BOSTON — The 129th running of the prestigious Boston Marathon took place on Monday, April 21, and among the 30,000 Boston Qualifiers (BQs) accepted was Traer native Tim Yuska, whose own race dreams originated many years ago on Highway 63.

“We are very proud of him, but have no idea where he gets the energy and drive to continue competing in these extreme races,” Yuska’s mother Nancy, a rural Traer resident, told the newspaper on April 24. “Tim has always been very competitive in whatever he undertakes … [but] running is definitely not an inherited family pastime!”

While Yuska, a North Tama Class of 1998 alum who qualified for state track in the 400-meter hurdles his senior year, may not have inherited his endurance from his parents Nancy and Dennis, he certainly picked up an appreciation for the extreme growing up in Tama County thanks to now-retired North Tama science teacher Mike Skopec who trained along Hwy 63 for various long distance competitions during the years Yuska attended school.

“Tim remembers seeing Mr. Skopec running past our farm north of Traer on his training runs years ago, which made him aware of ultra races well before he had any inclination to participate himself,” Nancy explained. “He has great respect for all the work and training Mr. Skopec put in to represent Team USA in 1996 [with the International Amateur Athletic Federation] in Russia in the 100 (kilometers).”

After graduating high school in 1998, Yuska attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 2002 with a degree in Management Information Systems (MIS). He began competitively running and cycling shortly thereafter.

“Tim’s first marathon was in 2005 and he also competed in an Iron Man competition in 2007. For a few years he participated in competitive biking, but he hasn’t done any mountain bike races for a few years, and is enjoying running more now,” Nancy said.

In 2024 alone, Yuska competed in three separate ultra-running races each covering 100 miles including the Cascade Crest 100 in Washington state where he finished in 25 hours, 12 minutes; the Plain 100 also in Washington which he finished in 33 hours, 12 minutes; and the (comparatively) topographically flat Tunnel Hill 100 near Vienna, Ill. which he completed in 19 hours, 19 minutes.

Yuska’s participation in the Boston Marathon – one of seven major international marathons (26.2 miles) that make up the World Marathon Majors – this past April marks his second time competing in the race after first doing so back in 2017. For the 2025 Boston Marathon, Yuska ran a qualifying time in May 2024 at the Starved Rock Country Marathon near Ottawa, Ill., finishing in 2 hours, 58 minutes for second place overall and beating the BQ threshold of 3 hours, 10 minutes for men aged 40-44.

Of the 28,394 runners who finished the Boston Marathon this year, 2,246 of them were in Yuska’s division; he crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 57.08 minutes, averaging 6.46 minutes per mile.

“Tim finished in the top 24% of males in his age group, in the top 21% of men in all age groups, and in the top 13% of all runners,” Nancy said.

While Yuska no longer lives in Iowa – he now resides in Darien, Ill. with his wife Nicole and son Cameron, 10 – many folks in the Traer area keep track of his accomplishments as an endurance athlete, something his parents in particular appreciate.

“Technology now allows family and friends to follow their runner throughout the course, whether it is 26.2 miles or 100 miles,” Nancy explained. “[W]e are able to track his progress and know exactly when he’s crossed [a] finish line.”

For those interested, Yuska is set to compete in two more 100-mile endurance runs this year, Nancy shared, including the Cry Me A River! Trail Run in July along the Illinois River near Peoria and the Wyoming Range 100 in August within the Bridger-Teton National Forest. The latter features well over 20,000 feet of vertical gain, she said.

It’s certainly a far cry from the gently rolling agricultural fields Yuska grew up among, but with each race he completes — marathon, ultra or otherwise — it’s one more mark made on the world by a boy from Traer whose dreams were first sparked some three decades ago by an inspiring public school teacher training for his own dreams along Highway 63.