Fran Allison, 80, Kinston, NC & Jackie Allison, 56, Youngsville, NC

Fran Allison’s motor never stops, and the energy has rubbed off on her family and everyone else around her. She played what high school sports were available for females in the early ’50s and her husband taught her to play tennis and golf, but raising four children put those activities on hold. Fran lived sports through her kids, especially cheering on her daughter Jackie who excelled in swimming and basketball, and who went on to letter on the women’s basketball team at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The empty nest opened up opportunities to volunteer in the community and return to former passions. When she heard about the North Carolina Senior Games, Fran picked up a tennis racquet at 55 and within a year was playing every sport she could fit into her schedule. It wasn’t long until hubby was joining in, and both enjoyed the activity and opportunities to meet and become friends with others from around the state. When Fran entered her first National Senior Games, Jackie traveled with her to San Antonio and became her coach and cheerleader for 25 years for local, state and national games. The role reversal enriched both women, and this year Jackie finally realized her dream of qualifying and going to the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana with her mother as a fellow senior athlete.

Both have become avid ambassadors for the Senior Games Movement, and Jackie was selected in 2012 to serve on the North Carolina Senior Games Board of Directors. Fran and Jackie’s energy, enthusiasm and positive example to others earned them an invitation to carry their state flag in the Celebration of Athletes sponsored by AstraZeneca in Cleveland – and our first tandem recognition of Personal Best athletes with an intergenerational story.

The following conversation highlights that “family” also describes the relationships felt among all who participate in senior games.

 

It’s obvious that your Mom got you hooked on senior games, Jackie. You’ve been active with sports your entire life, so what do they bring you that you don’t find elsewhere?

Jackie:  I love the interaction with the other participants and hearing their stories.  I participate in Senior Games because I love to have fun and play. I can’t imagine not staying active as I get older. I believe it will help me cope with the aging process in a more positive way. It is a legacy passed on to me from my parents and I cherish the times we have spent together at senior games.

It also provides me with goals to keep me motivated. I’m not the type that just likes exercise.  Competition is something that keeps me going.  Doing senior games gives you something to keep your focus. When you know you’re going to get out and do it, you have to keep yourself in physical condition to do the things you want to do.

Mom gave me the love of sports. She got me into swimming when I was six and I did that competitively for ten years. Then I met a basketball and got really involved in that in high school. When I went to the University of North Carolina in 1974 Title IX was not in force for another year and they did not offer scholarships. We were all walk ons. I was senior at UNC in Chapel Hill when the NCAA organized the first women’s college basketball tournament.

After college I played rec basketball for a few years until I broke my finger and my team kinda disbanded. I played some tennis and racquetball, learned some golf and then got into running – 5Ks, 10Ks and a couple of half marathons, and then a friend got me to try the triathlon because of my early swimming experience.

 

What about you, Mom – were you always active in sports? How did you find out about senior games?

Fran: I’ve always been pretty active because I raised four children (laughs). I did play basketball and softball in high school. That was all they had for girls when I was that age. My husband Rufus taught me tennis and some golf but raising those kids took up most of my time when they came along. But when they left home I flew! (Both laugh)

A lady friend kept saying ‘Come on down to the games’ so I started local senior games playing tennis at 55. That’s all I did the first year but then I saw all the other things people were doing and thought ‘Golly, I can do all of this!’ so the next year I signed up for everything I could work in. And I’ve continued to do as many as I can up to today. I’ve participated in 20 sports.

A lot of people stay with one sport, but I want to do it all.  I’m not the best at it, but I love it all. I guess I’ve won 500 medals and ribbons at the local and regional level, and my softball team won a bronze at the National Senior Games in 2009. Jackie’s been with me for just about every event I’ve been to these past 25 y I’ve been to every Nationals except one since 1995 and Jackie’s been my coach making sure I knew what to do and where to be. If it hadn’t been for her pushing me on I might not have kept doing it. We’ve had a great time and it’s a bonding that we’ll never forget.

Jackie:  I can’t even describe the feelings I had watching her, especially in the running events where she was pretty good. I was trying to film, take pictures and cheer at the same time. It just meant the world to me to give back and do for her what she’s always done for me. It was so emotional.

Fran: It’s ALL been emotional. We have grown so close, I couldn’t do without her now.

Jackie:  So I’ve wanted to do this with Mom since she got involved. We were in Louisville in 2007 and mom says to me ‘This might be my last Nationals.’ I said ‘Are you kidding me? I haven’t even gotten old enough to go yet. This is NOT your last Nationals!’ (Both laugh) But this year was my first time and it was so special for both of us to go to Cleveland and be in The Games.

Fran: I said I would do this until I was 80. Well now I’m 80 and I want to go until I’m 85. (Laughs)

 

This summer North Carolina selected you two to carry the state’s flag in our Celebration of Athletes. What did that honor mean for you?

Fran:  I’ve been fortunate to carry the flag twice before.  But it was awesome to carry it as a mother-daughter team.

Jackie:  This was to be our first Nationals both as athletes and it was so exciting. I know there are other parents and their kids in senior games. For me, I had to wait over 20 years to start, but I’ve been going and supporting Mom all along and it gave me a new appreciation of what’s out there and available for you as a senior.

Carrying the flag was special in another way. Three weeks before the Games I tore my ACL and was not able to compete with my basketball team. I got rid of my crutches the day I left for Cleveland and it meant the world to me to be able to walk with her carrying our state flag in the Celebration of Athletes. After the disappointment of not playing, to be able to do that was one of the most special moments of my life.

 

 

We‘re betting you will be back in 2015. Fran, have you had any obstacles to overcome?

Fran:  In 2009 I had breast cancer but I wasn’t going to let it beat me. I had a lumpectomy and when they started treatment the state softball tournament was coming up. Well I would get my radiation, get in the car, drive to Raleigh and play softball and drive back to Kinston. I did that every day. I just wasn’t going to quit. People were just amazed that I would keep going like that. I’ve helped a lot of people, talking to them about not feeling sorry for themselves and to get back on the horse and keep on riding.

Jackie: I wasn’t surprised that she fought back. I remember being with her when the doctor told her about the cancer being malignant. Well, her softball team was getting ready to go to the Nationals and her first question was ‘Well, can I still go to California to play with my softball team?’ He looked at her like she was crazy. But three weeks after her lumpectomy she did! But that exemplifies her spirit. I’ve said many times if I could bottle her enthusiasm and love of life I would be a billionaire many times over.

You can’t stop things from happening to you in life. Mom also has diabetes, some high blood pressure and cholesterol. But she exercises and eats well and does these sports. If she didn’t do that, those problems would definitely have already impacted her quality of life and longevity.

Fran:  I keep my blood sugar down without any medication. I know the exercise and eating right has helped.

 

Sounds like there’s few excuses for not “getting into the game.”

Jackie: North Carolina has a huge senior games system with local games all over. From the people I’ve met over the years I would guess that 65% of them never did what they are doing now in the games. The opportunity was presented and they tried it and liked it. They may not be the best but they’re having fun and enjoying the social activity.

I’m preaching it everywhere I go. You don’t have to stop being active. If you keep going you will realize there’s so much you can gain from it. I’m just getting started. I recruited my team and wouldn’t have gotten to know many of them if not for this. We’ve all become such great friends. You know we all go through things -people lose spouses, parents, they go through health crises. It’s just another level of support you are able to give each other as you get older. We’ve all chosen to be more powerful than to sit back and be pitiful.

Fran:  And it keeps you happy. And as long as you’re happy it rubs off on others. I’m just really enjoying what I’m doing. I truly do not know what I would do without senior games, it is such a large part of my life.  I preach it to everybody.  I’ve gotten a lot of people into this and it’s fun to see them involved. And it’s wonderful to see the same people at Nationals time after time.

 

It sounds like senior games participants are something of an extended family.

Jackie: It’s like mom always says. You may only see people once a year at finals or every two years at Nationals, but you

learn their stories you become very good friends and they become like another level of family to you. That’s what’s so special about it. I’ve met people from all over the country. This year some were my competitors but they showed real concern about my injury, and some know my mom competes and wanted to go see her play. There is so much camaraderie we’ve found through common experiences.

 

Many people are inspired by your example. Who are your biggest inspirations?

Fran:  My husband Rufus is 86 and has been a jewel all through this time. He’s been like my sponsor.  He never went with me until he retired and then he tried it and liked it. We play badminton doubles together. He’s not as competitive or athletic as I am but he enjoys doing what he can do. It’s like I tell people: if you try it, you’ll be hooked.

Jackie: He loves seeing all the people he’s come to know too.  For me, the inspiration is Mom of course.  She was at every swim meet, every tennis match, every basketball game through high school, and even when I went to Chapel Hill for college she would almost always come watch us play. She was always there for me. I saw that not everybody has someone like that who is there and supports you whether you do good or bad.

Fran:  There’s another special one for me. My granddaughter wrote a book when she was in the fifth grade. It was a collection of short stories. On the last page she wrote ‘Let me tell you something about my grandmother’ and told about my sports and medals I’ve won. She then wrote ‘Do you know anybody who can do what she can do at 76 years old?  I do: ME when I get to be her age!’

I get cards from friends about how proud they are about me and how they wish they could do it. I tell them they can do it, there’s something in senior games for everybody. Don’t say you can’t do it until you try!

 

So…How far did Jackie’s acorn fall from your tree?

