Bruce Novkov is always ready to go.
He’s always waiting for the next challenge. The tougher and more insane, the better he likes it. Just consider the group of folks like Tom Sell, John Currier, Sheridan Ames among others that he competes with and you sort of get the idea.
Such has been the case for this 54-year-old Chattanoogan who loves to swim, bike and run for the pure enjoyment.
Novkov – pronounced Knowv-Cove – was born in Ohio, spent a few years in Indiana before moving with his family to Maryville when he was 15.
He attended and graduated from Maryville High School where he wrestled for a year while also swimming and playing tennis, but running was the last thing on his mind during those years.
He was too small to be a football player, but his team was really good as they lost three games in three years and won two state titles along the way. In case you don’t know anything about Maryville football, coach George Quarles has a career record of 223-14 and has won a host of state titles for the Rebels.
“I was head of the drum line, so I was more of a cheerleader since I was way too small to play football,” Novkov said earlier this week after an early-morning workout that included almost two miles of swimming in the pool at the downtown YMCA.
He later graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in finance. He spent many years in the banking business, but has owned the Specialty Collision Center in Dayton for more than a dozen years.
Bruce didn’t run a step during high school, but his career on the roads has been a successful one and it had a funny beginning.
“I didn’t start running until I moved into those apartments on Cameron Hill.
My buddy David Smith, who was a pretty good runner, would come to the pool on Saturday afternoons with trophies from the local races.
That was real popular with the young ladies and that’s what got me started,” he nodded.
Novkov’s first race was a 5K in Lafayette about 30 years ago and even though he has no idea of what his time was – or at least he wouldn’t admit it – he had definite memories.
“I didn’t even have a watch and I don’t know my time, but I wasn’t last. I led for the first 100 yards and I think I beat an older woman who was in a wheelchair, but it was a ton of fun as a bunch of folks from all walks of life all gathered for the same purpose and that was to run 3.1 miles,” he remembered.
These days, Bruce is happily married to a lovely lady named Holly and they’re the proud parents of two daughters named Mary Holland and Caroline. Mary Holland ran during her high school days at GPS, but running isn’t as big a deal for them as for the man in the house.
“Holly has been my biggest supporter and has been my cheerleader at most of the races I’ve run. We’ve been married for 26 years. I was late for our first date as I was out on a bike ride, but she decided to marry me anyway. She would like to be a runner, but she’s totally happy walking,” Bruce said.
Novkov has a unique running history and he still runs about four days a week, joining folks like Mike Berry, Wilson McGinness, Sheridan Ames, Robert Kulisek and Chris and Ruth Kerr on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for runs from the Y. He normally does a longer trail run of near two hours on Saturday.
Bruce doesn’t have a ton of long-distance experience, but the races he has done have been significant.
One of his marathons was the 100th running at Boston in 1996. He’s done Chickamauga twice, a trail marathon on Raccoon Mountain and the Country Music Marathon in Nashville in 2011, one year to the day from a surgery for prostate cancer.
“I was out of commission for about six weeks, but it was caught really early and surgery took care of it. I couldn’t ride my bike for three or four months, but I was lucky and don’t make a big deal out of it,” he nodded.
Novkov has also done a couple of Ironman races, including Hawaii in 1999 and Chattanooga last fall.
“Sheridan and I had applied for Hawaii through the lottery and finally got it, so I really only had about six months to train. I went through registration and got to meet Peter Reid, who had won the year before.
“I had a great day even though it was hotter than blazes with temperatures about 103 degrees in the lava fields during the bike segment. I could see dolphins swimming beside us and I was able to get in a rhythm on the run. It was just one of those days.
“We had a great trip to Hawaii as it coincided with our 10th anniversary. For our 25th last fall, I took her to Ironman Chattanooga,” he laughed.
He had an outstanding time of 11:04 in Hawaii after an amazing 3:42 marathon to complete the day. Last fall, he trimmed more than 10 minutes off his previous best, but lost by almost 15 minutes to his close friend Ames.
“We had a bet that day with the winning buying dinner for the other couple. Sheridan is so cheap that I thought we’d go to Krystal, but we went to Clyde’s on Main Street and really had a nice dinner. I just hate it that he beat me that day. I had a faster run, but he killed me on the bike. If we could have gone just a little faster, we might have qualified for Hawaii,” Bruce nodded.
“I’m not very good at what I do as I pride myself on mediocrity, but I’ve had a blast doing it. I’ve lived a blessed life as God has been good to me. I have a great wife and two really neat daughters. And I’ve had a lot of fun along the way,” he added.
“Right now I’m trying to recover from a groin injury, but I’m always training to be able to do something fun. The next adventure, whatever that happens to be, is what I’m training for.
“I’d love to go back to Hawaii, but it’s nearly impossible now as it’s gotten so popular and the qualifying is really competitive,” Novkov concluded.
He’s a regular at the Y where he runs, swims and bikes on a regular basis. He’s having the time of his life and he’s staying in great shape while doing something healthy.
He’s got plenty of stories to share and lots of interesting experiences to discuss and that makes it even better as time passes.
(This is the 60th in a series of features on runners in Chattanooga. If you know someone who might make an interesting story, email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)