Bonnie Coleman, 64, Bernalillo, New Mexico

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ― Winston S. Churchill

When we asked New Mexico Senior Olympics to recommend a female athlete who exemplifies the journey to persevere through obstacles and challenges to enjoy their own optimum health and wellness, Bonnie Coleman was their immediate choice. She was named the recipient of their annual Courage Award for 2018, and when we heard her story we wholeheartedly agreed it needs to be shared.

Bonnie lives courage every day. In 1982, after earlier misdiagnoses, it was found she has multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord. The disease is progressive, but physical activity and appropriate exercise can slow its progress. Three times in her life, starting with a severe episode as a teen when she could not get out of bed, the Pennsylvania native was told by doctors she wouldn’t walk again. At one point, she was in a wheelchair for five years, but rose again through exercise and persistence.

Title IX came into effect in time for Bonnie to join a new girls swim team in her senior year of high school. She continued in college and then transitioned to running three miles most days while raising her daughter and working as a special education teacher. Then came MS, and the battle to regain her strength and mobility began in earnest.

At the age of 49 and retired on disability, Bonnie moved to Albuquerque with her twin sister and fellow swimmer Connie Dayton. She had always wanted to play softball and found a team with senior players in the city’s recreation league. Next came playing in New Mexico Senior Olympics, and while her teams were outmatched due to playing mostly younger teams, it did not dampen their spirit while they enjoyed team camaraderie while competing and traveling to tournaments. In 2006, she added swimming to her sport activity for the first time since college, and in recent years she has taught herself to do discus, javelin and shot put.

Bonnie has qualified and competed in every National Senior Games since 2007, and despite her physical challenges she has earned one medal and many ribbons (4^th to 8^th place) at that level. She enjoys competing against her able-bodied twin and usually beats her, saying she knows one day sis will pass her in the turning tide of MS. But there’s no self-pity or doubt in her mind, even when she removes her leg braces and needs assistance to stand on the diving platform. (She could start from the water, but in Bonnie’s mind she doesn’t want the other swimmers to have an advantage over her.) In fact, in the following frank conversation, Bonnie says she could participate in Special Olympics but feels that would be unfair since she can compete in Senior Games.

The real testimony to Bonnie’s courage is that she doesn’t allow her condition to define or defeat her, even though she says there are days it feels like she has weights on her. She also has to be careful not to overdo her activities. But she believes everyone has their challenges and she wants to be seen as no different than her peers. Regardless, to the rest of us she shows heroic spirit, especially since she devotes some of her precious energy to help recruit senior softball players and serves as president of the local Senior Olympics for Sandoval county.

Bonnie Coleman’s example doesn’t leave much room for excuses for the rest of us. She tells others not to worry if they think they’re not very good or haven’t done sports in a long time, just go out there and be active because there is encouragement and support from others striving for the same thing: pursuing their own Personal Best…for life.

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Bonnie. Are you a New Mexico native?

No, I was born in a little town called Mount Pleasant southeast of Pittsburgh. There were seven of us growing up. My dad worked in the steel mills and my mother did not work until I was ten.

Did you play sports as a youth?

Not in school. We played backyard ball growing up, and when my sister and I were thirteen, we joined a recreation swim team. Our school did not have girls’ sports. We were out in the country so there really wasn’t much of any sports organized for girls. Title IX didn’t come into effect until my senior year of high school. When they started a girl’s swim team we joined. We both swam in college and I played water polo, at Slippery Rock State University. Slimy Pebble. [Laugh]

I did nothing organized after that until I turned 49.

What was your career?

I worked with the mentally and physically disabled. My original degree was in health and physical education, and then I got my masters in sports medicine. I started out as a substitute teacher and worked mostly with special education classes.

When did you start having physical problems?

When I was in high school, and once again in college, there was a period of time when I could not walk. I just woke up one day and couldn’t walk. One foot had turned in and up. It lasted some time and then went away. The doctors told me I would never walk again, but not that it was multiple sclerosis. They didn’t know what it was, either time. This was in the mid-70s.

When did you finally find out it was MS?

In 1982. My family doctor hospitalized me because I couldn’t open my left eye and my face drooped. He thought it was Bell’s Palsy. I saw a doctor who specialized in neurology, but he wouldn’t even discuss it with me. When I got home, he said it was an inflammation of the optic nerve. When I followed up with my family doctor he read me the report from the hospital that said it was MS. The next time I saw the neurologist he did not say anything about it until he was leaving. I asked, “Excuse me, do I have MS?” and he said “Yes” and walked out of the room.

Was there any suggestion to do what exercise you could to do to help slow its progress?

I had no physical therapy, I just did it on my own. I was told it would not help me. But I couldn’t tolerate not moving. [Laugh]

Time to get a new doctor!

I eventually did go to a specialist who was a medical advisor to the national MS board.

With your diagnosis, you had a new reality and had to reach deep to find the strength to fight the disease.

I used to run about three miles a day before MS, just as something to do for fitness. I’m told now that if I had not been that active before this hit me, I probably wouldn’t be walking much or not at all.

I worked for another 14 years. I was told I would eventually be bedridden, but I was determined I was going to continue. I was a single mom and my daughter was three when I was diagnosed. You gotta do what you gotta do.

In 1989 I started wearing a brace from my left leg down, and I just kept going. In 1996 it got real bad and I ended up in a wheelchair. That’s when I went on disability. On top of not being able to walk, the fatigue became very bad. In 2008 I ended up with a brace on the other leg. The one on the right goes up to my hip, and the other one only goes up to my knee.

It took me five years to go from wheelchair to forearm crutches to walking. I still use forearm crutches on occasion.

When did you come to New Mexico?

I didn’t move here from Pennsylvania until 2001. I always wanted to live in New Mexico, but I didn’t know why. I talked about it with my family, and that was the year my twin sister Connie could retire from her job. We took a short vacation to look around and decided to move out here together. We liked it because of the low humidity. My family wouldn’t let me move without having someone with me. It was a fact of life that any day I could wake up and not be able to get out of bed.

It’s amazing that despite your condition you still pursued sports. How did you get into Senior Games?

I always wanted to play softball, but there was never any organized softball around me back east and I didn’t have the time to do it.  I coached my daughter’s softball team until she was 12, and I was a paid umpire for the township.

So when I moved out here I put my name in to play on a rec team with the City of Albuquerque. One of the players on my team played co-ed so I started with that. She also told me that when I turned 50 there was a senior softball team for women, and I joined in that when I could. We had to play against the 20- and 30-year-olds because there were only enough senior players to make one team. They competed in Senior Olympics, so that’s how I got involved in The Games. We went to tournaments around the country. Some were Senior Games and some weren’t.

That must have been fun for you. Did you win any tournaments?

We weren’t that good. In fact, we were bad. We still competed, but we needed people from 50 to their 70s to have enough to make a team. We loved to play and knew we wouldn’t win, but we wanted to play. In senior softball there’s a five-run rule, that’s the max you can score on a team in one inning. Our goal when we go to Nationals was to not be five-runned in every inning and score at least one run in the game. [Laugh]

In 2004 I started in New Mexico Senior Olympics. In 2005 our team was supposed to go to Nationals in Pittsburgh, which was back home for me. I made arrangements with my family to house them, but at the last minute they decided not to go.

