The Long Run – April 2020
Association News
A Message from the CEO
We hope that your family, friends, neighbors and community are fine, and know we are thinking of you and wishing you all stay well. Our staff is fine and currently working remotely and adjusting to the change in routine as we continue to conduct the business and planning for the 2021 National Senior Games presented by Humana in sunny Greater Fort Lauderdale next year.
In 2014, National Senior Games Association (NSGA) profiled tennis player and New Jersey Senior Olympics volunteer Irma DeMarzo as part of our Personal Best initiative. Side note congratulations Irma and her husband John celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on April 11th. In her interview, Irma shared her feelings about the Senior Games:
“I love all of the activities and especially the camaraderie I find there. I get to meet so many wonderful people. They’re celebrating health and life. It’s an amazing thing to go back and still meet some of the same people I met way back before.”
I admit I am quoting a New Jersey athlete because I am a native of that state, but we have consistently heard this sentiment expressed by athletes. This is a big motivation for Games organizers to do the hard work to stage your state events. As we reach out to our senior games family across the country, we know you are anxious and yearning for normalcy, and we are too.
We are truly a family, and you can be certain that our entire association is focused on returning to competitions, reuniting with longtime friends, and making new friendships, and when the time is right we will be ready. Yes, we all want to know when that time is, yet at this moment it is unknown. Therefore, continue to take time to connect with family, friends, teammates, and fellow athletes.
We hope you remain safe and are finding ways to stay active during these challenging times. To help bridge the current situation for active seniors until training and practice can begin again, NSGA has created a web page with tips and links curated with senior fitness in mind. We feel you will find something helpful and appropriate for you. Click to visit the Alternative Home Exercises web page.
State Senior Games: Due to the evolving nature of COVID-19, many of our State Senior Games are actively evaluating their schedules. They will continue to monitor the conditions and make decisions on any postponements or cancellations. We realize that when a decision is made pertaining to postponing or cancelling some may agree and some may disagree. The State Senior Games are diligently reviewing and discussing the situation along with input from appropriate authorities. There are many facets to consider, thus decisions will be not be made lightly. Please support the decision. For the most current status of events, please CLICK HERE for NSGA State Information with individual Games links and downloadable contact list and master calendar.
National Senior Games: NSGA is already analyzing potential impacts on State Senior Games and the qualifying process for the National Senior Games in 2021. We are reviewing several potential scenarios and considering many factors. If the situation requires that changes are made to the current qualification process, NSGA will continue regular communications with our State Senior Games to share information to athletes.
Please be assured that our organization will find the right path forward once the situation eases and activities can proceed. Watch for updates from your state, and we will continue to inform you about the road ahead. Better days are coming!
Marc T. Riker, CEO
Game On!
Personal Best: A Way of Life for 100 Years
Our newest Personal Best athlete feature celebrates centenarian Hollyce Kirkland, who grew up on a farm and has kept herself healthy and active for her entire life. Her story carries another important theme that comes from a non-competition fall she took at The Games last year. Showing her determination and good humor, the Tennessean had “a little pitty party” about having to miss her track events, but immediately focused on coming back for unfinished business in 2021.
Enjoy following along in our edited conversation with Hollyce to learn more about what she has done and learned in ten decades.
“The Fall and Rise of Hollyce Kirkland”
Welcome Back, Zibrio!
The NSGA is delighted to partner once again with Zibrio for the 2020 Qualifying Season and the 2021 National Senior Games presented by Humana, supporting athletes in bringing their best game to The Games, and to life.
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana meets with (L to R) Zibrio Founder & CEO Katharine Forth, a conference attendee, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins, and Consumer Technology Association Foundation Member Steve Ewell.
Since you first met them in Albuquerque last year, ‘Flip Flop’, the Zibrio flamingo has been busy, including going to the Consumer Electronic Show in January where Zibrio won an Innovation Award in the Health & Wellness category from the Consumer Electronics Association.
