Mike Stacks, 52, Birchwood, Tennessee

When Mike Stacks crossed the finish line with the top overall time for the triathlon-by more than two minutes-at the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana, it caused a double-take among many longtime competitors.

Who was that guy? How was he able to eat up those hills and leave everyone behind in the cycling stage?

In fact, at 52, Mike had just become of age to qualify for Senior Games, and it’s logical that younger athletes would log the best times. The remarkable part for the other athletes was that he had only started competing with 5K road races less than six years before his triumph in Birmingham. But, as we found out during the following conversation with Mike, his performance was most remarkable for the way he has turned his life around after sinking into a deepening rut for over two decades.

Not long ago, Mike would have never dreamed of such an accomplishment. In fact, his health and fitness was a tangled mess. He had been smoking and using smokeless tobacco since his teens, and had settled into a sedentary life after starting a family and focusing on his career as an electrician. After he turned 40, the pounds really started to add up, and a regular drinking habit had gotten out of control. He knew that he had to do something about the road he was taking, and that he needed a new course of action.

After continued pleading from his daughter to do something about his drinking, and with the patient support of his wife, Mike finally checked into a 30-day alcoholic rehabilitation program offered by his employer. He started working out to fight boredom, and then on a field trip to a nature area he asked God to help him get back on track. These actions provided all the motivation he needed to take control of his life.

Mike had some high school running experience, and had played football while in the Marines with teams on the bases where he served, but his first thought to stay fit was to simply grab a backpack and seek the solitude of the woods on a regular basis. Then, a friend loaned him a mountain bike, and he started that activity too. Next, his company organized a 5K running team for a charity event, so Mike gave it a shot. When he came in at a respectable time with little race experience, he started to see a pathway. With better finishes in subsequent races, he decided to take on a triathlon to see how he would do. The rest, as we say, is history. In less than five years since deciding to try racing, he was standing on the podium at the National Senior Games receiving a gold medal in one of the toughest sports he could have chosen.

There’s a lot more to Mike’s story, as you will hear in his own words below. Watch Mike cross the finish line in this video recap of the triathlon at The Games, which will set the tone for you to truly appreciate how far he has come.

No one is more surprised than Mike is about the turn of events, and he counts his blessings every day for fighting out of the hole he had made for himself. He wants to be an inspiration by example, and hopes that his story will help others realize that they can overcome similar challenges and achieve an active, healthy balance that can last a lifetime. Mike Stacks has discovered the keys to a Personal Best life.

Mike, you seem to have come out of nowhere to finish first overall in the National Senior Games triathlon. How long have you been competing?

I’m going on six years, and this was my first triathlon at Nationals. So far, besides 5Ks, I’ve done one full 140.6 mile Ironman, five 70.3 Ironman races and several Olympic and sprint distance races. I’m one of the babies. It’s inspiring to see the 70- and 80-year-olds doing this. It just makes me want to stay with it.

The triathlon is one of the most physically demanding sports. Why did you take it on?

I think about that a lot, and part if it is that I get bored quick. With this, you have three different things to train for-swim, bike, run. I’m outside and there’s always something new going on, so I don’t get bored.

Sounds like you are an undiagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder kid.

Oh, yeah. I’m ate up with it! [Laugh]

Are you a native of the South?

Actually, I was born in Rhode Island. My father was in the Navy, and I was adopted. We moved to Jacksonville, Florida when I was five, and then went to Decatur, Alabama four years later when he retired. That’s where my mother was from, and I pretty much grew up there.

Well, that explains how a guy born in Rhode Island gets that nice Southern drawl.

Yeah, and my wife is from Tennessee, too. We met while I was in the Marines in North Carolina, and we got married three months after I got out.

Do you have a sports background that prepared you for this?

I loved to run and jump as far back as I can remember. I had a 10-speed bike, and I thought I knew how to swim. At least I knew how not to drown. [Laugh] I ran cross country in high school, but I really wasn’t that great as an athlete. And even though I ran, I also smoked and used smokeless tobacco.