Even though I couldn’t play, I went back home anyway and my daughter and I volunteered to help at the National Senior Games. It was then that I decided that if I wanted to go to Nationals I needed to do an individual sport, and in 2006 I started swimming. I had not been in the pool since I graduated from college, but I qualified in the state games and went to Louisville in 2007. I’ve been to every Nationals since then and have placed in every swimming event except one year. I did medal one year.

What strokes do you swim?

I swim freestyle and backstroke. I can’t do a legal breaststroke because below the knees it doesn’t work. I did try the 50 butterfly for the last couple of years ago but at the last competition my legs quit working two-thirds of the way through, so I quit doing it.

A lot of people don’t notice my braces, because in some sports you see them a lot. Now in swimming, they notice because I take them off, and sometimes I use my forearm crutches to get to the block. I don’t make an issue of it. I just go up and do my thing.

Technically, I’m eligible to do Special Olympics. But that’s not fair to the others that have more of a disability, because I can function in the non-disabled games.

We saw you also started doing discus, javelin and shot put. How did that come about?

About five years ago I decided I wanted to try something new, and field events interested me. I just went out and learned it myself. The local Senior Olympics loaned us the equipment to practice with.

This year I’m doing the field events, swimming and I’m playing on two different softball teams. I’ll be on a 60 to 64 team in the first part of the week, and then I’ll be playing on a 65 plus team.

In a way, you have to compete against two opponents: other able-bodied athletes and MS. How do you see it?

I don’t see it as any different than my twin sister who competes with me too. I never think about it-that’s just the way it is. They make a slight concession in swimming to give me time to get up on the block and get steady. I need someone’s shoulder to get up on the block and hold on until I’m steady. They tell me, “You know, you can start on the side or in the water” but then the others have an unfair advantage over me. You’re not as fast going off the other ways. As long as I can get up and get my balance, I’m good to dive.

Wait, back up. Your twin sister Connie swims and competes against you in Senior Games? That must make things interesting!

She came back to swimming a couple years after I did. She needed a knee replacement in 2005. After she recovered she started swimming again.

She’ll tell you she started swimming the 100 IM [individual medley] event because I could not swim it and she wanted to have something that I couldn’t beat her in. I beat her in high school, college and now, although she is getting closer and will eventually pass me. As this MS progresses, and it is progressing, I’m going to be slowing down even more.

Since you live in the Albuquerque area you won’t have to deal with the travel worries this time around. That should help you pace yourself and conserve energy.

I like it! [Laugh] I couldn’t have afforded to stay for a whole week out of town, so I get to do more sports with it here. There are a few days I’m not playing, and I’ll volunteer to help on those days if I can.

I’m always going to do as much as I can. I’ve learned over the years what I can do. I can’t go to the pool and swim every day. I cannot be doing activity like that every day. Most days I take a nap or at least lay down. I can’t go a whole day with regular functioning without the fatigue. There are days I feel like there are 100-pound weights on my legs and arms. Those are days you don’t do anything.

After I go to swim or do my field events, I go home and go to bed. If I go to swim meets, I swim in the morning and sleep all afternoon. It takes that much out of me. At softball tournaments, I don’t play every game all of the game. Now, at home with the senior league I’ll play the whole game because it’s just one game that day.

We’re told you find the energy and time to help organize and get others involved.

I’m president on the board of directors for Senior Olympics in Sandoval County.  I was also one of the people who recruited a lot to build the Albuquerque senior women’s softball league that’s run by the Silver Gloves organization here. When I started there were maybe ten coming out. Now, there’s over 140 women coming to play. We now have a league with all senior women playing by senior rules.

You’re involved at every level – that must give you motivation to keep going.

I’m gonna keep going until I can’t go any more. It’s one day at a time. You do what you have to do to get through today and you worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes. And you don’t do foolish things today figuring that you’re not going to have tomorrow. I don’t overdo it.

You have to use some common sense, but it is what it is. I’m not going to be able to make it go away. You can just sit back and say “woe is me, poor me, look what I have to deal with” because everybody has something to deal with. It may not even be physical. I’m really no different than anyone else.

When people see how you overcome MS symptoms and continue to play, they don’t have many good excuses not to get into The Games.

People say they’ve never played, or maybe that they haven’t played in 30 years. Our philosophy with the softball league is that you don’t have to be good to play. You don’t have to be good at whatever it is. You just have to go out there and be active. And being involved in this is like being in a family, not just with the softball but with the all of the Senior Games, from local on up.

You could be the slowest person out there, or throw the shortest distance, or never make a basket. It doesn’t matter. Everybody’s out there cheering for you. The support system is out there. Do it.

Ralph Paytiamo, 81, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico

Ralph Paytiamo is proud of his heritage. With history dating back 2,000 years, New Mexico’s Acoma Pueblo is said by many to be the longest continuously inhabited community in America. While many traditions and cultural practices have survived and there are many strong and wise members to carry their ways forward, the tribe also struggles with many challenges that have come with recent generations – poverty, low employment, alcohol and drug abuse and health issues, especially high blood pressure and diabetes.

Despite being born to a medicine man and medicine woman of the tribe, Ralph was not immune to the conditions around him. He started drinking at the age of 12, and moving to Albuquerque to live with his aunt and attend school there did not end the problem. Still, he excelled in sports and was state champion of the one-mile run.

When Ralph graduated, he was captivated by the famous recruiting slogan “Join the Navy and See the World” and decided that would be his goal. He achieved his wish, and more than he could have imagined, during a career lasting over two decades, traveling to virtually every corner of the globe on a variety of vessels from helicopter launch craft to aircraft carriers.

Halfway through his tours of duty, Ralph hit the wall with his drinking and decided to enter rehab offered by the Navy. Once sober, he became active with Alcoholics Anonymous and has continuously shared his story and counsel since, including when he returned to the Acoma Pueblo after service.

At 62, Ralph joined in the Indian Games and became a regular face at the New Mexico Senior Olympics doing several sports. He also volunteered to help with fundraising and transporting equipment for events. He competed at the 1993 National Senior Games in Norfolk, Virginia, coincidentally the city where he was based before retired from the Navy. He has transitioned from running to race walk as his featured event, and he is proud he will be able to represent the Acoma when he competes at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Albuquerque.

Today, Ralph Paytiamo is devoted to working with youth, teaching them his peoples’ ways and values and warning them against the pitfalls around them. He advocates exercise, even if it is just walking. He leads by example with regular exercise and following a healthy lifestyle. We hope you enjoy the following conversation and the simple wisdom of a man who has learned to balance life by walking the straight path. It’s Ralph’s own version of pursuing his Personal Best, and he hopes everyone will find their own path to successful aging.

It’s a pleasure to speak with you, Ralph. Tell us about your early life.

I was born here on the Acoma Pueblo, and I had two sisters and a brother. My parents were medicine man and medicine woman, and I was mostly living with my grandma here until I was ten, and then with my aunt in Albuquerque. I live here now.

Did you play sports in school?

