A Guy Named Bill

You’re probably wondering what’s so special about a guy named Bill. Bill Studerus is an icon in the Lake Stevens community and spreads positivity and kindness in unique ways. His way is running almost every day with an American flag in hand and constantly having a big smile on his face, which almost seems to be contagious, and it’s hard not to smile back at him. 

Standing at 6’ 7”, Bill spreads positivity by making connections with people around Lake Stevens.  If you’re driving by and he recognizes you, he’ll point at you and give you a reassuring smile. Bill has explained that his goal in doing this every day is to spread kindness and show that he supports his country. “You can only control what’s in your hula hoop!” He says. Everyone’s ways of showing support are different, and it seems to get a lot of attention from citizens of our county.

Bill grew up in Seattle. At age 18, he moved out and began working at Terrel’s Dog Food. In 1985 he started his career at Boeing, which is where he still works to this day. In 1987 he married his wife, Mary, and moved to Bothel before eventually moving to Lake Stevens ten years later which is where he remains to this day. Bill loves his family more than anything and makes sure to spend lots of time with his grandson. Bill used to run with his grandson in a stroller when he was younger and would push himself to run 5-10 miles every night! 

After 9/11, Bill decided that he wanted to show honor for his country however he could. After being denied entry to join the military, he decided that the next best thing would be to grab the American flag and make it his goal to run almost every day with it in his hand. He has since added on to his apparel by adding an American flag cape and occasionally running with other flags that have importance to him or our country.

Bill first started running to maintain his health. He ended up losing over 100 lbs by running regularly! He started running in 1997 and made it a routine in about 2002! He has since trained himself to run about 60 miles a week. In 2007, Bill achieved his goal of climbing Mt. Rainier and has run 2 marathons and many 5ks and 10ks. He truly loves running, not just as an exercise, but as a hobby, and says he will,”go to [his] grave running.”

As you can see, Bill loves running as much as he loves spreading joy amongst the people of Lake Stevens. If you ever see him, you should give him a wave! He loves to see support from the citizens of our city.