I went into the Marine Corps ten days after I graduated from high school, and was in for four years. Each base had a football team, so I played tackle football while I was stationed in North Carolina and Okinawa, Japan. I was in good shape and worked out, even though I still smoked and drank some – probably more than I should have. But I enjoyed my time in the service, it gave me structure.

But I stopped all my physical activity when I got out of the Marines in 1987. I got a job, got married, and started a family. We adopted two boys and had one of our own. They stayed active playing baseball, football and soccer. They came first. I reckon I lived my athletic life through them. I got away from being active and started doing nothing and gaining weight. My idea of exercise was push mowing the yard.

So, I was just working most of the time, then coming home and drinking every night. I still smoked and dipped tobacco, and the weight started coming on. It went on and on like that until 2007. Just work, smoke, dip and drink. And gain weight. [Pause] 20 years of doing nothing. 

What turned you around?

This is the part I enjoy talking about. In 2007, I was into heavy drinking. Fact of the matter, I was an alcoholic. I had gotten up to 230 pounds and didn’t feel good about it. My daughter was in the third grade at the time, and she kept saying, “Daddy, you have to quit drinking.” I wasn’t a mean drunk or anything, I just drank and fell asleep. But the reminders finally hit me that I had to do something about it.

I found out about a wonderful drug and alcohol rehab program offered by Norfolk Southern, my employer. I filled out the paperwork and entered rehab the next day. I was there for 30 days and got sober. I’ve stayed that way for over ten years now.

While I was in the program, I had time on my hands so I started to work out in the little gym they had set up in there.  I did some weight lifting and treadmill to pass time. I was so out of shape I couldn’t run, but I walked some.  I rode the exercise bike a little bit, too.  But I got up to doing gym two-a-days and the weight started coming off.

Also, they took us out to Cade’s Cove every weekend for an outing. It’s a beautiful valley in Tennessee that was donated to the public to keep it natural. There are a lot of old structures there, and on the second trip I went out to the sawmill. There was a path going down to the creek with a little bench at the end. I sat down there, and then asked God to turn my life around. And boy, did He! The Lord has blessed me. I give Him all the glory.

 

So your daughter and spirituality set you on a straight course. How did you then set a course to competitive sports?

When I got out of rehab, I had lost 30 pounds. I thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool. But what am I gonna do now?’ I needed a hobby, and I had really enjoyed spending time in the woods on those trips to Cade’s Cove. So I started backpacking in the wilderness, and it sorta became my life for the next four years. I put a lot of miles down hiking, and that kept the weight off. I had smoked and used smokeless tobacco for years. I put all that down and started exercising and eating right. I’ve lost a total of 55 pounds now.

In 2011, this guy gave me an old Huffy mountain bike. I thought that was pretty cool activity, so I got my own bike. After doing that awhile, I decided to run a bit, and I enjoyed that too. Then, at work they advertised that the company would donate $1,000 to charity if we got together a team to do this 5K. My first thought was ‘I am not a good runner. There’s no way I can do a 5K.’ But I decided to join in and give it a shot.

The race was in March of 2012, and I started running in January to get ready. All I could do was a half a mile, then I’d have to walk half a mile. But I was able to do the race by March. There were 500 people there, and I ended in 210th place overall, and 12th in my age group. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty good.’ That’s when it hooked me.

I went online and found out where the next race was. I placed a little better in that one, and then I did even better with the next one. I started thinking something was happening here, and I’m getting closer and closer to the podium.  That’s when I started taking an interest in triathlon.

But you said you weren’t much of a swimmer. That’s quite a challenge.

Well, it was a challenge. And it’s still a challenge. [Laugh] Our gym had a 25-yard pool, so I got in and tried it. That first time was like ‘Oh no, I can’t do this!’ I was struggling to breathe and really thought I was drowning. Everything was all wrong.  So, I got on YouTube and found some swimming videos. That’s how I learned to swim. [Laugh] 

I’ve done some clinics since then, and I can do it now, but I’m a middle-of-the-pack swimmer. It’s all technique, and I need more coaching on how to be more efficient. But yeah, swimming was a huge struggle when I got started.