CES is the world’s gathering place for consumer technologies, attracting over 175,000 people from all over the world, where innovators demonstrate advances in everything from health and fitness to smart homes, travel and robotics.
The Zibrio team demonstrated the next generation clinical and consumer versions of the balance scale. Before the week had finished, they also won the AARP competition for technology best able to help older adults ‘stay in the game’, hosted by football legend, Joe Montana.
Montana confessed he had taken his balance for granted before joining his wife in doing balance drills, when he realized how badly off his balance had become. “If you’re not testing it, how do you know if you have a problem?” he said. You can listen to the interview with him by CLICKING HERE
Top 3 reasons to measure your balance:
- Understand your personal fluctuation pattern, so you can tell if something is off
- Help you assess & tailor your training
- Understand which health factors most affect your balance
April Athlete of the Month
Meatless Meets: A Vegan Perspective
While only a fraction of senior athletes follow a vegan diet, there is a trend with more turning to this option. Traditional opinions by coaches and athletes say that you can’t perform as well athletically on a purely plant-based diet, but runner Ellen Jaffe Jones is out to disprove that thought. In fact, she says her own experience has already done that.
“After a 5K I ran in Florida in 2011, I was on the podium holding a trophy and wearing a bright neon yellow shirt with the cover of my book Eat Vegan on $4 a Day on it,” she recalls. “This guy tells me, ‘You can’t run on a vegan diet, and you certainly can’t race on a vegan diet.’ At that point, I had been running for 30 years and answered, ‘Let’s have that conversation.’”
Ellen leads a lot of conversations on the subject. Her early career as a television news investigative and consumer reporter provided the communication skills to become a speaker, author of six books, and host of an active website and social media pages about vegan diet and lifestyle. “There’s a perception that vegans are weak and all they eat is spinach and broccoli with no variety,” she says. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
She began to shy away from meat protein after college when she gained weight while touring as a cast member of Up With People. “I was 150 pounds on a five-foot-three frame – not pretty or comfortable,” she recalls. “I did all the high protein diets – Atkins, South Beach, Zone Diet. After I almost died from a colon blockage when I was 28, I ran to the bookstore and read everything on fiber, and when I focused on fiber over protein the weight came off.”
Ellen’s family history was reason enough to evaluate diet. “I’ve watched my mom and both sisters get breast cancer, and my aunt died from it at an early age,” she says solemnly. “One of my sisters got diabetes and eventually died from heart disease. All my life has been focused on how to avoid this mayhem. We’ve been sold a bill of goods with ad campaigns for meat and dairy that promote misconceptions not based on science. There’s a lot of research now linking dairy to breast cancer, for example.”
Fitness running became a part of her life 40 years ago. In recent years she added track competition, making it to Nationals three times. She reports always being a “middle-of-the-packer” but that her performances have improved over time. She is proud to have secured 1500-meter gold in her Florida Senior Games qualifier, and to be on the women’s 65-69 4×100 winning relay team at The Games in Albuquerque last year. She was also one of only two women of 66 athletes in her age group to run all six track events plus the relay. “I recently placed my 199th 5K or longer race since 2006 just on plants,” she notes. “I’m now running a 27-minute 5K, and I never ran that fast. Many of the women who used to beat me like crazy 15 years ago aren’t even running anymore.”
Ellen adds a big reason she entered athletics was to share that vegans largely do not get arthritis. “Animal protein lodges in the joints,” she says. “Arthritis specialists and organizations are now saying to cut down or eliminate animal protein to cut down on symptoms of osteoarthritis. And that includes dairy.”
Her bottom line is that people should research and make up their own mind about diet. “There’s no money in broccoli. There’s no broccoli association or lobby, and that’s why we haven’t heard the good news about it and its sisters and brothers,” she explains. “When you understand that, you have to be your own investigative reporter to figure out the truth about food.”
Got a great story to share about yourself or an athlete you admire? We want to hear from you! To submit yours, or to nominate a fellow athlete, Please Click Here.
