Love birds. That's the best way to describe the Burak family. For Gary and Felicia, running is a daily occurrence. One that they share together.

"We come almost every day" said Felicia Burak. "I've been running 31 years. Felicia started running, 30 years ago, one year after." said Gary.

As they turn the corner to a running path, Gary decides he’s going to go for a run, while Felicia decides to take it easy on this day and get in a long brisk walk.  

After 31 years of running, Gary's gate may not be as it once was. After injuring his foot over a month ago, the long time runner has had to take it easy as of late, but he's finally back to getting into the swing of things.

"I took a month off." he said. "And just coming back about five days a week of running. Couple days of walk. So it's healing up pretty good."

And of course just like any avid runner, Gary has been to multiple states and multiple countries, and he’s got plenty of stories along the way.

"I've been to 17 states, three countries if you count the U.S. If anything is my favorite, it's go to be Boston." Gary of course is referring to the Boston Marathon.

In the hour we spent together this afternoon, Gary and I chatted about numerous things. It's clear, that this 62 year-old enjoys life as much as he enjoys going for a run. From talking about UTICA FC, to the time Gary and his wife went to the AHL All-Star game in Utica, the man makes you feel as if you had known each other all your lives.

Since 1990, Gary has run the Utica Boilermaker. Despite the run being virtual this year, Gary did compete for the 31st time in the second Sunday of July. He also plans to run the course again on September 13. With all the years of experience, Gary knows every trick and secret needed to complete the race each and every time.

"The secret is to go out a little bit slower than the overall pace you want to run." he said.

A piece of advice that a novice like myself could use come later this month.