Well, the beauty of triathlon is there are three disciplines. If you are good at one or two, it can cover up the sins of the other.

Ab-so-lutely. That happens all the time, people having a weak discipline and a strong discipline. The one I hear people saying they struggle with most is the swim. Now, the upper echelon triathletes don’t seem to have that problem.

My first triathlon was the Run For God sprint race in July, 2012, right down the road in Dalton Georgia. I think I finished in an hour and five minutes and came in 12th place overall.

Not bad for your first one!

Oh, yeah, I loved it. And I had four or five couples come from my church to cheer for me, which really meant a lot. That’s one race I’ll do every year.

My second race, I came in first in my age group. In 2013, I did six tris, and in 2014 I added a full Ironman competition. I guess I’ve done 50 races so far. This past year, I made the podium in all but one race.

You are hitting your stride. And you came in first overall at the National Senior Games in Birmingham. That was a challenging course. Why do you think you did so well there?

Well, my strength is bicycling on hills. I live near Chattanooga. It’s mostly rolling hills, and I train up and down on them every day. The terrain of this course was just like at home, so the race set up pretty good for me. The run was fairly flat, which was a bonus. And the swim, well, that’s always going to be a struggle anywhere. [Laugh]

Take us through your race experience.

When I came out of the water, I figured there had to be five or six people ahead of me. I’m used to being in the middle of the pack, but when I got through the transition to the bike, I didn’t see anyone ahead of me. When I got onto the rolling hills I could see one bike ahead of me, and there was also a guy on a motorcycle, who I figured was a referee making sure nobody was drafting on another and stuff like that. I caught the bike at the turnaround – he’s a super nice guy from New York state, tremendous swimmer- and then I came around a curve and there was that motorcycle again. That’s when it hit me that I was the lead guy. That got me real excited and set up the rest of my game. I got it into my head to try to go catch that cycle. I knew that would happen if I ever got the lead! [Laugh]

Anyway, I gave it all on the biking, which was good because there was a 60-year-old guy who had the fastest run. I was very happy, especially because my wife was there at the finish line. It was pretty cool. You know, the only thing that would have made it better would be if y’all had put a tape across the finish line so I could break through it. [Laugh]

We’ll work on that! Was there anything else special about the National Senior Games?

What really caught me was that there were so many happy people there. When you go to most races, you see almost everyone going around with their competition faces on. These older people are also competitive, but really seem to enjoy life. They don’t quit, and they support each other. That’s what it’s all about right there.

You know, the 87-year-old man who came in last got as big an ovation as you got for coming in first.

I saw that. The majority of the folks there hung around and went to the finish line to cheer him in. That really says something about these games. You know, I looked up that guy, Frank Farrar. He’s been doing this for many years, and he used to be the governor of South Dakota! I had to get a picture taken with him.

So, the older athletes motivate you?

Oh yeah, they inspire me. They’re so full of spirit, and everybody just looks good. I see them and think, ‘I want to be doing what I’m doing now when I’m their age.’ I know how bad I used to feel. I know what I used to look like, and how much hard work it took to get to where I am now. I don’t want to lose that. I want to keep going. Now I know it’s possible.

Are you an inspiration to others at home?

A lot of people know what I am doing, and some do come up to me for advice. But I don’t go out and impose myself on anybody. I just try to live the life and will help others by example to learn what I’ve learned. You know, like a mentor. I’ve even had bodybuilders ask me about cardio work. It feels good to help others.

I thank God every day for hearing my prayer for help when I was sitting on that bench and getting sober. I thank Him every day for keeping me healthy. And I’m praying that I’ve got a long road ahead. My long-term goal is to make it to be 100 years old, and if I can still do a triathlon, that would just be a bonus! [Laugh]

Carol Klenfner, 72, New York City, New York

Carol Klenfner knows it’s only table tennis, but she likes it.

With age, everyone has a story to tell, but we suspect only Carol can say she’s been in the world of rock and roll, and now rocks out playing table tennis in the National Senior Games. Sounds glamourous, but it would take a very bumpy patch of midlife challenges to reshape her life in unexpected and rewarding ways.