I went to high school at Albuquerque Indian School. I played football and ran track. I was state champion in the mile run.

I was motivated by my situation growing up. It gave me enthusiasm to do more for my physical and spiritual life. My grandparents taught me a lot of things about life. They would wake me up at 5:30 in the morning to go feed the horses. That’s why I became a runner because I got up early and would run to stay in shape.

What happened after school? Did you get married?

No, I am a bachelor. I joined the Navy and stayed with them for 20 years, from 1958 to 1979. I’ve been to 13 countries in the East like Japan, Okinawa, Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore. I went to the Gold Coast of Australia and around Cape Horn aboard the USS Enterprise in 1972-it was rough and cold, almost like the North Pole. I crossed the Equator twice. I also saw the United Kingdom, Normandy, Paris, Rome, Southern France and Spain. I traveled on three aircraft carriers, two squadrons and two LPH’s. I made it to Boatswain Mate First Class.

Wow. Had you been anywhere other than New Mexico before the Navy?

No. They said, “Join the Navy and see the world” and that’s what I did! [Laugh] That was my goal, and I have a big picture map showing all the place I’ve been, East and West, with the points connected by yarn. Now my goal is to be in Senior Olympics.

Thank you for your service, Ralph. You must have learned a lot going around the world.

Oh yes. I was surprised to find that people spoke Castilian in Rio de Janerio. That comes from a region of Spain, and when the Conquistadors came to New Mexico they spoke Castilian, which a lot of people who speak Spanish here have to listen very closely to understand.

It was the same for me with the native Aborigines in Australia. I thought they sounded like Texans. [Laugh] And I got to learn some Mandarin. It was pretty easy for me.

I was going to join the Merchant Marine when I got out, but I wanted to go home and returned to Acoma instead. I was only 42 when I retired so I continued to work. At first, I was cleaning electronic equipment in a small factory, but the ventilation was not good so I left to work construction, digging trenches and building swimming pools, things like that.

It sounds like you had a great adventure, but we hear you had to overcome alcoholism along the way.

I’ve been sober 49 years now. I guess I was about 12 years old when I started drinking. There was a bar right outside the reservation that the Indians went to. You’re not supposed to be in a bar at 12.

When you joined the Navy you already had a serious drinking problem?

Yes. I finally sobered up in 1971. I was thinking about my life and my health and I said to myself, “This is kind of a stupid thing you did,” So I surrendered myself to go to rehab in Long Beach, California.

When did you go back to running again?

I picked it back up when I joined the New Mexico Senior Olympics in 1998. I was 62. I’ve been doing a lot of things ever since, like softball throw, soccer kick, frisbee distance, track and race walk.

But in 2001 I found out I had prostate cancer, and they think it was caused by Agent Orange. I stopped running and Senior Olympics for four years and just did walking while I was being treated with radiation.

We’re happy you got through it and got back into the game, Ralph.

That wasn’t all. From the ultrasound they used during my treatment they found I had an aortic aneurysm. I had surgery for that in 2005. Since then I have done the race walk instead of running. I’ll do the 5K at the National Games. You know, I’m a native and don’t have long legs. I look like a penguin when I walk. [Laugh]

I’ve been to one National Senior Games, in 1993 in Norfolk. That the city where I retired from the Navy!

Do you exercise on a regular basis?

Yes, I exercise three times a day. Stretching, walking, meditation and weight lifting. I go to the pueblo senior center. We don’t have any instructors, so we do things mostly on our own. I try to set my own example for young people and to other elders.

It’s interesting that you mention meditation as part of your daily exercise routine to be mentally as well as physically healthy.

It gives me a good standard for my well being spiritually. It keeps me in touch with my inner self. It gives me inner strength so I can keep going.

Do you think when you were drinking that it kept you from your inner self?

Yes.

Is it the same as prayer for you?

It depends on how you do it. I don’t make any sound, just thinking when I meditate. I let my body relax. Now, I go to church too, but I don’t have no halo over my head. [Laugh]

That’s funny, but people around you think you’re an angel for the examples you set.

I am involved with a lot of young people around here. I have been involved in Alcoholics Anonymous since I went sober. I’ve talked to men on my ship, and I’ve been to national AA conventions. I have talked to youth on the reservation over the years and still do. I also talk to others about Senior Olympics.

I don’t think many of our youth understand our traditional ways. We try to motivate them, even just to do walking for their physical health. I try to do it by example of what I do as I saw in my own family. My grandpas lived to be 108 and 110 years old. I’m proud to be doing what I do to show people how to live, and that they can do it too.

In your culture, older people are revered and honored, are they not?

The elders are at the center of tribal life, and we need to teach this to the youth. It’s very important to think about traditions.

I also wrote a little poem that I share with the youth about diabetes:

I walk endlessly for the child to see the natural is less diabetes.

I walk with straight mind for children to see natural is strong in body and spirit.

It’s a problem with the youth getting overweight and diabetic when they’re 18, you know. One experience I had was when I ate a whole bag of popcorn and a couple days later my feet swelled up. I don’t use that much salt or butter, so it hit me hard. You have to be careful what you eat and how much. [Pause] I don’t eat that popcorn anymore. [Laugh]

Ralph, it’s great that New Mexico has had games for 40 years, and we are impressed that there are local games available for every pueblo and reservation in the state. Your founder, the late Ernesto Ramos, made sure of that. His influence reached beyond your state, and he was once chairman of the NSGA Board of Directors.

Yes. He motivated many. Maybe if not for him, we would not have the Indian Games today.

Your state’s Opening Ceremonies are so colorful and inspiring, because the athletes from the Indian Games march in with their traditional dress.

I’ve done that. It makes me feel pride for my own tribe. When I’m doing my walking at the Games, or whenever I do these things, I think about the tribe.

That’s awesome.

Yes. When I walk, I think about my tribe. I think about the youth.

What to you tell others about staying active and going to The Games?

You don’t have to do anything really hard. Why don’t you try frisbee throw or soccer kick? Just do something you enjoy. And you get to know other people and be friendly with them.

You have to exercise. You have to motivate yourself. If I don’t do it, I can’t bend down to tie my shoestrings. That’s why I exercise.

I feel great about myself. My inner self is good, and I am motivated. I have better sense and I’m standing tall. You know, when you go to the doctor they ask the last time you had a fall. I haven’t had a fall. I think my exercise, doing tai chi and meditation has helped bring balance to my life.

You need balance in your life. You need balance both ways, physically and mentally. You can’t just stay home and watch TV.

I am proud to have a strong, healthy body and for the influences and guidance I’ve gained, and for the continuation of Senior Olympics.

Hope Casias, 76, San Antonio, Texas

Sports offers the individual many rewards through setting goals, training and competition. It provides exercise with a purpose, and brings the added benefit of camaraderie among athletes who share the same experiences. Team sports provide an even deeper connection and the added satisfaction that comes from working together. For Hope Casias, playing volleyball is even more than a group experience – it’s a family matter.

