by Mark Watson

SPORTS EDITOR

Ernie Nix's "bucket list" of 50 things he wants to do before he kicks the bucket is shrinking almost as fast as his waistline has the past two years.

The "bucket list" is a 2007 movie about two men who write down all the things they want to do before they die. Nix has such a list, but is checking off items so rapidly that he has started to add more things. And most of those goals have to do with running.

"Lose 200 pounds and run a marathon were two things on my bucket list," Nix said.

The Tooele educator who will start next school year as the principal at East Elementary accomplished both goals last fall.

With the help of WeightWatchers and early morning running workouts on the Tooele High School track, he dropped 220 pounds and ran the "Top of Utah Marathon" in Logan last September.

Nix competed in his second big race on Saturday when he ran in the Salt Lake Marathon. "The weather was brutal; we were running into a strong headwind," he said. Nix covered the 26.2 mile course in 4.36:29.

"The weather wasn't as good as it was when I ran my first marathon in Logan where I ran 4.20. Up there it was calm and the scenery was beautiful," he said.

Nix said the courses were similar in difficulty, but this time around he experienced a few problems when he reached the 23-mile mark.

"I didn't hydrate enough earlier in the race so I experienced cramps at about the 23-24 mile mark," he said. "My first 13 miles were at a pace that was a bit too fast. I made the classic mistake of running too fast early in the race. You live and learn."

His split time was under two hours, so he thought he was headed to a sub four-hour finish, but then he was plagued with cramps.

Nix is not content with running two marathons -- his goal is to run in 50 of them.

"Darn right," he said as to whether he will continue to run in these ultra long-distance races. "I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon."

Run 50 marathons and run in America's most prestigious marathon have been added to Nix's bucket list.

"I love it. It's so much fun. I've run 20 miles several times so the first 20 miles now seems like a breeze," Nix said. "Marathons are basically three races -- the first 20 miles, then the 20 to 24 mile distance which is basically a gut check when you have to dig deep to continue and then the final two miles which becomes a little better with all the spectators cheering for you."

Nix will compete on June 1 in the Rock 'N' Roll Marathon in San Diego and then it's on to the Deseret News Marathon in July. He said in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon he needs to clock 3.30.

Back in December of 2005, Nix was told he needed to lose a lot of weight or he had five years to live.

"I was given some very good advice by the doc," he said. The 6-feet-tall Nix dropped nearly 150 pounds in six months of walking daily at the track and adhering to the WeightWatchers program. When he reached 250 pounds his doctor allowed him to start running. He has been running now for 18 months and his weight is in the 180-185 pound range.

Healthy eating and consistent exercising are habits now for Nix and his wife Lisa who has lost 95 pounds.

"It's my lifestyle. I eat low-fat, high-fiber, whole foods and complex carbohydrates. I usually eat more than my five servings of fruit each day as my wife will attest. I always seem to be eating an apple," he said.

Nix was not the only Tooele County runner in Saturday's race. Kyle Acord of Dugway placed 35th in the 19-24 age group with a time of 4.30:46. Ryan Holm of Stansbury Park placed 73rd in the 25-29 category with a time of 4.35:05. Greg Balou, Stansbury Park, placed 113th in the 30-34 group with a time of 5:47.24. Carlos Alvarez of Wendover finished 99th in the 35-39 group with a time of 4.45.32. Todd Castagno placed 82nd in the 40-44 group with a time of 4.49:06 and Jeff Poor of Dugway finished 61st in the 45-49 division with a time of 4.57:53.

On Monday, Tooele's Ken Spence, 52, participated in that big race that Nix is targeting. Spence ran the Boston Marathon in 3.35:07.

mwatson@tooeletranscript.com