As a young adult, the home-grown New Yorker scrapped her way into public relations, seeing it was a profession where women could be managers and executives. Hard work in entry-level jobs got her referred to a large agency that exclusively handled tour publicity for rock and roll bands, spawning a whirlwind career. Carol worked with many of the most famous acts of the 70s, including Elton John, The Who, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull and the Eagles, among dozens of others. She played the game smart, and succeeded as a professional woman in a wild industry.

Carol moved on to become a top executive at a prestigious firm, serving a broad range of clients. Over the next four decades, she was grateful for marriage, two daughters and a solid career, proud to have succeeded in her native New York City.

In 2009, at age 64, her life started to fall apart. After recuperating from a recent back surgery, Carol had to endure the loss of her ailing husband. The situation required her to find a more affordable place to live. Bad news came in threes, as Carol was then shocked to find she was being laid off from her job. At her age, she knew finding a comparable position would be difficult if not impossible.  As the following conversation relates, she felt like she was in solitary confinement, struggling to gather strength as she set up a boutique PR business working from her dining table.

To overcome the cloud of grief and isolation, Carol knew she had to get out of the home and find something to be engaged in. She caught a PBS documentary that profiled seniors in a table tennis tournament, and old memories of having fun playing ping pong as a kid bubbled up. The program moved her to check out Spin, New York’s popular table tennis-themed lounge and club. She and a friend loved the experience and worked their way into league play. Three years later, Carol has gained confidence and experience in two US Open national table tennis tournaments, qualifying in New York’s Empire State Games, and competing in the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana.

Carol Klenfner now wonders if table tennis saved her life in a way, and she feels like a rock star among her age peers who marvel at her renewed passion for life and dedication to pursue a sport. But she doesn’t consider herself that special, and reminds others to find their own way to “move a muscle, change a mood.” Carol found her Personal Best, and hopes she is an inspiration for others to pursue theirs.

 

OK, let’s get the glitter right out on the table. How did you become a rock and roll PR pioneer?

The music business in the grand old days of rock and roll in the 70s was like the wild west.  There was no playbook. We were making it up as we went along – and we had a blast along the way.  

When I started working as a receptionist at a radio station, it seemed to me that public relations was one of the few business areas where women were the heads of a department. I decided to use my writing samples and go into PR.

I started at a book publishing company, then worked for a firm involved with statewide labor union elections. I then got a job with the American Cancer Society, where one task was to book celebrities to speak at the local chapter’s annual luncheon. I always loved entertainment, and I realized being around the kind of people I was calling on was where I wanted to be.

With luck and pluck I found my way into the New York office of a big PR agency that exclusively handled rock and roll bands. One of my earliest gigs on the way up was doing press for the first Rock and Roll Revival at Madison Square Garden. I had the privilege of escorting Bill Haley around New York City for interviews.  He was a real Southern gentleman.

Over those years I handled PR for at least 50 of the biggest rock bands —Elton John, Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull, Jefferson Airplane, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Aerosmith, Traffic, Pink Floyd, Yes, the Eagles…I could go on.

 

Did you get to interact with the artists very much?

I did, but I kept it very professional. I was a young woman in rock and roll, and it was a man’s world. But I wanted to be taken seriously. One of my claims to fame is that I could talk my way backstage if my name wasn’t on the list without compromising myself. I said “talk.” [Laugh]

I wasn’t looking to get really close with them, I just wanted to be around all of it. I did well because I was smart about it. And I knew I had the kind of job every kid in America wanted to do at that time. I have a lot of stories from those days. 

 

Any particular memories come to mind?

I enjoyed working with Elton John back then. He was great. The Rolling Stones were also amazing. Keith Moon of The Who came to dinner with us one night and insisted on clearing the table and doing the dishes. He had such good manners! [Hearty Laugh]

It was also fun flying on Led Zeppelin’s jet and I stood in the wings during their stadium show in Philadelphia. Before he went onstage, Robert Plant borrowed my hair brush, and for years I treasured it with its golden curls.  Another time, David Bowie was my client for an epic party onboard the SS Rotterdam docked on the Hudson. Beluga caviar and Dom Perignon with a small group of key press. Bowie floated above, very otherworldly and unreachable. The best thing about that awkward party was the leftovers which my friend and I downed at my kitchen table after the party. Four bottles of Dom champagne and an unopened tin of Black Sea beluga caviar, which we ate by the shovelful.