Fran:  It didn’t fall far! (Both laugh)

John Morgan, Jr., 90, Salt Lake City, Utah

John Morgan, Jr. is first and foremost an entrepreneurial businessman. The role model was his father, who invited him to join as a partner in resource development ventures after John earned his degrees at the University of Utah and completed Army service in World War II. Their speculation in oil, gas and mining leases had its bumps in the road, but eventually proved to be successful. After his father passed, John continued to look for new challenges.

In the mid ’80s John and his wife visited the sleepy town of St. George in southwest Utah and had a vision to develop a resort and retirement community there.  Little did he know that this venture would bring rewards more precious than financial profit. After establishing a golf resort and hotel, John decided they needed to do something special to attract attention to their dream. Why not host a senior sporting event to highlight St. George as an active senior community?

What resulted is now known as the  Huntsman World Senior Games, an annual multisport competition that draws 10,000 senior athletes from nearly 50 countries. It is also Utah’s sanctioned state qualifying event for the National Senior Games. John had a hand in bringing the two organizations together for the benefit of both.  St. George has also been transformed, and at one time was recognized as the fastest growing community in America. While 150,000 now live in and around St. George, it  retains its small town friendliness and charm, a factor that keeps athletes returning every year.

John’s vision, perseverance and ability to draw support for a great idea, combined with his commitment to promote active, healthy lifestyles for seniors, are qualities shared by many pioneers of the Senior Games Movement and prompted us to share his story as a prime example of Personal Best attitude.

John has wielded his tennis racquet in all but one of the 25 Huntsman games and continues to serve on its board of trustees and as President at the age of 90. And he’s looking for more.

 

How did the Huntsman World Senior Games get started?

It started with a golf course really. I thought St. George had a lot of potential as a resort, recreation and retirement community. There were about 4,000 living there at the time and nobody had ever thought of it that way. I met with a bunch of farmers who owned some land and they liked the idea and agreed to sell and so we got a  golf course built. Then we built a Hilton Hotel, town homes and some sport facilities for swimming and tennis and so on.

But I knew we needed something to really introduce people to St. George, and the idea of having some kind of senior sport activity would be a good way to attract people to come and maybe buy a home. That’s how we got into it. My wife Daisy and I put the idea out for a senior Olympic type event, and it was Daisy who suggested it wouldn’t cost any more to invite people from all over the whole world.

We really didn’t know who would show up, and it has had its ups and downs, but things worked out and it just kept growing to be what it is now.

 

It always starts with an idea or a vision. But it takes more than one person and the resources necessary to make it happen, and in this case you were successful with attracting the support.

There were many people who believed in the idea and greatly contributed. So many. Of course you need money to do something like this, and I was fortunate to meet Jon Huntsman and that he saw the potential and came in to support. Jon is the type of guy who supports something that is needed and he and his family have been with our games all through these years. I really think he was never looking out for Jon Huntsman but was looking out for all of these participants coming in and for what it represents.

 

So this started as a business venture and quickly became different from any other?

From my point of view it really started with thinking of a way to increase the value of some property for a resort development.  But honestly it became more about having something really worthwhile that represents health, friendship and peace…that’s been the highlight of what we were about.  It just came naturally. There’s been so much enjoyment.  There’s the health benefits of having these games. And It’s amazing the friendships that have been developed over the years. There are so many long term athletes that have become buddies forever.

It kinda brought my wife and me closer together too. She wasn’t an athlete before but got involved doing the race walk for many years before she passed.

 

Tennis is your senior sport.  Have you played it all of your life?

I thought I was a pretty fast runner in junior high and high school and then found out I wasn’t the fastest (laughs).  But I’ve always tried to be in good shape.  And it gains importance the older you get.  And tennis is a great way to go.

I’ve played tennis off and on for a long time. I’ve been interested in it ever since I listened to matches on the radio with players like Don Budge.  I’ve never won any tournaments but I’ve enjoyed the exercise and the camaraderie that comes with playing.  It’s a great sport and I wish I was better at it, but I totally enjoy playing and watching it.  I’ve made every year of the Huntsman games except one year when I had triple bypass heart surgery. It’s been ten years since that and I’m glad I’ve survived and could continue to participate.

My main incentive is naturally to be in good shape and be active. I’m still sitting here at my desk at 90 years old and I’m going after things that have possibilities financially. I get excited about the challenge, you know sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t.

 

So you’re admittedly not an elite athlete. What is your motivation to compete?

I always want to win a medal, and I haven’t won that many. But it’s a good incentive. But it’s all the other things I’ve mentioned too.  I’m going to play doubles in the 90 plus group with a guy from Florida I’ve gotten to know, and I wouldn’t have met him any other way. To meet new people and to see old friends is exciting and rewarding. These games are a great way to do it. There’s nothing like it. It’s a unique experience.

 

There’s also the health and exercise benefits. What would you say to those who are not doing anything to be active? Exercising is the greatest thing you can do. You can’t beat it if you want to live a good life, a healthy life and a long life. There are more seniors around now so I think there’s such a great need for people to be sold on the idea that exercising- and doing sports like what we’re doing – is how you can feel good and be in shape and live longer. I’m sold on it! It’s not good to postpone it. But no matter what age you are, you can start doing something and be better.

 

We always ask people who inspire others about their inspirations. Who has been yours?

My wife Daisy.  She’s Number One and always had the right sense about what to do. Our friend John Wunderli is an attorney who donated his services to draw up our nonprofit papers, and he asked us “What should we put down here for what you stand for?”  I had already thought we would be about friendship and health, but when I asked Daisy she said “Well, you look around the world and you see all this conflict, so why don’t we promote peace among us?” That made it a huge undertaking to stand for. She was always at the center of putting it all together. Oh, yes, later we added fun as another goal. And it has been fun.

It’s awful humbling to think about it, to tell you the truth. It’s inspiring to me to walk down Main Street and meet some of these accomplished folks who think it’s really something to meet someone who was part of getting it started. I’m humbled, pleased and proud to have been a part of it.  But I don’t like to take the credit.  I’m just grateful for the people who helped get it going and for the leadership we have with the games now.  I think it has even more potential. We’re just getting started!

Elli Edgar, 65, Phoenix, Arizona

Elli Edgar is a colorful character who colors for a living. Starting from a background working in traditional tattoo parlors and a stint in the costume and makeup fields in Hollywood, Elli’s love of aesthetics led her to the permanent makeup profession. She has owned a full service salon for men and women in downtown Phoenix for many years, and in 1991 opened Painted Ladies within that business to serve accident victims and especially breast cancer patients referred by plastic surgeons for needed areola pigmentation on implants after mastectomies. Along the way she has done charitable work for breast cancer prevention.

Coming from a large Italian family, it’s no surprise that people are the most important thing in her life. Elli has a group of 25 high school classmates that have been getting together monthly for 47 years. One of them, Kathy Miller, shared her love of badminton and they have played together as long as they’ve been friends. They became serious about competition and qualified in 2003 for the National Senior Games Presented by Humana.

But the ultimate irony abruptly halted the team’s plans: Elli was diagnosed with breast cancer.

In another ironic coincidence, both Elli and Kathy became caregivers for sisters who passed away within a year of each other. It’s been a long ten years of recovery and regrouping, but the two made a vow to get to their first National Senior Games. This summer they will fulfill that vow. The pleasant irony?  Elli was born in Cleveland and has family there.  A tumultuous decade of challenges has now become a joyful journey to celebrate life for this Personal Best athlete with her best friend and playing partner.

 

You own a salon.  You must be a people person.

I’ve been in Phoenix since I was a young girl and yes, I’ve made a lot of friends over the years. 47 years after graduating, I still have 25 high school friends that get together once a month for dinners.  We call ourselves The Nice Girls Class of 65. One of those girls, Kathy Miller, is my best friend and partner in badminton.  Both of us were PE majors in college and we always played some kind of sport growing up. Beyond that we are about as opposite as you can be. She’s the sweet one and I’m the weird one that went to work in tattoo parlors. But to have our friendship thrive for all these years and to enjoy a sport together in our senior years is unbelievable.

 

Have you been to the National Senior Games before?

No, this will be our first time and it’s so exciting. We were qualified to go ten years ago but my breast cancer came up so we had to bow out. Then both Kathy and I had sisters with serious health issues and we became caregivers for several years. Both passed away within a year of each other. I think that was really the motivation to get back into shape and go back with the sport.

I have a badminton net up in my back yard and we had kept playing for fun, so last September I asked her if she wanted to make a serious effort to get back to the Nationals. Kathy was as ready as I was. But we discovered that the Arizona state games were over and we would have to go elsewhere to qualify. Our choices were Nevada, Oklahoma. or Hawaii so we went to Las Vegas and we came in first. It was unbelievable.  I didn’t even know at the time that the National Senior Games were going to be in Cleveland, and I was born there!

 

How special will it be to go back to Cleveland as a National Senior Games athlete?

I was the youngest in my family. My mother became ill and we moved to Phoenix for her health when I was ten. We left a huge Italian family behind, including my brother and sister who were older and didn’t move with us.

My brother Tony DiNero is 81 and lives in Aurora now.  I go back to visit with him every year. When we qualified I called him up and said “Buddy boy, start making the meatballs because we are coming to Cleveland!”

You know, when you’re born somewhere your hometown is in your heart.  I still absolutely love the Cleveland Indians. Kathy has never been there, so I will have to take her to Little Italy.