Growing up in San Antonio in a family with nine siblings, Hope was ideally suited to thrive in a team environment, although she never thought about playing sports in her youth due to her inexperience and smaller stature. She was happy contributing to school spirit as a member of the pep squad through middle school until she moved to a new high school and joined in more games during physical education periods. One of her PE coaches recognized Hope’s natural talent with the game of volleyball and convinced her to try out for the school team.  Hope is eternally grateful that the coach saw something in her that she didn’t recognize, and she has been playing ever since, only pausing for a few years to raise five young children to school age.

As you follow our conversation below, it becomes clear that it’s all about family for Hope Casias. She is now the matriarch of a family with 15 grandchildren and one great-grandson.  She considers she has two volleyball families: her local Women in Volleyball league where she regularly practices and plays, and her Alamo Stars travel team that competes in major tournaments. Hope vividly recalls traveling to Orlando in 1999 for her first National Senior Games and being awestruck to see so many other seniors playing her game. Hope found she belonged to another new family – the Senior Games Movement, where everyone pursues their Personal Best lifestyle through participation in sports. Now, she considers each trip back to be one big family reunion. Our Presenting Sponsor also recognized her passion by naming her a 2015 Humana Game Changer.

Hope has reaped the rewards from keeping herself active and fit and did not encounter any physical problems until she approached the age of 70. She matter-of-factly discusses her bout with breast cancer and needing two knee replacements as things that she simply had to get through, and she envisions a future that includes many more volleyball games. Her positive attitude and enthusiasm is infectious, and it’s no surprise when you think about it. Hope Casias has the support of many families to help her succeed, and she wishes for everyone to keep moving and find their own fitness family.

Your team is the Alamo Stars. Are you a native Texan?

I was born and raised here in San Antonio. I’ve lived here all of my life. My grandma was from Mexico, so that makes me third generation here.

We had a big family. I had six brothers and three sisters. Now, I have 4 sons and one daughter, and I have 15 grandchildren. One of my sons also married a woman who already had children, and one of them has a son. So that does make me a great grandma! [Laugh]

Being from a big family might have attracted you to team sports. When did you fall in love with volleyball?

I didn’t play sports at first. I was always on the pep squad through middle school. I moved to another high school in my sophomore year and it gave me a chance to try new things. I started using my name Hope. [Laugh]

Hope is not your given name?

In a way, yes it is.  It’s Esperanza, but everybody had trouble pronouncing it. I went to school wondering what people at school would call me today – Espanza? Esparsa? Your name is important, and when it is unusual, or people can’t pronounce it some will make fun of it. You know how kids can be.

So when we moved to the new school I registered myself as Hope, which is what my name means in Spanish. I figured I was just translating it for them. I didn’t even tell my parents. After that day, it seemed like a new beginning because everyone could remember my name.

So the move to a new school led you to get into sports?

Yes. I played all kinds of sports there during PE, like basketball, softball, and volleyball. I thought I had a knack for volleyball. I remember the first time I received a serve I was scared thinking, “Oh, my God, that’s gonna hurt!” because the ball was coming high and hard right to me. But once I learned the techniques I really liked the game.

There was this one PE coach that told me I should go out for girls sports. Coach Kerbal explained that I would come in the morning and play volleyball before my classes, and then stay after school and play some more. I told her if I stayed after school my mother would think I got into trouble. She said, “Well, come in the morning then.” She wouldn’t let go and tried every way to get me interested. I said, “OK, I’ll try out.”

I went through the tryouts, and they said they would post who made the team on the door of the gym. As I was going to check out the results I saw girls coming back crying because they didn’t make it. When I looked at the list I found my name. I thought, “Wow- I didn’t think I had it in me!” and then I thanked God that somebody else did. I will love and remember Coach Kerbal forever because she saw something in me that I didn’t even see.

My new school had a really good volleyball team at the time. These girls had been playing together since middle school, and they were city champs and state champs. As a senior, you automatically get bumped up to varsity, but I asked my coach if it was OK if I just stayed on the B team. I didn’t want any fame. I just wanted to learn the game, and I was having a really good time with the team that I was playing with.

Did you go to college and continue to play volleyball?

I went to junior college for a while, but I started working because I was the oldest of ten children and my stepfather was the only one who worked. In my mind I thought he needed help, so I would get any kind of job I could. One of my first ones was at a store like a Woolworth’s, you know? I was scared but I talked myself into it because my family needed it.

Given that, you had no time for volleyball?

I did play volleyball a bit in some church groups after school, but when my children came I got too busy to play.

Life does often sidelines people for a time in their adulthood. When did you play again?

How I got back to it happened by total accident. When I was around 35 years old I had five children of my own, from preschool to middle school age. When they all got into school I started getting a little time for myself. I was a typical school mother, bringing in cupcakes or whatever the teachers needed. It kept me close to my kids. One of my kids’ teachers said, “You know what, I’ve got something for you for all the help you’ve given this year.” It was gift membership to an exercise program at the city recreation center.

That program was awesome. After we finished our exercise, we all had to sit on the floor, relax and close our eyes. The coach wanted us to cool down before we dashed out of the gym. One time, I didn’t have to leave to get the kids yet so I sat on the bleachers and watched this coed team play volleyball during their lunch hour. I thought about how much fun I used to have playing it. Well, the ball rolls over to me so I pick it up and “set it” with my fingers back to them. One of them yelled, “You play volleyball?” When I told them I did in high school, they asked if I had time to join them. I played with them for seven years! [Laugh] That’s how I got back to volleyball.

I actually have two volleyball families I play with. There’s my Alamo Stars tournament team, but I also belong to the local Women in Volleyball League here in San Antonio that has been going on for about 40 years. I play with them once a week, rain or shine, and I learn a lot from them.

The 55 plus team from the local group just won a gold medal at the Huntsman Games in Utah. Playing with this group of ladies, we are just like a big family. We’re learning from the young ones. And they get impressed with us because we can still be on the court and hold our own.

We hear people often say that “playing down” with younger age athletes can really help with your game.

Yes, it’s really good practice. It’s hard to put a whole team together locally in my age group. My Alamo Stars tournament team has me and another from San Antonio, plus one from Austin, so that’s three from Texas. We also have two from Arizona and one each from California, Nevada, and Washington state. They’re all like my family, too.

Does everyone feel the same about it being a big family?

Oh yes. If somebody’s sick we get together to send a card and offer help. When someone’s loved one passes we show support. And if somebody has a special occasion like an anniversary or something, we go party with them. Every year we always get together in October for cancer awareness. We’re really close knit.

Who has been on the Alamo Stars with you the longest?

The old Alamo Stars team I used to be on at the beginning got shuffled up, and I’ve been on this Alamo Stars for 13 years. Mary Elsa Centeno is the captain who put it back together, and I’ve been playing with her and Shirley Houston since then.

We have to practice on our own where we live, but every year we get together before the big tournaments like National Senior Games and practice. Everybody is kinda getting used to each other at first, and then it all comes back and starts clicking. That happens for most teams, because you have to go outside of your own area to find players.

What’s your playing position?

I used to be a setter in my younger years, but now I’m a hitter, and really a great back row player. That first touch on the serve is very important. The other team serves to the back and wants to make you work for the ball, so it has to be a good bump from the back for the setter. That’s my specialty. I also have a consistent serve, so that’s very good.