My husband signed the Blues Brothers to Atlantic Records, and we became friends with Belushi and Aykroyd. John’s widow is a friend, and I’m still in touch with Dan.  I mean, there is glitter in what I did, but I never tried to puff it up, you know.

 

Fascinating. But we’re equally interested to know how you became a Senior Games athlete.

Well, I wasn’t completely new to table tennis. I grew up in the suburbs of Queens playing stick ball and punch ball in the streets. When we got home from school, we did our homework and went out to play. I was a real tomboy. One Christmas, I asked my parents for a baseball mitt instead of a doll.

When I was 12, my family moved to a different neighborhood in Queens and that was rough. But one day the doorbell rang and there were two moving men with a huge flat carton. The house had a finished basement, and my dad’s Uncle Max had sent us a surprise housewarming gift- a ping pong table!

Playing ball and ping pong was among the very few things my older brother and I enjoyed doing together. Usually he preferred teasing and breaking my things. So, the table was a wonderful gift and we had a lot of fun with it.

 

Did you get into any organized sports?

Sports opportunity came crashing to a stop in college when I was in a car accident. My hip was dislocated, and after five months on crutches, the doctors advised to take it easy and avoid impact like running or jogging – for the rest of my life.

 

So how did you become an athlete after the age of 60?

The way I found table tennis again is interesting.

In 2009, the bottom dropped out of my life. I had recently been through back surgery, and then my husband died after a difficult period when he was in and out of the hospital. It was a crazy time. I had to pack up the family apartment and find myself an affordable rental in Manhattan.

Then, three months after he died, in the middle of the Great Recession, I got laid off my full-time job at a PR agency.  The industry got hit hard and I knew someone was going to go, but I never thought it would be me. I’ve watched that TV show Survivor since it first went on. I thought

I played a good social game, but I didn’t realize the target was on my back because I was a senior employee with a high salary. I didn’t see it coming.  

I’ll never forget how alone and empty I felt schlepping my file cartons of work stuff back to my little apartment. I started doing my PR work freelance off my dining table. Eventually I had a couple of clients, but I knew that at my age and in that market, getting a full-time job wasn’t going to happen.

After a 35-year marriage, and 45 years working in an office surrounded by people, I was alone. Depression is not my thing, but I did feel terribly lonely and isolated. It was like solitary confinement. I wasn’t sure what was ahead for me, but I knew I needed to get out of the house.

 

So what pointed you to table tennis?

Four years ago, I stumbled across a British PBS TV documentary called “Ping Pong” about something called the World Veteran Tournament with people from 80 up to a hundred years old playing competitive table tennis.

But they weren’t just competing for medals, they were fighting for life. I understood that. Sometimes you have to fight to live.

 

You saw them as fighting for their life?

For the four people that were featured in the documentary, it was not just a game to them. It was grabbing ahold of life and refusing to let go.

After seeing that documentary, I knew it was a sport with a future, and so began my journey.

My friend Stephanie Palewski-Brumbach, who had also grown up in Queens, and I went to check out Spin, the ping pong club and restaurant owned by Susan Sarandon. We liked it, and thought we were good enough to try out for the women’s league. We were thrilled when we were admitted. So, I started playing more, and since I was freelancing I had the time to work at getting better.

Over the next year or so, I got tired of losing, got myself a coach, and started to win an occasional game. What a feeling! After losing a match to Jean Lim, one of the fierce young players in the women’s league, I told her I admired her focus and admitted my ambivalence about being willing to win. She replied, “If you want to win, you have to identify your opponent’s weaknesses and exploit them.” The way she said “exploit them” made me feel queasy.

 

So, you literally had to learn how to be competitive?

I’d been brought up to be a people pleaser. The best times with my brother were when we played sports. He was my first coach, and he taught me a lot. But for so much of my childhood I was kind of made to stay out of his way, and I was deferring to him. I’m still working to make winning feel comfortable.