The whole family is excited.  We are already getting it together to compete again. Win or lose, we’re going to have the best time ever.  Our team name is the Lean Green Machine and our rap names are K Klass for Kathy, and E Juice for me.  I hope you can tell we have lots of fun with this.

It’s all about the journey and making it a joyful one.

 

It’s important to have a good attitude about aging. What’s your perspective about that?

When I turned 65 it was like a light bulb went off. It was a realization that this isn’t a dress rehearsal. I had just witnessed my sister pass away from diabetes and I was a little overweight and pre-diabetic. I said no, I don’t want to be that. I’m at the steering wheel and need to do something about it.

I may be 65, but I don’t feel like it, I don’t look it and I’m not gonna be it! How’s that for a quote?  It’s all mental. I tell the ladies The Fountain of Youth is a Ponce de Leon thing that’s out there somewhere. It’s all in our heads. It’s all about how we perceive things, don’t you agree?

I want to be a thriver, not just a survivor.

 

How did you become such a trusted and respected permanent makeup artist?

I worked in both tattoo parlors and in plastic surgeons’ offices for almost ten years to get started. I also had some Hollywood experience in wardrobe and makeup. I used all that time as an apprenticeship to be a permanent makeup professional.

When I opened Painted Ladies within my salon business it opened to me a world of wonderful women and men. I’ve been doing permanent makeup for 22 years working with many plastic surgeons and their mastectomy patients.  I get the ladies at the last step of their medical journey and I make them feel normal again. Having implants doesn’t do anything until you color them in. People think it’s just about beauty. There’s a whole joy that goes with restoring these women. When I do that I literally color their lives back to normal.

Ten years ago when I was diagnosed with breast cancer I thought “Dear God, can I get any closer?” He must have wanted me to be even more so on top of this than I was already doing.

My clients range from former Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Conner to average housewives to Hell’s Angels, and I love and respect every person who sits in my chair. The Chief Justice is such a hoot, and she ended up presiding over the wedding to my current husband David 13 years ago. She couldn’t actually legally do it as a federal judge so we got Arizona Chief Justice Ruth McGregor there too. She’s married to a plastic surgeon I work with.

Imagine getting married by two Chief Justices!

 

With that duo tying your knot the marriage is destined to last.

David is husband number four.  I exhausted all my resources here in the United States so I had to go to Canada to find him!

Col. James “Jamie” Houston, 59, Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Col. James Houston, like most who make a career with the Army, maintains a fit profile.  However, Jamie (as he prefers to be called) has been a self-professed fitness and sports fanatic for his entire life. To our knowledge, Jamie may be the only active duty military person who will compete in Cleveland for the 2013 National Senior Games presented by Humana.  But that’s not the main reason he was selected to be a Personal Best athlete.  At one point he was a lonely athlete without playing partners, and what he did about it brought us to attention.

Jamie, who currently commands the dental unit at the massive Ft. Jackson training base near Columbia, South Carolina, found out about the senior games movement while on assignment to Iraq in 2003. Upon his return he was able to qualify and compete in the 2005 National Senior Games, and the experience was everything he hoped it would be. However, service came first and the next opportunity didn’t come again until last year’s South Carolina State Senior Games where he qualified to play tennis in Cleveland. Then came the lonely part: tennis players to practice against were hard to find in a military environment with so much transiency.

For this man of action, the solution was simple…go find some.  Through effort and persistence he started a Ft. Jackson tennis team and then found opportunities to interact with civilian teams from the surrounding area.

The commitment to fitness extends beyond his own competitive focus; it is rooted in a desire to maintain his optimum health and to demonstrate its benefits to others. Jamie is an outspoken advocate who challenges age peers who sometimes relax too much after retiring from the military, and he also inspires younger men by his example of healthy active aging.  That is why we salute Col. Jamie Houston as a Personal Best athlete.

 

Have you always been active with sports?

Yes, I guess you can say I was an athletic prospect because I lettered in basketball and track at Bishop Hogan High School in Kansas City and got to play twice at Royals Stadium for the Amateur Baseball All-Star game.  I had scholarship offers from over 70 colleges, many as combined offers to be in more than one sport. However, at the time my sister was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease and was not expected to make it. I accepted a basketball offer from a local junior college because I wanted to be close to home for support.  She ultimately made a full recovery and entered medical school, but it was the right decision  and I enjoyed my time at Longview Community College. My basketball team led the country in scoring, averaging 106 points per game my first year.  And that was before the 3 point line existed!

 

How did you find your military path?

I was born at Travis Air Force Base, the son of an Air Force Navigator. I grew up mostly in Kansas City but moved around as most military families must do. With this background of service, I joined the Army and they paid my way through dental school at Oral Roberts School of Dentistry after attending ST Mary’s University on a baseball scholarship. After college, I traded in my glove for a dental drill and it has been an ‘exdrillerating’ experience ever since. My Army career has been great, and I eventually commanded dental units in Ft. Hood Texas and Fort Polk, Louisiana. I am currently in command of the “DENTAC” unit at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina. Ft Jackson’s motto is “Victory Starts Here.” Our dental motto is, “Preserve the Biting Strength.”

Along the way I have done tours of duty all over the world, including Honduras, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Egypt and during wartime in Kuwait and Iraq. In Kuwait, I worked with their Ministry of Health to build a dental complex.

I’ve had some great experiences. I speak a little Arabic and while in Balad, Iraq I would recruit day laborers to work around our camp. We paid them a dollar a day plus an MRE and bottle of water. The ones we picked were grateful – the conditions for them were bad and even that little bit meant whether their family would eat or not. Eventually I fought for and got their daily pay increased to $3, 2 MREs and 2 bottles of water and occasionally a pair of boots. Because of all of the roadside bombings many of the Americans did not trust any locals and avoided them. But I came to know many of them and they knew that I was the one that helped get them more pay. Because of my trying to teach them English and my minimal Arabic speaking skills, as well as trying to improve their daily existence, a delegation came to me asking if I would run for mayor of their town. They called me “habibi” (beloved friend or trusted one) and that touched me deeply.

 

What led you to Senior Games?

I learned about Senior Games while serving in Iraq in 2003.  I was playing basketball three to four nights a week to prevent boredom and the young guys constantly challenged me. Playing against a bunch of 18 year olds really helped me get my shot back.  But they all thought the commander was pretty good, so when I returned to Ft. Hood later that year I really wanted to go to the National Senior Games.  I found a basketball team in Dallas that needed a guard and we qualified. Then I joined a softball team from San Antonio and we won the state games and got in. I also qualified in tennis but decided to compete in basketball and softball in Pittsburgh in 2005. Everything about that experience was a blast and I looked forward to continuing with senior gam

Unfortunately, with tours of duty in Italy and other complications I couldn’t make it work to qualify for the next three Nationals but I was determined to go again. Once I was stationed in South Carolina, I was able to qualify in tennis and I’m excited to be going to Cleveland this summer. Look out because here I come!

 

What really motivates you?

Three things motivate me. My goals are to stay fit and competitive, inspire younger folks to be like me, and most importantly trying to get more people of my age to know about Senior Games and get involved.

I’m always trying to motivate others. I just started a Ft. Jackson tennis team with six members ranging from 29 to 59. Personally, I really needed other players to practice with to prepare for competition. But what really got me is that we have these beautiful courts on base and nobody was using them! I thought that was crazy. So I put on my recruiter hat and spread the word around.  Soon I found we had personnel who had played before and wanted to be on a team.

I can’t believe how competitive we are and how much fun we’re having. We’re playing against the locals so folks from the surrounding community can come and see Ft. Jackson – visit the local museum, fish at our lake, stuff like that. The younger guys challenge me, and I challenge them in return. I hope they keep up their fitness and one day will follow my lead and get involved with Senior Games.

 

You are obviously a source of inspiration to others. Who inspired you when you were young?

My father, Jim Houston was a 145 lb “scat back” at UC Berkeley and loved sports. We didn’t have paid coaches in my Catholic schools so my dad volunteered and was my coach in four sports for ten years. He was my role model and inspiration for my involvement in sports. He was very competitive so that’s where I got it from. We still played one-on- one basketball until he was 66 when I started to always get the upper hand on him.

 

The Army has probably made more Americans physically fit than any other organization. Is that a factor that appealed to you when you made the decision to pursue a military career?

Yes. In the military you live in a culture of fitness.  Ft. Jackson represents the apex of that culture. Last year over 44,000 young recruits came here for basic training, and we are also proud that the Army’s Master Fitness Trainers Course program is based here. We train the trainers. My commander, Brigadier General Bryan Roberts, is the only guy I know who is a bigger fitness freak than me. He was a running back in college and has been knocking down walls so to speak ever since. I guess that’s why they put him in charge here.

The Army requires fitness tests twice a year doing push-ups, sit-ups and a two mile run.  I made it a personal goal to keep up the standards for 18 year-olds. I’m still pretty competitive in the running part so I feel good for my age.  In fact for the past 20 years, anyone in my unit who beats my two mile time (14:30 currently) gets rewarded with Olive Garden gift cards.

It’s expected that those of us in medical services should be in better shape and we can actually earn a four-day pass if we score a 300 maximum. I have received 2 passes annually for 26 years, which is over 200 days off just for staying in shape. I tell my troops to ‘get fit and don’t quit.’ It is a no-brainer.

 

As a unit commander, are you now a full time administrator or are you still seeing patients?

I still do some procedures, fillings and oral surgery. Maybe twice a week, and in one way I wish I could do more. I enjoy doing it and I also need to keep my skill level up.

