NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Image above: Dave Lockard running in one of the Fall InterCenter races. Credit: Sean Smith

Dave Lockard keeps a sign on his refrigerator that reads, “Those who can’t find the time to exercise will eventually have to find the time to deal with illness.”

“With a desk job and so many other responsibilities, neglecting physical activity is too easy,” said Lockard, an aerospace technologist who will compete in the 5K run at NASA Langley’s 90th Anniversary Open House on Oct. 27.

“The NASA Langley fitness center, the LEA leagues and groups like the Runner’s Club are great resources that we all have available to us to find a physical activity we enjoy and to meet some good people at the same time.”

Lockard always wanted to run. When he was young, allergies made running unpleasant and he stuck with short distances.

In his mid-20s, his breathing improved and he began running with a classmate.

When he was advised he should stick to sprinting, because of inflammation in his knees, he kept his running to a minimum.

In 2003, Lockard injured his shoulder, which indirectly led him to the treadmill at the NASA Langley Fitness Center. Some friends noticed him running on the treadmill and suggested that he seek some medical advice for his knees and running constraints.

“I did,” he said. “And I found that a knee support brace, lots of stretching and gradually increasing the mileage allowed me to run longer distances.”

Lockard’s first race was the 2003 Fall Intercenter 10k. He has remained a regular in the Intercenter races since his first.

“They provide good motivation every spring and fall to do some training and support the center in a friendly competition,” he said.

When Lockard isn’t training and running, he is trying to understand and reduce airframe noise, which is caused by airflow over aircraft.

“I have recently become involved in rotorcraft noise prediction,” he said. “The objective is to reduce the noise nuisance to communities around airports, allowing for increased capacity and improving the quality of life of those living nearby. I spend most of my time on computer simulations of noise sources, but I have also been involved in wind-tunnel and flight tests.”

Lockard recognizes Dr. Geoffrey Lilley from the UK as a mentor. “He started working in aeronautics during WWII and helped lay the foundation for aeroacoustics.”

“He seemed to have done everything and been everywhere, so it wasn’t surprising that when I started running that he mentioned that he ran a mile in 4:30 in 1933.”

Lockard remains modest in his own running achievements and explains “to put my speed in perspective, a world class runner is about 30 percent faster than me. Historically, there have been much faster people around LaRC.”

But his hard work dedication and running participation has earned Lockard the title of “LaRC Runner of the Year” for two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006 for earning the most combined points for both Spring and Fall Intercenter competitions.

The open house 5K run and the 1.75 mile walk will begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 27. Registration forms and additional information can be found at http://larc-exchange.larc.nasa.gov/lea/runners/.

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Denise Adams
The Researcher News