In March 2016, I played my first official tournament, learning that in my category (the lowest) I could be playing all ages unless it’s a seniors event. I frequently played kids as young as 9, which is humbling because they came with their own cheering section – dad, mom, aunts & uncles, and shopping bags filled with snacks.  I’ve lost some and won some. Winning is better!

I enjoyed playing the Empire State Senior Games in Cortland, and then I played in the US Open in Las Vegas. There were 200 tables set up in the convention center. Wow.

 

You made it to the National Senior Games this year. How different was that from your experience with all-age tournaments?

It was just fantastic being surrounded by people who were so happy to be there and so happy to participate. And some of them were older than myself! [Laugh] It gives me something to aspire to. When I do all ages tournaments, not only am I a woman, I’m also one of the oldest people there. At the Senior Games, I’m just another grateful athlete.

 

You won a ribbon at The Games. Is your goal to come back and get a medal?

I tell you, I was thrilled to win that ribbon at Nationals. I brag about it! [Chuckle] My goal right now is just to get better and improve my rating. My goal is to just keep going up. I’m working with my wonderful coach Matthew Khan twice a week, and I’m looking to play smarter rather than for longer hours.

One thing I’ve discovered in the process is that for me, the word “play” is one of the best four-letter words.

 

[Laugh] That’s great – never heard that one before!

That’s my line, and I take credit for it. Because I’m so humble. [Laugh]

Table tennis has introduced me to a new world of people who are smart, interesting and off-beat — plus I’ve got a couple of gold medals, a trophy, a ribbon and grand prize money totaling all of 30 bucks!

 

This does bring up a serious question: What does “play” really mean to you?

Hmmm. It means joy. It means losing myself in the moment. It’s flow. Nothing else matters when I’m playing.

 

So, do you feel like a rock star when you step out to play?

I don’t think there are a lot of rock stars, you know, household names, in the table tennis community. [Chuckle] It’s not a glamour sport. It’s an odd collection of wonderful people. But as an athlete, I do feel like a rock star among my contemporaries because there are very few people I know in my age group here in New York who are doing this kind of thing. Especially since I’ve come to this at such a late age. I’ve only been playing seriously for three years.

 

Many think they can’t do what you have done – pick up a sport after 50. What would you say to those people?

Find something you like to do and get better at it. Our bodies were made to move. To me, being physically active, even going for a walk, changes your outlook.

There’s a saying: “Move a muscle, change your mood.” That’s what I believe in. Just keep moving.

 

What other inspirations that have helped you to survive and cope through the challenges of life?

My mom was my inspiration. After my dad died, she moved into Manhattan from the suburbs and wanted to do things for herself. She had been a very successful piano teacher in Brooklyn before my brother and I came along, and she went back to it at around the same age I am now, and continued until she was 78. That kind of independence, that ‘reinvent yourself’ spirt, was so inspiring to me.

Another one comes to mind: I was at a dinner a year ago and we were talking about table tennis. One of the guests was Ken Frank, a well-known psychologist and psychoanalyst. He said, “You know, you have gotten something a lot of people don’t get- a second chance at life.” It refocused everything for me. I saw him six months later and thanked him for such a generous statement. He got pensive and replied, “It’s not just that you got a second chance. You took it. Not everybody does.”

 

Of course, you have gained significant health benefits.

Oh yes. Given my age and the things we all deal with, I think I’m in the best shape I’ve been of my life because of table tennis. It has also improved me mentally. I’m more focused and my ability to catch on to things is faster. I see a difference.

 

Chasing a little white ball going 60 miles an hour will do that for you!

Right! I can keep my eye on the ball now. And there’s so much going on around it. I just love the learning. It’s a complete thrill. I would say it’s one of the best things in my life. It’s the thing that gives me the most pleasure. There are times I am so damn happy that I’m playing, taking lessons, making friends. It just makes me happy. I don’t know if it saved my life, but it might have.

Truthfully, I hope I go out playing table tennis. [Laugh]

 

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