Senior Health and Wellness
Embrace the Change
Here are some thoughts and advice from NSGA Health and Wellness Director Andrew Walker:
A wise mentor and colleague from my ATT employee wellness experience regularly reminded me that one constant in life is change! COVID-19 is an example of rapid and challenging change, requiring us to harness our ability to manage change.
Interruption in our routines calls us to embrace change. We are empowered to make the needed modifications once we know what needs to change. For the common good, and for our own sake, we are asked to maintain a physical distance perimeter of six feet, limit the unconscious habit of face touching, and commit to washing hands for at least twenty seconds. In addition, social networks and exercise programs are disrupted. When taken together they represent a challenge, requiring change and creating stress. Yet, there are resources that we can call upon.
Managing change requires acceptance of what you cannot control, a review of your assets, and then acting on those things you can control. Reflect on this advice:
Acceptance
- Work to accept that change is required
- Give yourself time to change
- Make a list of things that you can control and things you can’t control
Asset Assessment
- Acknowledge that you survived previous changes
- Reflect on how you survived previous changes
- Review your strengths, resources, and support
Change What You Can Control
- Focus on the things you can control
- Work to let go of things you cannot control
- Reframe this moment as an opportunity to refine your mindset, try new workout routines and maintain social networks
Overall wellness encompasses dimensions of mind, body, spirit, and social life, with each having an impact on the other. For instance, there is an abundance of evidence that physical activity positively affects mental wellbeing. A complete overview of proven mind-body practices like tai chi for health and yoga is found at The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). NCCIH also offers a comprehensive overview of Relaxation Techniques for Health.
NSGA has created the Alternative Home Exercises web page with curated workout resources. Additional resources to support mental wellbeing created by the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) are found at COVID-19 Information and Resources.
We know from Senior Athlete Fitness Exam (SAFE) research that Senior Games participants are, as a whole, exceptionally healthy and fit. Your participation in The Games has demonstrated your grit and resilience. Life experience has sharpened your ability to accept what you cannot change. Your Games experience has affirmed your strength to change while opening space for greater serenity in hard times.
Keep the faith, taking care in mind, body and spirit.
NSGA Health & Wellness Partners
NSGA Sport Partners
NSGA Official Apparel
- Published in Newsletter
Meatless Meets: A Vegan’s Perspective April 2020 Athlete of the Month
Ellen Jaffe Jones, 67, Sarasota, Florida
While only a fraction of senior athletes follow a vegan diet, there is a trend with more turning to this option. Traditional opinions by coaches and athletes say that you can’t perform as well athletically on a purely plant-based diet, but runner Ellen Jaffe Jones is out to disprove that thought. In fact, her says her own experience has already done that.
“After a 5K I ran in Florida in 2011, I was on the podium holding a trophy and wearing a bright neon yellow shirt with the cover of my book Eat Vegan on $4 a Day on it,” she recalls. “This guy tells me, ‘You can’t run on a vegan diet, and you certainly can’t race on a vegan diet.’ At that point, I had been running for 30 years and answered, ‘Let’s have that conversation.’”
Ellen leads a lot of conversations on the subject. Her early career as a television news investigative and consumer reporter provided the communication skills to become a speaker, author of six books, and host of an active website and social media pages about vegan diet and lifestyle. “There’s a perception that vegans are weak and all they eat is spinach and broccoli with no variety,” she says. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
She began to shy away from meat protein after college when she gained weight while touring as a cast member of Up With People. “I was 150 pounds on a five-foot-three frame – not pretty or comfortable,” she recalls. “I did all the high protein diets – Atkins, South Beach, Zone Diet. After I almost died from a colon blockage when I was 28, I ran to the bookstore and read everything on fiber, and when I focused on fiber over protein the weight came off.”
Ellen’s family history was reason enough to evaluate diet. “I’ve watched my mom and both sisters get breast cancer, and my aunt died from it at an early age,” she says solemnly. “One of my sisters got diabetes and eventually died from heart disease. All my life has been focused on how to avoid this mayhem. We’ve been sold a bill of goods with ad campaigns for meat and dairy that promote misconceptions not based on science. There’s a lot of research now linking dairy to breast cancer, for example.”
