When he assumed the duty of British liaison officer at ERDC, Tom Lilleyman looked forward to running through the wilderness of Mississippi like he had done in his native England.
At least until a wise friend advised against it.
“In England you can just go out the back door and run across the fields,” Lilleyman said. “I told someone I was going to do that here and they said, ‘No, Tommy. It’s hunting season. Someone will shoot you. They’ll think you’re doing something or think you’re a deer.”
So, Lilleyman settled for running through the Vicksburg National Military Park and any other civilized venues he could find. The 34-year-old has competed in a half-dozen marathons and a couple of ultramarathons in his 16 months in the U.S. and transformed his style from lonely to sociable as he’s mingled with Vicksburg’s running community.
“Running has become my social time,” he said. “It’s difficult, particularly in a different kind of place. You have to find something you have in common with people. When you have kids, running is the only way to be sociable.”
Lilleyman isn’t just a social butterfly who gabs as much as he runs, though. A lifelong runner, he has competed in the London Marathon and posted a time of 2 hours, 55 minutes in last year’s Mississippi Blues Marathon. He’s also qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon in April.
“There aren’t many runs that require a hobby runner to qualify, so to qualify (for Boston) it’s a high-five for yourself,” Lilleyman said.
While he enjoys the marathons, Lilleyman has pushed himself even farther and competed in a few ultramarathons — races that cover 30 or 50 miles or more. He finished second in the 2013 Big Dog Ultra Trail Run 50K (about 31 miles) in Ruston, La., and returned to the same event last weekend.
During his time in the States, Lilleyman has also found a reliable running buddy. Or, Buddy, to be exact.
Lilleyman’s mixed breed dog, Buddy, was abandoned with some other puppies at the end of his driveway last year. Now the excitable pup joins his master on most of his runs around Vicksburg.
“I do 50 or 60 miles a week, and he probably does somewhere between 30 and 40,” Lilleyman said. “He likes the track the most, though.”
That’s understandable, considering the warning of Lilleyman’s friend nearly came true on a jaunt near the Port of Vicksburg. The two had gone about three miles when Lilleyman heard gunshots. They rounded a corner to see a man with a six-pack of beer and a pistol shooting cans and road signs.
The curious Buddy approached the startled man, who turned the pistol on him. Lilleyman was able to pull the dog back in time to avoid a tragedy.
“It was quite a scary thing to happen to a British person on a Saturday morning. I have not run there since,” Lilleyman said.
Despite that incident, Lilleyman said he has enjoyed his time in Vicksburg. He and his wife have two daughters and a third due in December. His assignment expires in July 2015, and he said he’ll always have a fond place in his heart for the city.
“I’ve lived in most parts of the world,” he said. “This is another different place. We as a family think it’s cool. It definitely moves differently.”