Each November, Brian Wareing dons his requisite red Santa suit in preparation for the annual reindeer-drawn sleigh ride to the Chester Shopping Mall in Chester, England, U.K. In keeping with many modern-day Kris Kringles, Wareing donates his earnings to the local Samaritans branch. However, this is one St. Nick who has no need for a fake beard or hair — he proudly provides his own. Contrary to many men his age, Wareing easily could forego the sleigh ride. After all, this self-proclaimed “Beatnik” engineer has completed 85 marathons during the past 24 years.

A retired 35-year veteran of EA Technology (Chester, England) and current owner of Brian Wareing Tech Ltd., an overhead lines and lightning protection consultancy company, Wareing remembers a time when computers were housed in buildings instead of backpacks. “I'd already started my career before the first calculator replaced beads and fingers.”

From the age of 10, Wareing was a frequent — albeit unpublished — contributor to New Scientist magazine. Unlike most of his teenaged contemporaries, The Who, The Kinks and The Rolling Stones posters did not grace Wareing's bedroom walls. Instead, he devoted his personal space to diagrams of atomic power stations. “Yes,” Wareing says, “You can be ‘sad’ from an early age.”

Along with his interest in science, Wareing had a boyhood fascination with snowstorms and fell walking. Fell walking is a British term that refers to hill or mountain walking with the intention of reaching the top of the hill/mountain.

Like many young people who grew up in the 1960s, Wareing says the Beatles defined his chief musical interests. However, it was the “hairy monster” of the Beatnik generation (a phrase coined by Herb Caen that combined the words “Beat Generation” with the famous launch of the Russian Sputnik I) that ultimately hooked Wareing — minus the mind-altering substances, he emphasizes. Over the years, the engineer's opinions changed, but his trademark blond hair and beard stayed and grew — and grew.

By the early 1980s, Wareing had long since earned his Ph.D. in physics and had been employed at EA Technology since graduating from university in 1966. Always physically active, Wareing found that his thickening waistline interfered with his squash game. So, like many people of his generation, he decided to run a few miles to improve his fitness.

“Actually, I just managed one mile on my first outing before exhaustion set in,” says Wareing.

Wareing's newfound hobby coincided with the first London Marathon on March 29, 1981. Not surprisingly, he found himself bitten by the running bug. It took him a week to log his first 26 miles and five long years before he was accepted into the world-renowned London Marathon. Undaunted, Wareing ran his first race, a local North Wales coastal marathon, when he was 40 years old. “As I crawled toward the finish line in just over four hours, I vowed never to run another one,” says Wareing. After three short days, he entered another marathon.

Much like his hair and beard, Wareing's passion for running flourished. He eventually began to compete in ultramarathons, running 62-mile (100-km) road races, 24-hour races and 80-mile (129-km) fell runs. With numerous ultramarathons, 11 “Londons” and many other races under his belt, Wareing admits this is one bug he has never regretted catching.

The early 1980s proved significant to Wareing not only personally but also professionally. In 1981 and 1982, the U.K.'s electric grid was brought to an alarming halt by several major snowstorms. These power outages motivated EA Technology to research how snow and ice affected overhead lines. This, in turn, led to the establishment of severe weather test sites at the top of snow-capped Scottish mountains in winter. Thus, Wareing's childhood pleasures of snow and fell walking were reawakened and combined when he was asked to run these winter snow test sites for EA Technology.

In addition, Wareing's work on overhead power lines resulted in his involvement in various CIGRÉ Working Groups, such as SCB2 WG16 — “Effect of Severe Weather on Overhead Lines,” as well as a European Union project, “COST727 on Atmospheric Icing on Structures.” These projects have taken Wareing from north of the Arctic Circle to the tops of snowy Swiss mountains.

After retiring from EA Technology, Wareing founded his own company, Brian Wareing Tech Ltd., which investigates overhead line issues, lightning and, of course, snow/ice problems. Today, between “retirements,” Wareing's work takes him from Arabian deserts to Equatorial lightning areas to Arctic ice fields. “What a wonderful life,” he says.

In later years, Wareing found that his impressive hair and beard aroused an interest around Christmastime. Now, each Dec. 26, he dresses as Santa Claus to participate in Chester's famous “Round the Walls” race on Britain's Boxing Day, which takes place around the city's Roman and medieval walls.