Fitness running became a part of her life 40 years ago. In recent years she added track competition, making it to Nationals three times. She reports always being a “middle-of-the-packer” but that her performances have improved over time. She is proud to have secured 1500-meter gold in her Florida Senior Games qualifier, and to be on the women’s 65-69 4×100 winning relay team at The Games in Albuquerque last year. She was also one of only two women of 66 athletes in her age group to run all six track events plus the relay. “I recently placed my 199th 5K or longer race since 2006 just on plants,” she notes. “I’m now running a 27-minute 5K, and I never ran that fast. Many of the women who used to beat me like crazy 15 years ago aren’t even running anymore.”
Ellen adds a big reason she entered athletics was to share that vegans largely do not get arthritis. “Animal protein lodges in the joints,” she says. “Arthritis specialists and organizations are now saying to cut down or eliminate animal protein to cut down on symptoms of osteoarthritis. And that includes dairy.”
Her bottom line is that people should research and make up their own mind about diet. “There’s no money in broccoli. There’s no broccoli association or lobby, and that’s why we haven’t heard the good news about it and its sisters and brothers,” she explains. “When you understand that, you have to be your own investigative reporter to figure out the truth about food.”
- Published in Athlete of the Month
The Fall and Rise of Hollyce Kirkland
Hollyce Kirkland, 100, Sevierville, Tennessee
The match was set. The anticipated “Battle of the Centenarians” had created a buzz in Albuquerque at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Media lined up to cover the 50-meter race between 103-year-old Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins and upstart Hollyce Kirkland, who had just reached triple digits. When the gun sounded, however, only Julia was at the line. Where’s Hollyce?
It turns out that the Tennessee swimmer and runner had taken a fall the day before, and while it happened at the track, it wasn’t in competition. She was helping her athlete friend and travel companion Rhonda Ratcliff find her event, and says she was distracted by some attractive plantings and slipped while stepping up to look closer. The force of the fall bruised her face badly and knocked out a tooth. Amazingly for a woman her age, Hollyce said she had “a little pity party” and then got up angry because she would miss her track events and the chance to make some records. She did manage to pull herself together to carry the Tennessee flag in the Celebration of Athletes, and she’s already fixed on a goal to compete at the 2021 Games in Greater Fort Lauderdale, when she will be a spry 102.
Hollyce isn’t Superwoman, but she is a senior athlete, and NSGA athlete screening research has revealed that our highly active seniors only experience one-third as many falls as their age peers. Further, the rate of recovery for those who do experience a fall is much higher. Consider Hollyce Kirkland to be our Poster Girl for Active Aging.
Speaking with us in her delightful Southern drawl, Hollyce admits that she is blessed with good genes, but because she was raised on a farm, she believes that led her to always practice good health and exercise habits. Good genes are no advantage if you don’t take care of yourself. Sports were scarce for her growing up, but she had plenty of friends to bike, run and play with, and she recalls when the kids even built their own tennis court. In her adult life she fell in love with hiking in the Appalachian Mountains and volunteering to help mark and clean up trails.
Regular walks and swims at the local pool kept her going after retiring to the Volunteer State in 2000. Hollyce finally entered competition at the Tennessee Senior Olympics in her 80s and then traveled to California in 2009 to make her National Senior Games debut. She’s not an experienced or gifted athlete and focuses on the fitness and fellowship with others, but she always gives her best and is delighted to have set six NSGA age division records, including setting marks in 2019 for women 100+ in her 50-yard Breaststroke and 200-yard Freestyle performances.
Grab a glass of sweet tea and set a spell as Hollyce shares her story and some advice for us youngsters. Her biggest advice is to create a support team to help and encourage you to continue for the long run. Better listen to her – Hollyce may have been gifted good health, but her Personal Best attitude to keep moving and motivated has made the difference for her to cross the 100-year line.
