Long-distance runner defeats burglar, and more

Long-distance runner defeats burglar

A burglar trying to steal a bicycle in West Seattle last week was chased down by a marathon-running mom. Sarah Tatterson, an accomplished long-distance runner, pursued the man after seeing him take her husband’s bike from the garage. She yelled at neighbors to call the police and gave chase. When the suspect demanded that she “back off,” Tatterson said, “My response was, I was going to run six miles today, but I could probably do 12.” The cops caught the suspect 10 blocks from Tatterson’s house.

Sy Perlis, 91, sets bench-press record

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A 91-year-old bench-pressed his way into the record books last week, smashing a weightlifting record by over 50 pounds. Sy Perlis, from Surprise, Ariz., lifted 187.2 pounds at a championship contest in Phoenix, beating a previous record of 135 pounds for the age-90-and-over division. The nonagenarian only began lifting weights in his 60s, and entered his first competition five years ago. He has since won two titles in the World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters. Perlis said he began lifting weights to keep active without having to run around. “It made me feel good,” he said, “and it was good for me.”

Students fool principal to deliver fond farewell

When schoolkids pull pranks, there’s usually hell to pay. But not so for the one students at Hingham Middle School in Massachusetts pulled last week on their retiring principal, Roger Boddie. The kids tricked Boddie into climbing to the school’s roof under the pretense of making a video about its new construction program. When he got there, he saw hundreds of students and teachers in the playground below, performing a “flash mob”–style dance and holding up signs saying, “Thank You for Believing in Us.” Boddie joked, “These kids will do anything to get out of class.”