 

Just like keeping your fitness level up.

There you go. Exactly. (Laughs)

Jackie Stephens, 76, Fairfax Station, Virginia

When Jackie Stephens was young she lived with her grandfather who was the Baptist minister for the African American community in a small town not far from Philadelphia. She would sit enraptured at the end of the long mahogany dinner table at Sunday dinners in her grandparent’s house, soaking in stories from missionaries and church guests from afar. Those tales spawned a dream to travel and see the world.

After earning her education degree from Cheyney College, Jackie rejected the popular notion that proper single women shouldn’t venture until they were married and landed a teaching job in Hawaii. Two years later she went to Europe on contract with the Department of Defense, where she met her husband. Teaching, traveling and raising a family enriched her adult years.

Jackie considers herself blessed to have had the opportunity to see and do as much as she has, but there was still an aching to pursue an unfulfilled dream. She is now on a personal best journey with new friends that is bringing that dream to life.

 

You have such a passion for basketball. Why is it that you only started playing as a senior?

I wanted to play but I couldn’t. My mother died from heart disease when I was 4 and my dad went off with the Navy, so I lived with my grandparents in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. My grandfather thought that they would not allow me to participate in sports to keep me healthy. Well, I grew to be 6 feet tall and my PE teacher and basketball coach came to my grandparents and asked if I could play. They said no. We lived in a small town where there were just three streets where African Americans lived and medical services were not good for us. We had one old doctor for everyone. They were just trying to look out for me.

I’ve always looked like a basketball player and I’ve had people say over and over through my life “You must have played basketball.” I think all of us have a place in our lives for fitness and sports but our engagement depends on circumstances. Mine certainly has been that way. So my personal best now is reaching to accomplish my early dream that I wasn’t allowed to follow when I was young.

 

 

When did you finally get onto a team?

I got my chance when my husband retired from 34 years in the military and we moved from Virginia to Michigan where he had found a job. I read an article in the newspaper about the local senior games in Detroit so I signed up and played basketball. From there I found out about the Michigan Spirits senior women’s team and I went with them to play at the 1999 National Senior Games in Orlando, Florida.

In 2001, I moved back to Northern Virginia. In 2003, I found four other senior players and formed a mixed ages team (the youngest was 50 and I was the oldest at 66 years) and competed in the 2003 Northern Virginia Senior Olympics. In 2005, we formed the NOVA United Senior Women’s Basketball Association. We now have senior teams in five different age groups. Four of us are still deeply involved and we have a marvelous time growing the association.

So here I had a dream that I thought was long since gone and had told myself, “Forget about it Jackie, move on.” But I did take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. The exciting thing for me is that I get to meet and play and exercise with a group of ladies that I can also have a social relationship with. It goes well beyond basketball. We are taking this journey through our lives together now.

 

Where does your NOVA United team play?

We play in senior basketball tournaments in Virginia and other states. We also play exhibition games during the half- time of women’s collegiate games (e.g., Georgetown, George Washington University, the Naval Academy, and UVa) and WNBA Washington Mystics games. We’ve even played during the half-time of NCAA women’s basketball tournament games. On one end of the court, our younger players (50s and early 60s) will play and on the other end, our older ladies (60s and 70s) will play.

My team has won a lot of medals in tournaments, but not at Nationals yet. That’s a dream come true hopefully. We all work so hard to win a medal at Nationals.

 

That must be an added motivation for the team this year.

Absolutely. Being on a 70+ team, we all have our health issues and you start to wonder how much longer you’re going to be able to do this.

I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee last year and I haven’t bounced back like I thought I would. My knee still swells and gets sore when I play. So I’m very guarded about how much I participate right now in exhibitions or tournaments until I go to the Nationals because I want to do my best in Cleveland.

 

How important has it been to fulfill your dream to participate in sports?

It’s natural to think about what could have been if you had the opportunity. I have been so sad about the fact that I didn’t get to have that team experience when I was young. I think a team experience prepares you for life. I was a teacher and counselor in elementary education for 41 years and nothing excites me more in teaching than being a part of a school team. Wherever I taught was the best school in the world, and I worked for the best principal who was like our coach. And there I was, a part of the team at this wonderful school that kids absolutely loved to come to and that parents admired us for the job we did. The feeling of being a part of a super fantastic team with a real strong mission in educating children is so special.

I love having that same feeling about being part of a basketball team where we all have our jobs to do, we do it to the very best of our ability, and where each one has played a role in that wonderful opportunity of standing together and being awarded a medal or a ribbon. I so long for that day to come at Nationals. Maybe Cleveland will be it.

I look at sports as a gift. God has given us all our gifts, and some gifts are greater than others. Some people are more developed in sports. So to not use your gifts is a little bit sad. Now that I am having this opportunity with sports and to be rewarded for just doing something that I love…it just means more than I can tell you.

 

Something tells us that you will always find something to keep yourself going.

I am just an active person. I think back about my grandparents and their process of aging, and like many in that time they didn’t do anything.  Aging was reading the newspaper and going to the grocery store.  I can’t just sit.

That’s not who I am. I don’t want to be in that realm. I look forward and see myself as aging actively. I want to experience, I want to do, I want to see, I want to be a part of as many active things as I possibly can. I have a curiosity about me, always have.

 

I want to be a part of the “now generation” of aging persons who don’t sit and rock. We’re out there trying to accomplish goals that were never thought of before. People are living longer, and I think my personal take on it is because they are active and being role models for their children to carry on.

 

What does your family think about your sports involvement?

We are a sports family. Definitely. My husband, Bill Stephens, was All American in basketball and track at Eastern Michigan University as well as being a distinguished military graduate. He even coached my team for a time. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary. Our two daughters are both very active with exercise and sports. They are very excited about what I’m doing. We believe in fitness, we believe in eating properly and taking care of ourselves and we work hard at it.

 

Now that you’ve discovered you can participate in senior basketball, do you share the opportunity with others?

I do it all the time. I’ve been the greatest marketer for our basketball program. It’s nothing for me to approach someone in line at the market who looks like an active person or might have been athletic and ask, “Excuse me, do you play basketball?”  I usually get the strangest look…here’s this older stranger asking something like that. But I often get a reply that they used to do it in college or high school and I then ask “Do you know you can still play?” and I get that startled look again. “Well, we have a senior team and you can play.” And sometimes they ask me to tell them more. There are so many people who don’t even know they can play senior basketball. So I’m the person in our association who encourages senior women to check out our program and get back in the game.

“I perspire to inspire” – Mike Fanelli, 56, San Anselmo, California

What can you say about a guy who has logged over 100,000 miles of running by age 56; completed 100 miles in 16 hours 40 minutes; run a marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes; run a mile in 4 minutes 16 seconds, – and 4 minutes 56 seconds at age 50; won and placed highly in numerous marathons, and served as Head Coach of the USA National Track and Field Team in 1992, 1996, and 200?  What can you say but…Wow!

It makes sense that this endurance runner is a former Marine who has never known the meaning of ‘quit.’ He loves the beauty of his sport and he loves to compete. But his motivation to run underlies a lifelong passion to promote fitness and to practice what he preaches to an extreme. And now he’s taken on a new challenge – switching from marathons through mountains to jailbreak sprints on a track in the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana.  Read on to see

what this running expert has to say about attempting to turn back the clock- and his passion to inspire others to reach for their personal best.

 

History

Have you always been active?

I started running at age 12 after watching the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City.  I started competing in high school with cross country at 14. My team won the Philadelphia City Championships, and I’ve never stopped running since.  I was just your typical Philly kid, playing pinball, sneaking smokes, playing stickball. But with running, I literally found my path.

My first marathon was the Philadelphia Marathon when I was a nerdy 16-year old.  The idea of running beyond the limits of exhaustion because you believe you can do it fascinated me.  It was the perfect self-experiment for me. Last November, I returned to run the Philadelphia Marathon again 40 years later. It was a moving experience of reflection to take it all back to the roots.

I think my Marine Corps experience underscored the sense of discipline I’ve always had. It enhanced my ability to be absolutely meticulous in preparation, focus and concentration.  For the Marines, quitting is not an option and you are trained to survive in the worst situations. I barely missed making the United States Olympic Team trials in 1980 and 1984 but that just motivated me to continue my journey. There are always setbacks and obstacles. I had meningitis at 40 that almost killed me. Once you get to a certain stage with enough life experiences, stuff doesn’t rattle you.

 

You are a career endurance runner.  What’s the challenge for you to compete in shorter track events?

What I’m trying to do with the senior games is opposite of the way most people go in running. Most start with shorter distances and continue to move up and slow down with age.  I’m trying to reverse that aging process and go all the way back to what I did as a youngster running track.  I figure I can always move back up from there again!

When I turned 50, I ran in the California State Senior Games and won the silver in the 1500 meters. Then I had some injuries and other issues that kept me out of pursuing track much further. Last year, I regrouped and competed in the World Masters Championships and then the Bay Area Senior Games. This year I was in the Palm Desert Senior Games and won the 3,000 meter event. I will go to the Bay Area games again and also the Pasadena Senior Games all in prep for my big goal in July. This will be my first National Senior Games.  I hope to bring home something nice and shiny – preferably gold!

 

Talk about running 100,000 career miles. It’s mind boggling.

