Taxes are due April 15. The Kentucky Derby is run the first Saturday in May and Ray Stevens runs the Lincoln Marathon.

He’s trained for thousands of miles and raced for almost 800 miles on the streets of Lincoln over the last 30 years.

Now, Stevens says no more. He’s not entered in Sunday’s Lincoln Marathon.

“My wife and I were talking about leaving town this weekend,” Stevens said.

Thirty Lincoln Marathons. No 31st.

“I don’t have the desire,” said Stevens, who has run marathons in 13 states and three countries. “I start training on Jan. 1 every year for the Lincoln Marathon. I was always in good shape but worked to get in marathon shape. This year. I didn’t enjoy it.”

About three miles was enough. Ten miles, 15 miles, too much. He kept his streak of two-to-three miles a day for the last 28 years but no more marathons.

“A friend volunteered me to drive the sag wagon, following the runners,” Stevens said.

Stevens, Susan Scott and Ron Olsen were the only runners to compete in every Lincoln Marathon. Stevens and Scott were among the group that met at Jim Lewis’ house to plan the first Lincoln Marathon in 1978.

Stevens finished sixth in that race. Future District Court Jeffre Cheuvront finished 13th.

“Last year, I think I was sixth-from-last,” Stevens joked.

“Maybe I’ll ride my bike along the route for support,” he said.

Stevens, 67, is a Lancaster County Commissioner, a part-time accountant, and still an avid runner.

“Ray’s been trying to talk me out of running for a couple of years, but he would always start training and he’d always run,” said Scott, who will take time from her campaign for the Legislature to run her 31st Lincoln marathon.

“I think Ron Olsen (South Sioux City) will probably be the last of the three of us who have run every Lincoln race,” Scott said.

“Ray’s low blood pressure, my blood pressure pills and my thyroid pills have slowed us down,” Scott said. “I still go and try to get done before dark. But for Ray, it bothers him he’s not in the top group anymore.”

Stevens has always been competitive. He ran the mile for the University of Nebraska. In 1958, Stevens had Billy Mills beat for third place in the mile at the Big Eight meet. “I lunged at the finish, he pushed me and they gave him third,” Stevens said with a laugh. Mills went on to become the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 meters in 1964, in what many called the greatest upset in Olympic history.

Stevens quit running for a while.

“In 1969 or so, I started running again and I’ve been running ever since,” he said. “Just no more marathons. The last couple of times, I felt like I wanted to stop, eat a donut or drink a beer or something about 20 miles in. Now, I don’t have to worry about taking a break in the race.”

Stevens said he won’t miss the skin irritations, the chafing, the leg soreness and the exhaustion of running the marathon.

“Maybe I’ll run to 16th Street or even a little farther,” Stevens said.

Marathons are different in the world of competition. The first guy to run the true marathon died. Phippides ran from Athens to Sparta and back (140 miles each way) to get the Spartans to help the Athenians fight the Persians. He finished in a true dead heat but the Greeks saved western civilization.

There will be 6,000 entries in the Lincoln Marathon and Half Marathon. Maybe 10 people have a chance of winning. But marathons, everywhere around the world, have to limit entries.

“Marathon running gave me an identity,” Stevens said. “I really enjoyed running. Well, for 18, 20 miles or so, like everybody who runs the marathon, and then the last four miles … well, you finish and try again next time.

“It was fun. It was a challenge. I enjoyed the people there,” Stevens said.

“I’ll still be around.”

Reach Ken Hambleton at 473-7313 or khambleton@journalstar.com.