” he said. “I wouldn’t talk about it for six months.”
To train for that type of heat in Death Valley, Ingalls drove home from work with the windows up in his car and the heat on high. When he got home, he went to the attic, which was more than 100 degrees, and rode the stationary bike. After that, he would run up a 1,000-foot hill wearing a sweatshirt.
Ingalls is currently working on a book called “Jim Fuel.” Margaret is quick to point out it’s not about what Jim drinks; it’s about what fuels him to have the motivation to do it.
After meeting with their financial advisor about 10 years ago, Ingalls was told their finances were planned out until he was 93 years old. They returned a few months ago to update things and the advisor said he was changing it to 100, said Ingalls.
“I told him, ‘I still think you’re a little short, but we’ll go with 100, for now,’” Ingalls said.
One thing Ingalls said he has learned: Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.
“So why would I ever think I couldn’t?”
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