It’s amazing.  Fewer people have done this than have climbed Mt. Everest.  It’s not something you set out to do from the beginning because there are so many variables. To run that far you have to run every day for 40 years.   It became a lifestyle and I’ve been able to maintain my body and build the volume.  It was just something that came with the

territory of always trying to do your best, to be your personal best every day.  The personal best message you are now sharing is the same message I share every day.

Goethe said, “Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” He said that way before Nike ever came up with “Just Do It.” When you take a bold step, it takes on a life of its own and all the pieces fall in behind it to accomplish your goal.  But you have to take that first bold step.

I wrote a quote once about endurance running that has been passed around a lot. “Divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the second part with your personality and the last part with your heart.”

 

Motivation & Inspiration

What motivates you?

First and foremost it is competition that motivates me. I like the beauty of my sport. It’s black and white and quantifiable in distance and time and I know exactly what each performance means, the significance it has and where it fits in comparison to my previous performances and in comparison to anybody else who participates in running and in track and field.

But simultaneous to that I am a strong proponent of fitness. My first career was in sports marketing, my current career is as a real estate broker, but I’m in the process of phasing back into coaching, but in this case coaching with ‘gray America’ to help people realize their true potential. You want to be healthy, you want to be mobile, you want to be independent.

If I could reinvent myself as Jack LaLaine I would. (Laugh)

 

Who inspires you?

I met Dr. Walter Portz, head of cardiology at Stanford, when he was running races over mountains at the age of 80. He wrote a fascinating book called “We Live Too Short and Die Too Long.” The premise is that when you are killing yourself for years and years and not looking after your health, by the time you retire you’re so broken you can’t enjoy it. We need to reverse that, live more fully and healthily so we’re not just in the process of dying. Staying fit gives you the quality of life you deserve.

Living in Marin County I’m surrounded by healthy, fit people in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s. Guys like that are my heroes, much

more than an Olympic gold medalist. It’s very uplifting to see seniors so active. They are my role models, and I hope I am a role model to those behind me. I want to pass the health and fitness message forward. I like to say I perspire to inspire. (Laughs)

 

What do you say to people who are not as active as they should be?

So many of my peers don’t get up off the couch because they have this issue or that issue. You know, the body is an amazingly adaptable machine. It’s capable of far more than what most people use it for. So if you’ve got an X-Y-Z issue or ailment, let’s figure out what it is and how you can get mobile to work through it. If you are athletic maybe you can’t do your primary sport but there’s probably another sport that you can participate in. You have to keep moving.

 

What else besides competition are you looking forward to at the 2013 National Senior Games presented by HUMANA?

When I heard the nationals were going to be in Cleveland this year it motivated me more to get back to the track and qualify. I’m a big rock and roll trivia buff and I want to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now I hear there’s going to be a Rolling Stones exhibit there.

The Stones, Bob Dylan and the Beatles are my top three so I’m excited about that.

 

Training & Preparation for Competition

How do you approach training for track competition as a career endurance runner?

This is a total athletic paradigm shift. The natural process is you lose strength and speed over time. The natural progression for middle and long distance runners is to go up and it’s really hard to go back, especially when you’ve taken as much pounding as I have over a hundred thousand lifetime miles.

I’m going all the way back to my roots to do track speed events. The gun goes off and it’s an all out sprint to the end in the 800. You really have to change your mindset and the training is quite different- there’s a high degree of specificity. Instead of doing something with slow twitch muscles you’re working with fast twitch muscles and something explosive and powerful.

As I enter the competitive season with a lot of meets lined up I’m on the track three times a week doing even higher intensity speed training and foregoing much of the endurance work. In June and July I have nine meets lined up and the final one is my goal peak event at the National Senior Games in Cleveland.

I don’t really have a zero rest day going into the day of competitions. A few days out I’ll just do two to three miles daily of easy, easy running, almost like yoga and then finish up with a bit of neuromuscular firing, like six to eight 100 meter strides extending into nearly a full sprint. Then, two days out I’ll just go out and do an easy two or three miles to stay loose.

Training in fact takes ten days to have an effect on your fitness; there’s a lag time. So at some point the best way to gain your best fitness is to be rested. That has to be factored in. I’m a diligent student of exercise physiology and its practical application to sport.

 

Does your wife also get involved with running or sports?

My wife Renay also runs, in fact we met at the 100th Boston Marathon. But she’s not super competitive like me. This past weekend it was my first time to support her. She ran her first ultra marathon – a 50 kilometer trail race – and she did it, she finished. That’s a really big deal to be 55 and go out and do something extraordinary that she had never done before. She just had this desire to reach out beyond her comfort level. She’s from Scranton Pennsylvania and proved she is coal country tough. I’m really proud of her. If only she had decent coaching she’d be all right (laughs).

 

Fitness & Nutrition

How do you normally train?

First of all, I train every single day. I haven’t missed a day running since 2010 and now I’m trying to reach 1,000 consecutive days. What I’m doing now with this track event focus is more of a blend of endurance and speed. So I’m on the track with high intensity twice a week and the rest of my days are either longer endurance runs or active recovery runs. My hard days are on the track running repeats of 400 and 600 meters starting at one mile race pace and progressively increasing that pace.  An easy recovery day might be five miles, pushups and sit ups.

I prefer to train alone because I compete alone and only listen to the conversation between my ears. Controlling that dialogue helps me to be comfortable with being extremely uncomfortable.

 

What kind of diet do you follow?

I’m not quite on a ‘paleo diet’ but I’m typically on an organic rabbit food type diet through the week and on the weekend I’ll cheat a little bit and have a pizza if I’m not competing. Your muscles don’t recover as quickly with you get to 50, 60 and beyond. Proper nutrition and hydration is an important component of that recovery process, the time between stress activity where your fitness actually takes place.

 

You can’t run 100,000 miles and not have to deal with Injuries.  How do you keep going at such a pace?

Chronologically I’m not that old at 56, but because of what I’ve endured over all those miles I sometimes feel like I’m 157 athletically. I figured 100,000 miles is 22 million plus running steps with so many of them being high intensity even in my training going all the way back. My knees are doing fabulously well, but my feet are pretty damaged. My left foot needs surgery and I’ve had two procedures done that seem to be holding me up well enough to get through July. And that’s my good foot! My right foot has sustained some nerve damage.

But I’m doing a lot of ancillary therapy work and always in constant management mode to make sure all my pieces are in working order, especially after hard training sessions. I do Rolfing deep tissue work, active release therapy and active isolated stretching that help keep things in check.  When I’m getting this deep tissue with nerve therapy, that’s when it obvious I’m a former U.S. Marine because some of my utterances are not pretty.

 

Epilogue

We were eagerly anticipating having our 100,000 mile man complete his experiment to transition from endurance runner to track competitor at the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana. But this was not to be. Despite the disappointment we share with him, his response and resolve to face the challenge provides ample proof that Mike Fanelli was a worthy choice to be an example of being your personal best. In Mike’s words:

My quest to the National Senior Games was going well through the spring. I won the 800 meters at Wine Country Senior Games, the 3000 meters at Palm Desert Senior Games and the 1500 meter event at the Bay Area Senior Games held at Stanford University.

In mid June, however, I got some really bad news. I had been feeling “poisoned” and it was due to the retention of an astounding amount of urine…as much as 1000 CCs. Tests showed I had developed a severe prostate condition that will require surgery.  It does not appear cancerous but iffy until surgery is done in September – they are waiting for the effect of drugs and catheterizations to lower my bladder’s enormous current retention.

I am MOST disappointed to miss the National Senior Games. It was to be the peak of a long season with a lot of athletic discipline. I wanted to win the gold in Cleveland and see the Rolling Stones exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I’m honored by this Personal Best recognition. However, in the end I will have ‘no satisfaction’ in 2013.

I should be able to begin training again and so have my sights set on competing on the track again in the spring. VERY high on my list will be qualifying for the 2015 National Senior Games…I’ve got some unfinished business there and intend to eventually have my ‘satisfaction’.

In the meantime, I shall use this obstacle as a stepping stone towards motivating others to aspire towards great fitness of both body and mind…I shall again “perspire to inspire”  and beat this bump in the road.

In the end I shall prevail because I do not believe in any other possibility.

Making Up For Lost Time…Fast – Oscar Peyton, 60, Accokeek, Maryland

Oscar Peyton always knew he had natural athletic ability and could run fast, but he didn’t discover how fast he really was until his fifth decade of life. Taking up formal track competition at the age of 49, the man people say deserves the title “SpeeDemon” has sprinted to capture a slew of medals – mostly gold – in Senior Games (state and national) and various masters events.  According to World Masters Athletics, Peyton is currently ranked #2 all-time in world for the men’s 55–59 100 meters outdoors (11.46) and  #3 all-time in the men’s 55-59 200 meters outdoors (23.47).

It makes you wonder what might have been, and Oscar Peyton wonders about that too. But the competitive nature of the young Peyton was more focused on finding a successful career path to run. From early on he did not feel that track and field would lead to the success he dreamed of. The path out of Bogalusa, Louisiana led to a business administration degree from Grambling University and then to Washington DC  where he worked as a computer specialist and programmer for the federal government for the next 31 years. Peyton reveals that some of his work required a top secret clearance.  What he realized as he neared retirement was that he held a personal top secret – an elite sprinter had been inside waiting to emerge. But Peyton looks beyond the competition and sees that the real gold he is earning is his good health, and paying forward what he learned from others who helped show him the way. That’s what really represents his personal best.