You must really enjoy being on a team.

Yes. I love being part of a team. Coach Kerbal always taught us that it takes a team to win. You can have one really fantastic player, but that one fantastic player alone won’t win the game for you. It has to be a team effort.

Where did you go for your first National Senior Games?

It was 1999 in Orlando. It was my first and still my favorite. I remember it vividly. I was just in awe seeing so many teams in one big tournament! I had been to the little town tournaments around Texas, but that was my first one out-of-state. My husband Andres and my daughter came along with me, and she had one child with her and was expecting another. So I say two grandchildren came with her!

I would go play in the mornings and be finished by 1 or 2 O’clock, then watch some of the other ladies play, and then in the evenings we all really enjoyed going to Disney World. I got to see the parade at night. I was so excited you would think I was a teenager!

In the beginning, we tried to go to all of the activities and events at Nationals as a team. As the years went on, often the team didn’t all come at the same times, and we spent most of our time practicing and playing. So, we don’t get to as many of the functions now. In 2011, the team bought red, white and blue caps and shirts and we marched together in the Parade of Athletes. That was wonderful.

The Matriarch with her own big, happy familyIt’s nice that some of your family came to watch you play.

My husband Andres always travels with me to every tournament I’ve ever been in, and he passes along the scores and the family texts me with messages like “Go Mom!” and “Yea, Alamo Stars!”

When I played in Minneapolis in 2015, two of my grandchildren and my son surprised me by coming to see me play. Last November two of my other sons came to see me at the Huntsman World Senior Games. They surprised me at the medal ceremony, that was awesome. I have the support of my whole family. They come watch when they can.

I have one granddaughter who plays volleyball that I’m going to go watch play today. She started one year ago at ten years old, and her two older sisters also played volleyball. I like to claim they have grandma’s genes!

It’s clear that family is important for you on many levels. We bet you consider all of the other teams you see in Senior Games as family, too.

Yes. It’s like a family reunion when we see each other again at tournaments. We’re so happy to see each other again, especially for the teams who depend on out-of-state players. It’s a reunion of our whole volleyball family.

What else do you do to stay healthy and fit?

We do healthy things as a family, like hike and swim. We love good food, but we eat in moderation. I’ve always been around 135 pounds, more like 143 now. I always keep within a range. I attribute that to going to Silver Sneakers three times a week.

I used to walk every morning until I had knee problems, and I couldn’t play like I used to. I had a knee replacement in 2012. Since then, I’ve been kinda trying to keep up, it’s been one thing after another, after another.

You haven’t mentioned injuries or setbacks until now. What other challenges have you overcome since the knee replacement?

I had to go through a lot in 2016. Three big things happened to me that year. Late in 2015 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had surgery in January of 2016, and then had to have all the radiation. That really takes it out of you. It attacks your immune system. It took me a whole year to get my strength back.

During this time my right knee replacement became very swollen. I could barely walk, so I had a knee revision in July of 2016. It was supposed to be an in-and-out surgery, but I had to stay in the hospital for four days because my immune system wasn’t strong enough.

Then, after I finished physical therapy, I decided to go back to my fitness program, and on my way there I was rear ended in the brand new car my family had given to me. That set me back too.

Wow. It came in threes for you that year!

Yeah, and I’ve had more. Last year, I didn’t think I could go to the Huntsman Games because my knees were not helping and I was in a lot of pain. So I made a little special gift to give to my teammates that was almost like a going away present.

In 2018, I needed to have my other knee replaced. I had a good surgeon and got through all of the physical therapy and I’m back to playing again. I feel like a new woman now! [Laugh] I’m ready for another 20 years! [Laughs again]

That’s a lot to get through, and you’re still going. People must be inspired by your perseverance and positive spirit, Hope.

People come up to me when I’m exercising and say “Oh, you’re so slim, you don’t even need to do this.” I always answer “No, that’s why I AM slim.” I practice what I preach.

There is an old saying that anything worth something takes effort. Sometimes I have a headache but I push myself to play. Once I get out on the court, the headache is gone. Being physically active helps you both physically and mentally. It’s all good and it pays off.

I want to encourage people to continue to move. That’s my thing. I tell people to start walking and build up. That’s what I did. You can do anything, like go to the gym and do the bicycle or treadmill. You just have to move.

Also, I always kept great faith in God that He put me in this world, and He’s the one that’s going to take me out. In the meantime, I have to give it all I can. Every morning when I woke up, I thank Him for being stronger today than I was yesterday. That was my mantra every single morning and that has kept me going.

If I can survive these things and still play volleyball, I can truly say I am abundantly blessed by the love of my family and the people I play with. I love volleyball, it’s helped me through so much. I’m like that little Energizer Bunny. I just keep going and going.

Let’s call it the ”Esperanza Bunny” after you!

[Laugh] Yes, but everybody in volleyball now only knows me as Hope!

I’m so grateful for every single day. God is good.

Ron Gauvin, 60 & Patti Gauvin, 58, Milton, New Hampshire

When Ron Gauvin enters an archery competition, it’s quickly noticed that something special is going on beyond shooting arrows. Despite balance challenges and a paralyzed right arm, Ron manages to get to the line and let fly using a stabilizer bar and a special strap attached to the string that allows him to release using his mouth. Click here to see Ron demonstrate his technique in this brief video clip.

What is more amazing than his performance, though, is the 27-year journey he and his wife and soulmate Patti have taken for his recovery and to become qualified for the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. In fact, this is at its heart a love story, and because Patti also became a competitive archer and qualified in the process, this is a Personal Best profile for both.

Ron and Patti went to the same high school and both participated in track and field, but they never met until a matchmaker put them together when she was 25 and he was 28. Patti had become a nurse, and Ron had gone to work, choosing to pursue archery and a variety of other activities over college. They quickly hit it off, but since Patti had no interest in archery, Ron dropped the sport so they could do more things together.

Five years later, their lives were turned upside down when Ron developed a brain tumor. Through the treatment process Ron lost the use of his right arm, has difficulty speaking, and manages related balance issues. Amazingly, before the diagnosis Patti had decided to specialize in head injury nursing care, so she immediately knew what to do and applied her knowledge to help her husband navigate the health care system and regain as much function as possible.

When Patti showed Ron a picture of a woman using an adaptive device in archery, he immediately determined to find a way to return to his favorite sport. Not only did he succeed, he is delighted that his wife also caught the bug and picked up a bow. Their experience prompted Patti and a partner to write Hope Through the Eyes of Love, a book detailing the Gauvin’s journey to provide advice and encouragement to others facing similar challenges. They connected with the National Brain Tumor Society and have helped with support groups and advocacy. Patti even featured Ron’s case for her master’s thesis and developed a model for living through adversity.

In the following conversation, it becomes clear that Cupid’s arrow did not miss Ron and Patti Gauvin and that they were destined to be brought together to laugh and cry and triumph. The bedrock for their successes is their love for each other and an insatiable love of life. Despite the serious subject, Patti (who speaks for Ron in interviews) tells their story in a positive, entertaining, and in the end, joyful and inspiring manner. Enjoy, and then take their advice to go out and make the best of every day – what we call pursuing your own Personal Best.

