A pastor's life on the run

Bryan Cuthill says his recent interest in running is probably due to his son-in-law, Steve Henning.

Henning, he says, got him going.

"Steve was in town helping build the Target store," said Cuthill, pastor of Carson City Church of the Nazarene. "He got me running with him and I kept at it after he left.

"My first run about killed me."

Cuthill's first organized race was a Nevada Day run.

"I finished the race. That was the goal," he said.

Cuthill laughed about his determination to finish, saying there was no way he was going to let a man of approximately 75 finish the race and not finish himself.

The following March he ran a marathon in the Napa Valley and that, too, just about killed him.

"I did everything wrong in that first race," the 52-year-old Cuthill said.

Wrong or not, Cuthill says he most enjoys the camaraderie among the runners.

"At the Napa marathon, runners who were already finished and received their medals, came back along the route to encourage the rest of us to finish, to keep going. It's really great."

Cuthill ran another marathon in the Silicon Valley, and finished. And it didn't kill him. He said four months of preparation helped him for that one.

"I enjoy running because it doesn't cost a lot to do. Just shoes. I got a lot of help from the guys at Fleet Feet. I learned that shoes may look good on the outside, but don't always wear well," he said.

Maybe he should have asked his wife of 31 years, Colleen. Most women know about smart-looking shoes, comfort and wear. He also has three children: daughters Angela in Sacramento and Amy in Carson City; son, Jim, in Carson City, and five grandchildren.

Cuthill has learned patience and how to simplify things in his life while running. He considers running more "sight-seeing," than actually running. He uses the time to enjoy himself, the scenery and the moment.

"I've had some sermons come to me while running," he said.

Cuthill became pastor of Carson City Church of the Nazarene when he was asked to fill in for a couple of weeks in 1997. He's been doing it ever since.

He began in the ministry as a youth pastor in 1970 in Temple City, Calif. He also was a pastor in Walnut, Chatsworth and Stockton, Calif., then moved to Gardnerville in 1990, helping to build the Nazarene church there.

While pastoring part-time, Cuthill, with dark hair that is slightly graying at the temples and striking blue eyes, took a job with FitzHenry's Funeral Home in Carson City from 1995-98. Cuthill is sure his ministry background helped with his job at the funeral home.

"It definitely gives you more compassion," he said. "It made me sensitive to how fragile life is. You can see an awful lot of sad, sad stuff. You have to stay compassionate."

Cuthill said he has had a long-time passion for the Sierra Nevada, reading about the mountains as a young boy. He frequently walks the trail surrounding Spooner Lake, enjoying the wildflowers and all the "little things," adding the scenery to his photography interest.

"There's something about living here in the pines. It's the greatest place to live in the world. I love the outdoors -- it's been a blessing to be right in the middle of it," he said.