 

How did your inner athlete wake up and decide to run track after so many years?

It started when I was just a couple months shy of 50 years old. I was five years from retiring and thinking about what things I might want to do.  I had just had a physical and my cholesterol was above 200 so I knew I had to become more active.  I played around in the sandlot growing up in Louisiana but I just never pursued anything in organized sports. I was always a natural athlete, always fast.  Speed was in my genes. So I was watching the world track and field championships on TV and wondered if there was anything like that for people my age that I could try.

I got on the computer and discovered the senior games. So my very  first attempt at an organized track meet was at the Maryland State Senior Olympics in 2002. I didn’t have any formal training, I just went on out there and ran – and I actually won the 100 and 200 meter events! I knew I could sprint but that was really something for me.

Six months later, I decided to go to Boston for the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor National Championships and got introduced to the really top level of track athletes in the country. Again, I just showed up and ran and I won the silver in the 60 meters. But I injured my groin muscles and couldn’t do any more there. I didn’t know how to train, I just ran some treadmill and did a lot of stuff that was wrong for me. It was time to get to work.

 

So what did you do when you realized that even with natural talent you needed to train to avoid injury?

First, I got to talk to all of those elite guys in Boston and picked up a lot of good advice. Secondly the Internet has a world of information.

You gotta put a little sweat and work into it. Some of the training is tough and competition is even tougher. Good health is just not going to come to you either. Like anything else, you have to work for it, and then you have to work to keep it.

Actually I’ve now collected a lot of useful information and created my own  “PeytonProject” website as a quick reference source for anyone looking to find training help like I needed when I got started. It’s especially geared for people to improve their speed as well as their health. I try to cover all the phases, training, diet, the importance of nutrients and drinking enough water. You need to pay attention to all of that if you want to be the best that you can be.

At the same time I wanted to extend out to anyone who knew me and anyone interested in masters track exactly what I’ve been doing along the years. I guess you could call it an athletic biography.

 

So it’s the competition that drives you?

I’m just so highly competitive by nature that I don’t look outside for motivation. It’s just the kind of person I am. I cannot deny that I enjoy competing and enjoy winning, but that is on the back burner. First and foremost, I know I need to exercise and it gives me the motivation to get healthy and stay healthy.

There’s another thing that’s more important to me. The older gentlemen I met when I got started would bend over backwards to help me. That’s the kind of camaraderie we have in this world of track and senior games. Everybody is willing to help others especially in areas of injury prevention, maintenance and treatment.  It just had to rub off on me. So what was given to me, I’m trying to give back.

But there is one other thought that does motivate me to strive for my best.  Back in the day,  I didn’t have interest in track and field because it’s an amateur sport and I couldn’t see a future in it for me. How could you make a living at it?

Now I think  I let it all slip away when I was younger. I want to put some marks down now that I’m older so people will say “I wonder what would have been like if this guy had been competing back when he was at his peak?”  I guess I just want to make up for the lost time in a way.

 

Beyond your website, is there anything else you do to help others with your sport?

I train at local high schools and while I’m there the coaches give me the green light to help out. So when I go out there I enjoy helping the sprinters with some drills to improve their technical skills. The coaches do a good job of getting them into great condition, so I focus on the sprinters like me with both the technical and mental side of preparation.

 

Has anyone else told you that you are their inspiration?

Oh, a ton of people have done that. A lot of the kids at the high school tell me that.  I also participate with a local track club and I’m the oldest one there. They all look up to me. It’s the same when I go to USA Track and Field masters events, because you can participate starting at age 30 and a lot of the younger guys come up and say I inspire them. There was a spectator who came up to me and said he had not run track since high school and watching me inspired him to get back into it. So I was able to share with him the steps he needed to take.

At the Senior Games it’s a different situation. It more like we are helping each other move ahead.

 

Like many, you got busy with your life and got away from being as active as you could have been. What do you tell people you see about getting out of the rut?

I tell them just to be active -even to people I don’t know because I care about everybody. I try to tell the older persons that it doesn’t matter what you choose to do but that you have to exercise. If you are taking medications you’d be surprised how much just a little regular exercise can do to get you off a lot of that stuff. And if you do it right and often enough, you might even find you can get off your medications completely. Then, if you stay active you may get motivated to get into something organized.

 

You mention you have an athletic gift that you now put to use. Are there any other sports you might take up besides track?

I’ve actually been bowling a lot. I’m in a senior league and enjoy that. I haven’t pursued it beyond that for senior games. There’s a lot of sports I’ve tried that I know I could participate in – basketball , volleyball, swimming. I love doing it all. I stick with track and field for the serious competition.

I can’t think of anything that will get you into better shape than running track. I’ll tell you this: if you take all the elite athletes in different  sports, and you put them into some kind of competition in a variety of activities- running, kicking, throwing, what have you, I’ll bet the sprinter will probably turn out to be the best overall athlete of the bunch. I remember some TV competition like that with guys from football, baseball and other sports on an obstacle course, and the  track guy came out on top.

Pencil Me In – Mary Lauffer, 95, Annapolis, Maryland

You would think a golfer would talk first about getting two hole-in-ones in a lifetime. But Mary Lauffer likes to talk about her pencil collection. You see, her hobby has been to collect one of those skinny scoring pencils at each course she’s ever played.  She has over 400 of them from decades of walking and whacking balls. She loves playing new courses and looks forward to picking up a special pencil when she competes in Cleveland for the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana.

The former PE teacher has always advocated fitness for life and shows the benefits by her example. Mary inspires everyone around her – follow her story and you will be inspired, too.

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History

Have you always been active?

Yes. I started doing a lot of sports at my college. It was called Beaver College in Glenside, Pennsylvania but it’s now called something else. I was kinda mad at them when they changed it. I played on the golf team from ‘36 to ’40. I think I played every sport there was except lacrosse.

I was a physical education major and was a PE teacher for a few years. When I had kids, I stayed at home with them but I did get out refereeing youth sports, playing some softball and basketball and I was even on a hockey team for a time in Philadelphia. But it’s been golf that I’ve done through my life. I won some tournaments and was women’s champion at my club twice during the ‘50s and ‘60s. I especially enjoyed the Philadelphia Cup – It’s a prestigious event with all the clubs competing against each other. I played every golf course in the Philly area. It was a most interesting time.

I also have two hole-in-ones. The first was in Wilmington, Delaware during a team tournament, and the second was at Palmetto Dunes Country Club in South Carolina while competing in a senior’s tournament there. I’d like to get another one but I just don’t drive the ball like I used to. But you never know.

I have served on two golf boards too: the Delaware Women’s Golf Association and the South Carolina Women’s Golf Association.

 

How did you get involved in Senior Games?

My husband passed away 4 years ago. I’m on my own and doing well but have to be smart about taking care of myself. I started senior games around that time. I didn’t know what it was and found out about it from someone I play golf with at my club.

This will be my second time to the Nationals. I won the gold medal in Houston in 2011. There was no woman in my age group so I competed against myself. They paired me with a group of men so I just played off the men’s tees with them. They were very gracious and fun. They all had family there so there was a cheering section of maybe 20 people following us around the course. I had a good time.

When I wanted to qualify for this year, the dates at the Maryland games didn’t work for me. But I looked around and made it to the Delaware games. I was glad that they let people qualify in other states. When I qualified in 2010, I was playing with a group of women but this nice man Ted Wroth rode with me. I thought he was keeping me company. I didn’t know he was the main guy running the games. When I shot a 51 on the front nine he left. I guess he figured I knew how to do this. (Laugh)

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Motivations & Inspirations

How long will you continue playing golf?

Forever if I can!  I don’t hit the ball as far, and my handicap has gone sky high. But that doesn’t deter me because I love to play and be out in the sunshine. Golf is something you can do all your life at any level and still do your best. You may not be as good as others, but that’s not what matters. I don’t ever plan to stop.

 

Are you an inspiration for anyone around you?

Oh, everybody here at the golf course! They say things like ‘you make me keep going’ and ‘hope I can play as long as you do’

 

What would you say to people who aren’t staying active and taking care of themselves?

It’s terrible to see people that are obese – they don’t exercise and their eating habits are dreadful. They don’t understand what they’re doing to their bodies.

Unfortunately, my observation is that people who were sedentary when they were young continue to be sedentary when they grow older. It’s hard to get them motivated to try something new. I tell them there’s always something you can do. Go to the pool. The main thing is to think to the future about what it will be like not doing anything. People who are active really last longer and enjoy life better. It’s good that most of the people I know at my club are active. Some of them have limitations but they fight it off and keep going.  They tell me I am an inspiration to them.

You have to get people started when they are young. It’s terrible that schools stopped having physical education. Don’t play kickball, somebody might get hurt.  I think it’s babyish. If they don’t do anything they will get hurt!  But now I see they’re starting to put it back in there.

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Training & Preparation for Competition

How long will you continue playing golf?

Forever if I can! I don’t hit the ball as far, and my handicap has gone sky high. But that doesn’t deter me because I love to play and be out in the sunshine. Golf is something you can do all your life at any level and still do your best. You may not be as good as others, but that’s not what matters. I don’t ever plan to stop.

 

Does your routine change to prepare for competition?

When I get ready for a tournament, I concentrate on putting. I’ll still play a bit, but chipping and putting is my main focus of attention. I love to practice. When you can’t hit it all that far any more you have to make it up somewhere else! It’s very disturbing to see the ball isn’t going as far as it used to.