 

Thanks for representing both Ron and yourself for this interview, Patti.  

He can’t speak very well. He can answer yes and no and a few words here and there. Sometimes he’ll throw out a one-liner that blows you away, and then other times you can ask his date of birth and he can’t say it. So, I speak for him for things like this.

When we heard about you two, it struck us as a love story as much as an inspiring athlete profile. Take us back and tell us how you two met, and how all this happened.

That was 33 years ago, and it’s kind of an interesting story. I was 25 at the time and had just finished my nursing degree. Ron was 28 and never went to college. After school he got a job at a manufacturing company that made sports equipment like shoulder pads and nets. He was too busy enjoying all the other stuff he was doing to think about college.

Ron and I went to the same high school but never met then. My sister was engaged to a gentleman from a big Greek family, and the mother of this guy was the match maker. Her older son had a friend who was single and she wanted everybody to be happy and married. [Laugh] My sister told her I was available and gave her my number. Ron and I connected on the telephone, and he had such amazing interests. He was an archer. He liked fishing and hunting and scuba diving. And he was very good at everything he did. I was just impressed and thought, “Wow – this guy will get me out of the house to do things.” [Laugh]

We went on a blind date and were talking about all the people we knew in high school, and he said he had been on the track team and did javelin, discus and shot put. I did discus and shotput too, and I vividly remembered seeing two boys back then playing “pass” with the javelin on the other side of the field.

Pass??

You know, one throwing it out and the other trying to catch it as it passed. At the time, I remember thinking “Who are those stupid people out there?” [Laugh] So I asked, “Do you remember Scott? Any chance you were the guy playing pass with the javelin?” He said, “Yeah.” [Both laugh]

It’s clear Ron is a natural athlete. Was archery his best sport?

He was a very good archer. He had gotten fourth place in the national archery championships before we met. I had never done archery before, and I wasn’t at all interested in it. He had an archery shoot the next morning, but he canceled because he wanted to go out with me again. He actually gave it up to marry me.

Ron was diagnosed with his brain tumor in 1991, five years after we married. He was given two to three years to live. But he just keeps living and living and living. [Laugh]

We’ve gone in for a yearly MRI to check out the status of his tumor. His neurosurgeon now says it’s a lower grade tumor. They’ve always said that he had a “good tumor.” He has never been so positive going to his appointments as now. We just know he is going to get good results.

What exactly was his condition and treatment?

It was an astrocytoma of his left temporal lobe that is involved with the functions of his right side. He’s had seven brain surgeries and radiation. Ron actually had to wait for the radiation treatment because it had not been developed yet, and he was one of the first 18 people to get his type of treatment.

Good that it didn’t kill him, but it changed your lives and his abilities.

The initial biopsy paralyzed his right side, but he’s a trooper and recovered his function. About seven years later he lost some functioning permanently. The surgeries tried to reduce the size of the leftover dead tissue from the radiation. The damage in his brain most likely comes from the radiation.

He’s been paralyzed on the right side since 1998 and lost the use of his arm. He can walk but he has some balance issues because of the weakness on that side. When he’s on a flat surface it’s not bad. It’s more difficult when he’s outside on uneven surfaces.

Of all the people in the world for Ron Gauvin to marry, it’s amazing you are a nurse and knew how to care for him and help him get back to doing things again.

It’s even more interesting than that. Before Ron was diagnosed, I changed my path in nursing and specialized in head injury rehab. [Chuckles]

Wow!

Yes. I learned how to work with people with significant brain damage. I’ve had a couple of people come out of a coma in front of me, which is a wild thing to witness. What I learned for caring and rehab was that you don’t do anything for them. You have to wait to coach them and show them how to do things for themselves. People run over to help Ron do things. I say “No, don’t touch him.” Even when he falls down, I just stand there and watch him. [Laugh] And I can’t get him up as easy as he can get himself up. He’ll figure it out and he’ll do it. And he does.

So, you knew exactly how to react and help him rehab.

Oh, my God. I knew what kind of rehab and what kind of doctors to ask for, where it was in the brain, what to expect for damage. It was like “Whaaat?” [Laugh] But me knowing was a double-edged sword. I knew, “Oh crap, this is going to affect his brain” but I was ready and quickly started planning. [Speaks faster like a train of thought] You gotta have this and this and this and this, you’re gonna have rehab, you’re gonna have this, you’re gonna come home and I wanna take care of you and…[Makes garbled noise and laughs] But I’ve been able to manage the healthcare system because of my background.

Ron must be a special patient for you, because you have to be dispassionate to help him. Whatever you did worked – just look at how Ron found a way to shoot arrows using his mouth!

His attitude is what has gotten us through it. He is always willing to try new things and go places. He’s like, “Gung ho, let’s go.”

All it took was me showing him a picture of a someone with an adaptive archery sling on Facebook and he says, “Let’s go, let’s try this out!” It took about two years before he was shooting well, because it took time to find people to help us get it right.

We found an introduction to archery course by Northeast Passage, who does outdoor adaptive sports. I saw a photo of a release mechanism on this woman’s shoulder and we agreed to check it out. Shortly thereafter, we determined that a mouth release would probably be easier for Ron. It’s like you take a dog leash, sew it together and stick it on a bow and go shoot.

He did really well when he tried it. He even got a Robin Hood! What?? [Laugh] We kept going back, and one time the instructor handed me a bow and said, “Here, try this.” Needless to say, I bought my own bow one month later.

That’s great! In the process of helping Ron return to his favorite sport, you found it too.

The first time I was out on the range, I didn’t tell Ron I was going to do it. I was on one end and he was on the other. The look on his face was priceless, he was so excited to see me on the line with a look that said, “Finally, she’s going to understand what it is I love about this.” [Ron shouts “Yes!”]

I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned about Ron’s previous dedication to archery, and how much he loved me to give it up. Now that I’m doing it too, there’s no way I’m giving it up for him! [Laugh]

After learning to shoot, Ron’s next goal was to compete again?

Ron wanted to get back in tournaments, and we went to several different local outdoor and indoor competitions around New Hampshire and Massachusetts. We did our first Senior Games in 2017. It was our first-ever time together in a tournament. I did horribly, I didn’t even know what I was doing. It took awhile to find all of my arrows. But because I was the only barebow archer of my age I got a gold medal and would have qualified for Nationals. Ron did pretty good, but neither of us had shot at those distances before.

Your 2018 qualifying scores were good, and we’re happy you are coming to The Games in Albuquerque.

That is absolutely the next step for Ron. This has really given him a sense of purpose in life now. I started with barebow and last summer I went to recurve. Ron’s doing compound bow. [Click here for explanation of archery types and bows] Both of us have improved, and the way he’s shooting right now I think there will be even more improvement.

Ron has been meeting with E. G. LeBre, a U.S. Para-archery coach, about twice a month to help him perfect the mouth release. Ron would really love to participate in the Paralympics. He has to have a minimum qualifying score, and he did not achieve that last summer. He missed the deadline to make the 2020 team so the next will be in 2024. Ron is convinced he will make it. [Pause and Laugh] Ron just heard me say that. He pumped his chest and said, “Right here!”