Hollyce, congratulations on your good health and for breaking the century mark! We’re proud to have you in The Games!
Thanks, yes I will be 101 this year. I was born on 10-31-1919.
You were born on Halloween? Did you feel cheated having to share your birthday with trick or treating?
Yes that’s correct. It was fine, I didn’t feel left out at all. I had three sisters, so we always celebrated. We didn’t do a lot of trick or treating or chimney climbing, just celebrated it as my birthday, not Halloween.
There’s been another woman older than you on the track of late. You raced with Julia Hawkins in 2017. Are you looking forward to your next meeting in 2021?
Oh sure, I certainly would look forward to seeing her again! I didn’t really get to know Julia. I usually have someone with me, and we didn’t get to talk much. I do enjoy the company of the other people. I would not go if I didn’t enjoy it.
I am most fortunate that I have this to do. Now, I am not competitive enough that I would be concerned that she was going to take the title away from me. [Laugh]
2017 Games 90+ Runners L to R: Ruth Thompson, Dottie Gray, Hollyce Kirkland, Julia Hawkins.
Well, “Hurricane” Hawkins beat all of the 90+ women’s times. You did give us a scare in Albuquerque last June when you were a no-show at the 50-meter race with her. We found out later that you had taken a fall the day before.
Yes. All the swimming was finished so I was at the track stadium passing some time since I had no races that afternoon. I was walking around with my friend Rhonda Ratcliff looking for her long jump event. But I was also stepping up to look at the plantings that were a little uphill on the side…and I tripped and fell on my face. That was a trip that wasn’t necessary! [Laugh]
Important reminder for people, even active people, to be aware of your balance. How badly were you hurt?
I messed up my mouth and knocked out a tooth. But I was really having more of a pity party than I was hurting. [Laugh] I was also upset with myself for doing something stupid and it messed up my records.
I will say that I got good medical attention out there. But I sure did hate to miss out by not running on that event.
We are betting that nothing will keep you from going to Fort Lauderdale to finish that race in 2021.
That’s the plan!
One thing is certain – you are one tough woman, Hollyce.
Growing up on the farm we always had something that we needed to do, and there was always somebody around who wanted to do something as well. A group of us made up our own tennis court, if that tells you anything about the place I grew up in. We had rackets and we built the tennis court in the dirt.
Farm life is a very physical and active. That must have set the tone for your life and a big reason for staying healthy this long.
Probably. I was active and had friends to be active with. We had trees to climb and bicycles to ride. I just didn’t have organized sports. I took up swimming after I finished high school. I also hiked a lot with a club that did maintenance on the Appalachian Trail. I served on the board of the group for some time in the ‘60s, and that’s how I met my husband Marvin. Marv was doing transportation for the group, and one night he came to pick up his friend and I happened to be the second passenger.
For the most part I have always been in good health. I would say that part of it is in my genes-my grandfather lived with us, and I knew my great grandfather as well if that tells you anything. I had one slight touch with cancer in 1985 and I had some lumps removed from my breasts. But that was about it. And I was raised on a farm, so I always have eaten fresh foods and not a lot of processed foods. Awhile ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and that does limit the kinds of foods that I can eat now.
Are you a native Tennessee girl?
Hollyce with her husband Marvin pose with her friend Rhonda’s grandchildren at the 2019 Games.
No, I was born in Texas and my family moved me to Greensboro, North Carolina when I was a couple months old. I stayed there until I was married. Later we moved to New Jersey and finally retired in Tennessee.
Did you go to college?
Not back then, I finished high school and then went to work. Greensboro has seven colleges and I took and took some courses at two of them in adult life. I ended up working at one of them.
What was your career?
I started as a printer’s devil, which meant I did anything that needs to be done, mostly communication and bookkeeping at the printer. Then I worked as a Methodist church secretary to a minister, and from there I became secretary to the president of the Methodist college in Greensboro. The college had night classes taught by a couple of the attorneys in town. I took the courses and then ended up working for them.