 

Is competition important to you?

Oh, I love to compete. Unfortunately I now have to compete against the score because after I hit 90 there wasn’t anybody in my age group registered. But I don’t want to make a fool out of myself. I’m a self motivated person but if there’s no one in my group I pretend somebody is there and concentrate on my game and the score.

 

What are you looking forward to going to Cleveland?

I love going to new golf courses. I’d love to get around and see some of the sights but I’m not sure how much of that I’ll be able to do. I won’t rent a car-I don’t like driving on interstates- and where I’m staying by the golf course is a little ways from the things going on downtown. My son has come with me before to make sure I’m settled in but he can’t make it in July.

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Fitness & Nutrition

Do you work out regularly?

I exercise and walk all the time. You just have to. I’m busy with a 50 up community here and they are very active. Of course I play golf when the weather is good. There’s a mixed group that plays on Fridays, that’s fun. I’m fortunate that I have been able to stay healthy and keep doing what I’m doing.

Nutrition has become important. Absolutely. My husband was on a very strict diet for over 20 years and I cooked for him and that’s what I ate too. Our diet was low salt, not many sweets and controlled portions. It’s important to eat healthy and I’ve done pretty well and don’t hardly get sick.

 

Do you surprise your doctors?

Yes.  Funny, when I went in to have this stupid rib X rayed, they made me fill out all of these forms. They asked me ‘What medications you take?’ Well, I don’t take any. They said ‘What? You don’t take any medicine?’ I said no, I take vitamin D and vitamin B12. ‘Oh. Weil have you ever been sick?’ I said no. ‘Any operations?’ Yeah, I had my knuckle operated on once.  I’ve been very blessed.

I do have a cracked rib right now. I was getting into bed and got my arm in front of my ribs and fell into it. It was a stupid thing to do. You don’t know how upset I am about it. It’s driving me crazy because I can’t do anything right now. It’s only been 12 days so I shouldn’t get too upset. There’s time to get it ready for this summer.

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Epilogue

As luck would have it, Mary’s golf competition fell on the same day as our Personal Best presentation in Cleveland. While we missed the opportunity to publicly honor her at our event, we’re happy she had a good time at the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana and that she continues to be an admired active senior back in Maryland. In Mary’s words:

I enjoyed Quail Hollow, both the course and the hotel. Everyone was most helpful. Alas, I forgot to keep my pencil! I will have to write to the pro shop and ask them to send me one for my collection.

I played two days with the men because there were no women in my age group available. Their families took pictures and have already sent some tome. As for the golf, the first day was my worst. I three-putted 8 greens! But I came back and took 12 strokes off the next day.

Thanks for the article. A lot of people, including some at my club, have commented that they saw it.

 

“I’m Better” -Howard Hall, 92, Frankfort, Kentucky

You have to watch out for Howard Hall, he’ll sneak up on you.  The retired Army veterinarian rediscovered his love of sports when he retired, and before long ole Howard was racking up the medals in local, state and national senior games.  He’s collected at least 600 to date, but he lost count. Besides, for Howard, it’s the ongoing athletic journey, the people he meets at competitions and the places he gets to go that make for his personal best.

Ask him how he’s doing and he replies “I’m better,” hoping folks will ask if he’s been sick.  When they usually fall for his trap, he gleefully responds “No, I’m just getting better and better every day.” He’s also been better than a lot of his peers in several senior sports and has his eye on a trip to Cleveland for the 2013 National Senior Games Presented by Humana.  Watch out, fellas, here he comes again!

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History

Have you always been active?

My dad was a veterinarian, class of ’16 at Ohio State University and was on a championship soccer team. My grandfather played baseball. So I did my share of sports.  I was the 11th man on an 11 man basketball team at my high school in Waynesville, a little country town north of Cincinnati. The family moved to Columbus with a bigger school, and I changed to track to get onto a team. Nobody wanted a 5 foot 4, 120 pound boy on a basketball team.  I was not a standout in track, but I learned the techniques for running and field events. That training stuck with me all of my life.

I did pick up swimming at 15 and was a lifeguard for 3 years during college. I graduated from Ohio State University class of ’43 and joined the Army as a veterinarian working with large animals. I didn’t do sports for a long time but I sure stayed physically active. It was sometimes strenuous, roping cattle and such. When you get between two cows turning into each other, there’s not much room left. You have to move!

I retired after 37 years as a full Colonel in the Army Veterinary Corps.  I didn’t get near any of the war action but I tell people I spent a couple years stationed in three small islands in the Atlantic – Manhattan, Staten and Long Island. That’s about as far as I got.

 

How did you get involved in Senior Games?

When I retired I was on a bowling team and that was about it. Then in the mid ‘80s my first wife died, and I went to the Kentucky Senior Games looking for something to do.  I didn’t really know how things went. I signed up for three track events and spent too much time sitting around waiting for my turn to come. The next year I signed up for 24 events and won 23.

After that I just kept going to games whenever I could.  I did swimming, track and field, bowling, table tennis, horseshoes, and some of the fun games like billiards that the local games offer.  I didn’t do tennis because I have an eye problem and can’t see the serve anymore.  We used to spend our winters in Florida, and there are many local games all over the state. I went around to all of those I could get to.

So I was picking up 40 medals or more a year and now I have over 600 in the 15 years I’ve been doing it!  They only let you do two sports at the Nationals so I stick with track and field and swimming. I also noticed that many of these ‘fossil athletes’ as I call them would only compete strenuously when they first entered a new age group. Then they would back off as they got up to the last year or two of the bracket.  I keep going.

In 2001, I got one gold and two other medals which were my first at the national games.  I had gotten ribbons at the two national games before that – but I’m just as proud of one of them. It was for 6th place in the high jump but I’m five foot six and jumped against guys who were six feet tall. I thought I was quite accomplished for doing that well.

My brother once asked me if I was getting better or just running out of competition. Well, it’s a little of both because my times did improve over a few years, and other fellas did drop out for whatever reasons.  I’m getting a lot of medals now because I don’t have that much competition.  But there’s a guy named Russ Witte ahead of me in the 95 up category in swimming who beats everyone in my age group. So I have my work cut out for me.

Senior Games are scattered all over the country so this has become a travelogue for us. Orlando, Baton Rouge, Hampton Roads, Louisville, San Francisco, Houston, and all of the regional events we can fit in. I’ve made a lot of friends, and it makes competition more fun.  I know of three people who will beat me but I’ll get my share too.

 

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Motivation and Inspiration

Is competition important to motivate you?

Back in Palo Alto (2009) I pulled a calf in the 100 meter dash, but I got up and kept going. There were six of us in the race and I actually still recovered fast enough to win a bronze medal. I guess I’m motivated enough.

 

You obviously like to win medals. Is that your motivation for competing?

I never started out to collect medals and ribbons. My goal is not to win, just to beat somebody.

It’s become a challenge to beat one of the younger fellas in whatever event I’m in. I also chase the older guys. When I started out in ‘87 my oldest competitor was a Native American named John Pino. At that time he was 102 and I was 76. The top age bracket is 100 plus. My goal was to compete against John one day. When he retired I picked the next oldest guy to go after. It’s a bit facetious to expect people to still be out there at 110 but who knows?

 

Do you have a favorite expression about aging or keeping fit?

When people ask me how I’m doing I just say ‘I’m better’ and they usually look at me and ask if I’ve been sick. I reply ‘No, I’m just getting better and better every day.”

 

What would you say to people who aren’t staying active and taking care of themselves?

Unless you have actual pain or physical impairment, you should always try to do a little more than what you feel like you want to do.

 

Are you an inspiration for anyone around you?

I have two daughters, and both competed in diving and one in swimming in high school. I have a grandson who took up basketball. He was like me in high school, small but quick like Spud Weber. They were all inspired by my activity. I played mixed doubles tennis in a regional senior games with one daughter when she turned 50 because her kids were on their high school tennis team and she wanted to make them proud. We won a silver medal!

 

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Training & Preparation for Competition

How do you get ready for a competition?

I start to get ready several months ahead to be ready for July. I increase my routine and intensity, especially in swimming. But the medication I take for my heart slows down my heartbeat so I have limited endurance. 50 yard races I have no problem; 100 yards starts to get difficult to complete. So I have dropped the longer events and have to listen to what my body tells me.  I got a bad cold in November and laid up in bed for a week so I cut back on my morning walks while it’s cold.

I have an 8 pound ball I swing around and do stretching with to strengthen up my back and legs for my track events – shot put, discus and javelin plus long jump and triple jump. I’ve cut out the high jump, it’s just too hard on my legs anymore and my wife won’t let me do pole vault. But I added hammer throw and triple jump so that got me back up on events. I’ll do as many as I can.  I get bored just sitting around, you know?

 

Does your wife also get involved with sports?

My wife Joyce taught swimming for 25 years and competed in the senior games up until the a couple years ago. She’s had some problems with her rotator cuff and some other things. She’s such a perfectionist that she doesn’t get personal enjoyment out of the competition environment because she can’t get the form and speed anymore. But she just tells people she doesn’t like to go fast anymore.

Our philosophy is to do what you can do as long as you can do it.

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Fitness & Nutrition

Do you work out regularly?

Yes, I do calisthenics in the morning. Pushups, ab crunches.  Then I generally walk 2 miles every morning to get a newspaper. During the walk I will sprint 100 yards. I used to jog another 200 yards but I’ve had to give that up. And I try to go swim twice a week.  I bowl and swim 2-3 times a week at the Y in winter time. Sometimes I have to cut out the walk.