E.G. has been tremendous in watching Ron’s process and finding ways for him to adapt, small things like the placement of his thumb on the bow.

Archers are required to walk back and forth to retrieve their own arrows and count score, which Ron can manage. Are there any other adaptive issues?

I found out that Ron is allowed to have an “agent” call his scores since he can’t speak very well. We usually ask an archer he is shooting with to help, and everyone has been wonderful about it. We’re still looking at whether he can use a stool to steady himself.

He does take up a bit more lane than others because he has to have a long stabilizer bar to mount his arrows. Sometimes he shoots alone from the group, or at the end of the line. That’s where we usually go. We don’t want to make a big deal out of it and want to respect other people’s space.

Your experience resulted in a book. How did that come about?

When Ron went in for his last surgery in 2010, I started feeling like I needed to share this story and tell everybody how to manage the experience. I wanted to give people hope and help others put their situation into perspective. A lot of people get so hung up in their prognosis that they forget to live each day to the fullest as we have been doing. The fact he had a brain tumor was not going to define us. We were determined to live our lives and love each other.

We were staying with a friend who knew a woman-Angel Logan-who had co-authored a book. We got the book ready in six months. We wanted to publicize and get it into the right hands. That’s how we got involved with the National Brain Tumor Society. Working with them has given us the opportunity to advocate and encourage others.

We can’t imagine a more fitting athlete couple for a Personal Best feature. Our basic spin is that Personal Best is also an ongoing journey to pursue your best health and well being by staying active.

It’s absolutely an ongoing journey. Ron doesn’t stop. Last week we had snow and what does Ron do? He gets up, puts on his clothes – mind you, with a little help from me with his gloves and hat and putting slip guards on his feet- and off he goes out shoveling snow with one arm.

You know, there are these things called snow blowers you can get.

[Laugh] Well, we do have a snow blower man, but Ron goes out before he comes and gets what he can clear. I pay the guy $20 to do the job so I don’t have to do it, but Ron just has to go out and do his part.

I have these moments where I stand back and see other people watching Ron shoot and they come up to me with tears in their eyes after the match saying things like “Oh my God, I can’t believe he does what he does.” Of course, I was thinking about the equipment problem he was having. [Laugh]

But it makes me think, “OK Patti, stop being frustrated.” We’re going to keep doing this because of the joy it brings him to do what others won’t try, and to feel like one of the guys again with his archery.

 

You obviously provide each other with love and support. your determination and spirit is an inspiration. You guys could have easily just caved in.

[Pause] Joe Biden is often asked how he continues on after the tragedies he’s been through. He said he stole this quote from someone else, but he said, “You need something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to, to give you some purpose.” We think that’s awesome.

We can’t close this interview without noting how happy and joyful you are. I hear Ron laughing along with you. A positive attitude goes a long way.

Having a sense of humor will get you through a lot of things, and help you understand what’s important in life. I think I was always like that, and Ron, too. He’s always had a good sense of humor and light-heartedness. And he understood my humor. That’s what attracted me to him in the first place.

I come from a very big family of nine and you always had to roll with the punches. I am always trying to keep things light. I tell the others we shoot with that it’s OK to joke with Ron and give him a hard time. You can tell him he’s slow. [Makes exasperated voice] “You want me to pull these arrows for you AGAIN?” [Laugh] I think it’s great for people, especially kids, to be exposed to this. Ron may not be able to talk much, but he’ll let you know what he’s thinking! [Laugh]

Finally, is there any other advice you tell others facing life challenges?

I actually made my master’s thesis on Ron’s story, and it focused on adversity and how you cope with it. I came up with a model of “real.” You have to make it real. You have to be enlightened and learn everything you can about your situation. We never denied that he had a tumor and the challenges that came with it. But you don’t want to waste a day if you only have two years to live.

So, we always did what we could to make the best of it. It’s all about having a positive attitude and living and loving life. 27 years later, things are going well, we are still making the best of every day.

That is now our motto. Make the best of every day!

Find More Great Personal Best Features at NSGA.com/personalbest

Don Wright, 78, Stillwater, Minnesota

Don Wright is literally running for his life.

The Minnesota native enjoyed many successful years as an engineer, attorney and father of three. He ran cross country in high school, but career demands kept him from regular exercise and his weight grew as he approached 60. His brother-in-law and wife were runners who got Don’s wife Ardis involved, and in turn she convinced Don to run a 5K with them. He struggled but finished, and that led to a goal to run a marathon in his home town, which he accomplished within a year.

Two weeks later, in 2003, Don was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that resides in the bones. He was advised to prepare for only five more years to live. Instead of being devastated, Don decided to set a goal to run the Boston Marathon, and then to run a marathon in every state. His would enjoy traveling the country but also tell everyone that there is always hope, even for cancer patients like him.

After 50 marathons, Don met a public relations professional, who told him he should organize a foundation to make it possible for his message to be spread much wider. The result was eRace Cancer, a campaign to educate patients about advances and innovations in treatments through its social media page and traditional media relations efforts.

With the help of newly-discovered treatments, Don’s myeloma was kept in check, and when the hundred marathon milestone was reached he needed a new item for his bucket list. After the National Senior Games came to the Twin Cities near him in 2015, Don decided he wanted to transition to track running and take his message to a new audience. The plan was to travel to as many qualifying games as he could in 2018 to share his message on the way to competing in Nationals in 2019. The eRace Cancer team generated local publicity at almost every visit to seven different state Senior Games, and that caught our attention.

As the following informative interview shows, Don and wife Ardis are excited they have both qualified and will run in Albuquerque at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Their 48-year-old daughter Sarah can’t wait to reach 50 and join them on the track. We are just as excited to have the Wrights as part of the Senior Games family. After all, you can’t spread too much hope around!

Welcome to the Senior Games Movement, Don! Let’s start by asking you to explain what myeloma is.

Most people discover they have multiple myeloma when they break a bone, or more than one-that’s why they call it multiple. Myeloma isn’t in the bones, it’s a blood cancer in the bones throughout your body. A lot of people feel fatigued, but I didn’t have any real symptoms before it was found. Mine was actually found early by accident. I was complaining about a bone pain to my doctor and he ordered a test called protein electrophoresis that is pretty reliable. He said you probably don’t have this, but let’s just check it out. Then I got the call.

 

And so it began.

Yes. I told the doctor my blood tests are always strange because I’m a runner. He replied, “Not like this” and referred me to an oncologist.

I was told myeloma was incurable but not imminent. It would be two to five years before it would take me. So I wasn’t scared at first, it was more like curiosity. You know, let’s get our arms around this. I started running marathons thinking it might help in some way.

The increased activity and fitness must have helped you.

The fact that I’m alive is only partially owing to the fact that I’ve run over 100 marathons and am now competing in Senior Games. It’s more credit to the new medications that have come along because of innovation since I was diagnosed. I was given two to five years, and I’m still going 15 years later.

Right now my cancer is at the lowest level it’s been. I would like people to know that you don’t have to run 100 marathons to be able to have hope if you are a cancer patient. Things are coming along fast, so hang in there! I want to bring a message of hope to others, that’s why I am doing this.