We moved to New Jersey for my husband’s job. We retired and moved to Tennessee in 2000. We decided on Tennessee because Marv had a real good friend here that was moving into a retirement home and we bought his house. Marv had hiked with this gentleman quite and bit and they were real good friends. We are very happy here.
So when did you get into competition and Senior Games?
I started swimming at the local pool here several days a week, and my friend Rhonda Ratcliff told me about Tennessee Senior Olympics and we went together. I think it was 2005 and it was my first competition. It was 2009 when I first went to the National Senior Games. That was in California.
Swimming is my first sport, but I like doing almost everything they offered on the track, too. That’s probably from all of my walking and hiking. In this part of Tennessee there are some great places to walk uphill and down.
Hollyce with her “support team” member and fellow athlete Rhonda Ratcliff in 2017.
You are living proof that it’s never too late to get into The Games!
Yeah, I guess so. To the people who tell me that I shouldn’t have started the Senior Games in my 80’s, I just shrug it off. The Senior Games opportunity gave me courage.
I will say that it’s important to have a support team around you. I went to California on my own but after that it was usually with Rhonda. She started in her 50’s while I was starting in my ‘80s. I have quit driving, so Marv gets me to the pool and Rhonda usually gets me to where I need to be for the sports competitions. Rhonda is the one who keeps me at it.
I can take care of myself, but you don’t want me out there by myself. If you want my advice, I can’t stress enough that it’s important to have a support team.
Your big reward for starting late is that you have less competition have set quite a few NSGA age group records.
I am most fortunate to have set the records at the National Senior Games. I won’t say that I am very competitive, but I do enjoy the sports and it’s fun to stand on the podium.
I will tell you that the fellowship is wonderful. It is always nice to go to the games with Rhonda and we’ve made many friends. It’s also a good excuse to go somewhere. It got us to California, Texas, Alabama, and New Mexico. Marv drove me to Ohio for the 2013 Games.
What would you tell others looking to start this as older adults?
I think I would start out by asking questions. Do you walk or swim? And if they did either of those, I would ask questions to help them choose a sport. They know what they’ve been through, what it took to get from point A to point B and whether they have a handicap or a special need. I can’t play ping pong or racquetball, but I can walk and swim.
I would also tell them it is age bracketed so you aren’t competing with a 50 year old at an older age. Then I assure them that’s its not body-eat-body. They will meet some wonderful people showing what they can do. Competition is really not what I go for, I go for the fellowship more than anything.
Hollyce proudly displays the state sign she carried for 2017 Celebration of Athletes
It’s important for people to know they will not embarrass themselves if they don’t win a medal or ribbon.
One good thing about it is that you start out at your local level, and then state, and then Nationals. Along the way, you make your friends at the local level, and you add new ones at state. By the time you get to Nationals, you already have a support team that is with you.
So, your competitors are also part of your support team. You must also consider the Tennessee Senior Olympics staff and volunteers as part of it too.
Yes. I think that they do an excellent job. They are very patient and happy to help with whatever you need and they take you at whatever skill level you are at.
You worked at a church and Methodist college. How important is your spirituality to your outlook?
I am at church every week, and I worked in a church all my life. I am not a holy roller, but I take care of myself and I won’t try to take care of you. I do care about you, but I’m not expecting you to believe in everything I believe in or act like I act.
I would hate to worry about every hour of every day. I know that I have people who are going to help me and that I’m not here by myself. I’m thankful for enjoying good health and fortunate to have support.
It makes sense to us that you have a positive attitude and keep looking forward, Hollyce.
It does make sense, and of course that is what I do. I hadn’t taken time to analyze it. I have a mindset that as long as a have my support team then I can put forth the effort to go to the next meet and compete. I’m not disappointed if I don’t come out on top. I go with friends and I always have fun.
So, I have good health and a good support team. You can’t do these things without that.
Find More Great Personal Best Features at NSGA.com/personalbest
- Published in 2020 PB, Personal Best Featured Athletes