 

How has Senior Games helped you to stay fit?

It’s a means of making me do my exercises. I don’t want to look foolish out there so it drives me to stay in good shape.

 

What are you doing to watch your nutrition?

I’ve cut out a lot of red meat but I like to get a hamburger every now and then.  I eat five times a day. I get up with oatmeal and some fruit, a snack like an orange and a half glass of milk, then around noon I have a lunch meat sandwich, corn chips, celery and another half glass of milk. I have another orange or other fruit and some milk for afternoon snack and the supper. I like the frozen French bread pizzas, there’s around 300 calories. I have a large salad with that.  I avoid pastry but like to get a little sweet for dessert like a cookie. Maybe another one as a day snack, a little chocolate.

I discovered I had type 2 diabetes in 1996 and was able to get along without medication for five years. But since then I have had to increase that little by little and it might get worse. But I’m watching it.

 

Do you surprise your doctors?

Yes, when I was 80 I had a new general practitioner and I noticed he wrote on his exam sheet that I was ‘a vigorous elderly man.’ Well, I feel just as active and vigorous now as I was then. I tell people that the newspaper is more boring than it used to be because it puts me to sleep. That must be it.

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Epilogue

Ole Howard, he proved once again he is a sneaky one. As luck would have it, Howard had track and swimming events that prevented him from coming to our July 24th Personal Best event. So we came up with a plan:  NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker and Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, would go out to the track and field venue the following day and surprise Howard with his Personal Best award right after his 3 pm discus competition.

When the NSGA entourage arrived Howard was nowhere to be found. Then came a call from his daughter – Howard got tired of waiting around and scurried over to the swimming venue to compete in two events there and was on his way back to the track stadium for the 100 meter dash with a  gold swimming medal in hand.

In the end, we were able to prove we could be sneakier than Howard. As soon as he caught his breath from a silver medal 100 meter track performance we ambushed the Kentuckian on the track with his award while fans gathered along the fence cheered.

Good luck in 2015 Howard. We expect you to scoop up another armload of medals along the way!

 

Psyched! – Bob O’Connor, 67, River Forest, Illinois

Bob O’Connor was always a good runner and made the most of it. He earned a track scholarship to Loyola- Chicago and set some school records. He journeyed to Mexico City for the 1968 Olympic Games and was inspired by Bob Beamon’s superhuman long jump.  One year later he was part of a University of Chicago Track Club relay team that set an indoor two mile world record. Then, in 1981 the same four athletes reunited and set a masters world record in the same event.

His competition career expanded to include everything from 100 meters to marathons. 2001 looked like another banner year for the senior runner as he made it to the National Senior Games and completed the Chicago Marathon.  But it all came to an abrupt halt when Bob suffered a catastrophic Achilles tear while at a local track with his son. Recovery after surgery was complicated by infection and a wound that persisted for nearly two years.  He literally had to learn to walk again from being on crutches for so long. The surgeon told him to hang up his competition shoes. That doctor didn’t know who he was dealing with.

You see, Bob is a psychologist whose entire career has been devoted to helping people find ways to overcome obstacles and setbacks in life – mental, emotional and physical. It was in both his Personal Best nature and his professional training to refuse to accept “can’t” and he has worked his way back to doing what he loves.  He returned to the National Senior Games Presented By Humana in 2007, and has won the 800 meter event for the past six years at the Illinois State Senior Olympics in Springfield.

Competition will always motivate him, but these days Bob O’Connor is psyched just to be among others who share his love of the sport and staying as fit and healthy as they can be.

 

You still keep a busy schedule with work, sports and family pursuits. You must not have time to think about retirement.

I enjoy my practice.  Mostly I’m a clinician handling people with depression, marital problems, substance abuse issues, all the typical life issues.  But I also have a sub-specialty in sport psychology and have had both professional and amateur clients.  I help them with their athletic performance. But it’s really a small part of my practice that I’d like to do more of.   I enjoy helping people. I have a friend I’ve advised who has run marathons in every state and on every continent.  He just got back from Antarctica!  I also teach psychology part time at Dominican University, and I enjoy coaching grade school kids and volunteering to be an official starter at local track meets. It’s a good feeling to pay it forward!

The commonality is this: whatever your issues, tell me what you want to do and I’ll help you figure out a way to do it.

 

So it’s safe to say “it’s all in your mind” in your view?

I love Yogi Berra and one of my favorite expressions of his is ” 90 percent of the game is half mental.”  A lot of times we limit ourselves by saying “I could never do that.”  In that case, you won’t. I speak occasionally to high school students and I call my talk “Running Stupid.” Some of the best races I ever ran I didn’t even know what I was doing. The first time I try something athletic is sometimes the best I’ve done because I don’t know my limitations. We need to talk to ourselves positively and not be caught in self-limiting beliefs.

Here’s an example: There’s a woman I saw who had depression and an obesity issue.  She was 5′ 2″ and 250 pounds. One of the things I offer clients is to walk and talk instead of sitting in my office for 45 minutes. So I got her to walk, and then suggested she buy some walking shoes. A year later she ran her first 5K, and did a half marathon a year after that. She’s lost probably 100 pounds and just got married. She was just telling herself “I’m a fat lady, I can’t do that.”

Then there’s an 85 year old guy with some health issues who didn’t think he could be active. He couldn’t make it up the 23 steps to my office, so I made home visits to start.  I got him to go to physical therapy. Now he’s getting stronger and he was able to come up the stairs to see me this morning.

I’m not a preacher or anything like that, but I’ve helped a lot of people help themselves to be less sedentary. It’s never too late. That’s what you’re trying to tell people too, right?  You can become more physically fit at any age.

 

Tell us about your injury and road to recovery.

My younger son and I were running at the local track together and he asked me what the sand pit was for. I said it’s the triple jump pit and decided I would just show him what it looked like to do. Big mistake. I hadn’t tried that in a long time. Wham! It was a full Achilles tear. My calf muscle rolled up my leg like a window shade. I knew immediately what it was.

The surgery went OK but I developed an infection as sometimes happens. I had a pretty awful wound and was on crutches for two years.  I couldn’t bike, swim, anything. I was going crazy until I got a hand bike, you know, the type used in disabled racing, and I took long rides and entered a couple of races to stay in competitive shape and spirit.  That kept me sane and in aerobic shape.

 

Did you think you wouldn’t get back to competing?

I’ve always had good persistence.  I’ve often said, “Don’t tell me I can’t do that.” After the surgery the doctor told me “You’ll never run again. You’re 55 years old, your competitive days are over.” My reply was “I don’t think so!”  He didn’t get it. So I found a new doctor (laughs).

I went to Dr. Terry Nicola, who is a marathon runner and renowned physiatrist, which is a rehabilitation physician.   He knew how important it was to me and was very encouraging. He said it was a terrible wound but once it healed with some work I would be OK.  I had to learn how to walk again because all my leg muscles had deteriorated after two years of doing nothing.   But I made it back and I’ve learned to listen to my body and prepare better. I was raised in an era where stretching was something that dancers did, but now I stretch before and after running.  I’ve had no real problems since I recovered. You take a risk in living, and also in competing. I’m willing to take the risk.

I’m not as competitive as I was before, but the 65 to 69 age group I’m in has a lot of amazing athletes.  I still win or place in some road races but haven’t medaled against the top talent. Last year I made the finals in the 800 at the USA Track and Field Championships held here and ended up 20 seconds behind the lead.  But the senior games movement has inspired me to “keep on keepin’ on” and I enjoy being involved in them.

 

What other things motivate or inspire you?

I was able to go to the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. In fact, I narrowly missed making the US Olympic team in the 800. But I was rewarded because I saw Bob Beamon’s incredible long jump. Talk about an inspiration. He later became an accomplished graphic artist and my wife bought me one of Beamon’s works that he signed for me.  It’s on display in my office and it starts a lot of conversations.

A lot of these other senior athletes truly inspire me. I go down to the Illinois State Senior Olympics every year and I recall the last time there was this 95 year old gent who won the gold in five events.  I’m standing in the medal line awed at this guy – he looked so buff and sharp in his singlet and spikes. Honest to God his legs looked like my 21 year old daughter’s. I hope I can be having this conversation with you when I’m 95.  I’m honored that you want to recognize me, but I’m just one example. You could have chosen any one of a thousand senior athletes and they would have a good story to tell.

I have another inspiration now too. My 9 year old grandson Patrick Cadiz and I run together as often as possible. Last weekend we ran in two 5Ks.  He always beats me at the end.  We’ll get to the last tenth of a mile and he’ll say “Now Grandpa?” and then take off. We are a source of inspiration to each other.

 

You said you’ve always been a runner.  Do you do anything else now?

That’s really my thing. I’m basically an 800 meter guy, that’s been my event since high school but I’ve tried other things. I’ve done 7 marathons.   I normally run five days a week, but I also bike to and from work every day. I go skiing in winter with my son who lives in Colorado. And I’m working towards triathlon.  I could always bike and run but never swam. Two years ago I learned how to swim so that’s a fun thing to do now too.

I’m doing a lot right now, getting in some speed work to get ready for the 800 meters at the National Senior Games in July. But I haven’t done a full marathon since before my injury and I’ve made a commitment to run one in November.

I’ll always do something.  I share a saying with others that I apply to myself:  “Do what you can, love what you have, and be who you are.”