There are two support groups in the Twin Cities, and I go to both of them and they know my story. They are aware better treatments are coming down the pike.

With all of the medical breakthroughs, cancer is no longer an automatic death sentence as it once was. Are there advances in treatment for myeloma?

There is some hope on the horizon that your white blood cells can be trained to actually go after the cancer and get rid of it once and for all, but we won’t know that until patients live on for a few years. People used to have to go through bone marrow stem cell transplants that put them into the hospital for weeks and months, but I’ve never had one. That is increasingly going to happen.

Many of those people who went through that came out no better than before. It’s still not a curable disease at this time. There’s one doctor that said that the cure for myeloma is to live long enough to die of something else. [Laugh]

Many treatments were not even available when I was first diagnosed. What I’m taking now fights the cancer but doesn’t interfere with my ability to run competitive races. My survival is not just a feel-good story, again it’s also a message of hope. That’s what I want to get out there.

Tell us more about the message of hope you are spreading.

Not everyone with cancer can or should run competitive races, but I hope my message of possibilities after a difficult prognosis provides encouragement for anyone battling this disease. We should be excited about maintaining this medical momentum, until we reach a cure.

I want to fight for all patients to have affordable access to the treatments they need. I’m not talking about the cost of these amazing therapeutics. I can’t put a price tag on being able to move on with my life, my family and my work as an attorney. The competitive running symbolizes that.  I am talking about good insurance and manageable copays. That’s what has allowed me to get the treatments I need, and all patients should have the same opportunity.

What is your treatment like now?

I currently go in for an infusion once a month and I’m only down for a day or so afterwards. Besides that, I also take a pill every night for three out of four weeks each month, and that has worked for me for years. I was in a study for that one. The Mayo Clinic is only two hours away and that has helped get me into these new treatments. Mayo is as good as anywhere in the world. So I guess I’m lucky about that.

I was selected for two other studies that didn’t work at all-my bones lit up pretty good. I also was in a study about use of the PET scan. It turns out to be by far the most significant diagnostic tools, and nobody knew that ten years ago.

 

Maybe you’ve also been a good candidate for studies because you got yourself fit and have been a good patient doing whatever was needed. You make it easy for Mayo to say, “Let’s call Don.”

Oh yeah, maybe. I’m a little bit of a celebrity there because of running all the marathons.

People are living longer, and in larger numbers. We wonder whether they are going to keep their bodies healthy and fit, or will they just feel miserable longer or cut their lives short anyway?

That’s really a primary question. My mom lived to age 100, and two years later my dad lived to be 100. That is my goal, and I know how they did it. They did it by staying active. They didn’t run, but they walked all the time. They changed over time to be more healthy, eating well and exercising.

There’s a certain amount of luck involved. Sure, genetics help, but doing the right things probably helped them get to 100.  That’s what Ardis and I are doing now. We eat very well, lots of organics. We can’t tell for sure that eating like that helps with cancer, and we can’t say for sure that going out and running will beat cancer. There are a lot of things that might be helping, we just don’t know where the myeloma comes from. I can think of several possibilities.

 

Better to hedge your bet and do the right things!

You betcha. I may be lucky to have good genes, but I was unlucky to get myeloma. But I’m really lucky that they are working on treatments for myeloma. That’s why I’m alive now.

 

Well, thanks for educating us about the disease. Let’s talk about how your running history started.

When I was in high school I went out for cross country. I did pretty well, and at the beginning was the best on the team since the other guys were not as in good shape as I was. They got into better shape and I became just one of the best. But then I quit in favor of girls. [Laugh] That was probably a poor choice at the time. 

Cross country was all I did for sports before I got on with my life. After my college years at the University of Minnesota I was an engineer for a long time and got into computers and software. I realized after several years that what I was doing was not going to last much longer, and rather than learn a new technology I went to law school. I haven’t practiced law a lot though.

 

When did you take up running again?

Much later. I was busy with my career and raising three kids. It all adds up. So no, I didn’t do much and didn’t think I could run. I tried it when I was about 40 and my knees hurt. I did a lot of walking and stair climbing though.

I started running again at age 61, a year before my diagnosis. I found I did actually have some natural ability at running and decided I would try a marathon. My theory was if you run three miles most days it will keep you healthy, but I wanted to try the distance. I did the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, and it was a good one. I wanted to see if I could qualify for the Boston Marathon, even though I didn’t really expect to go. Anyway, my time wasn’t good enough, and two weeks later I found out about the myeloma.

 

What was your motivation to run at that age?

To get stronger, get the fat off of me, and be healthier. I was overweight. My brother-in-law, Pastor Calvin Thoresen, and his wife Blanche had started running, and they got my wife and daughter into it. Then, Ardis got me going. So, I entered a 5K they were all in. I came in all red faced and huffing and puffing and decided I didn’t want to do that anymore. I did keep running, and the next year I trained hard and beat my brother in law’s time in the 5K. But Calvin was the catalyst that got us all moving.

Then, after the diagnosis, I decided I did want to run the Boston Marathon. That would be a big item on my bucket list. I ran in two more marathons and did qualify. One was a downhill marathon in Tucson, which I figured would help. The other was in the Twin Cities, and that one wasn’t so easy.

I ran in Boston in 2004, and it became a family thing. My wife Ardis and our daughter did the half marathon in Tucson while I ran the full one. We liked traveling around to do this, so we picked off the low hanging fruit and started going to marathons close enough to drive to from Minnesota, like Iowa, Wisconsin, North and South Dakota you know. We like the one in Fargo because it was so nice and flat. [Smile] We just kept going.

At what point did it get into your head to start the E-Race Cancer foundation and take it to the next level to spread your message?

We got up to about 50 marathons in 30 states when I met this public relations professional for a major patient advocacy organization. He said he liked my message and could help with my expenses to keep going to share my story with many more people. So it grew from there.

It’s good to have people help you in your quest. We were impressed with the publicity you’ve earned as you visited several of our Games around the country in 2018. Are you surprised with your press success?

We’ve gotten a story on some form of media almost everywhere we have gone. We were on CNN twice, with Dr. Sanjay Gupta in one of them. That was a big surprise for me. Runner’s World did a feature after my 100^th marathon two years ago and ran a follow-up story on my Senior Games tour this year.

Why did you transition from distance running to doing track sprints at Senior Games?

Well, I had finished my bucket list, so I needed to start a new bucket list! I completed 100 marathons and thought, ‘OK, now what do I do?’ I didn’t figure it out for some months, and when the National Senior Games came to Minnesota in 2015, I heard about it and decided “Why don’t I do that now?”

My daughter Sarah who lives with us is 48, a couple of years away from Senior Games. But she now plans to do it. It’s kind of new for Ardis, too. She wasn’t sure about it at first, but realized it’s just on a little track and Sarah could sit and watch. Her first Senior Games was in New York, and she’s qualified in the 200 and 400 and will be in Albuquerque.  I’m looking forward to it. I ran a marathon there and enjoyed the visit.

Since running puts stress on your bones, have any doctors told you to avoid the marathons and track for fear of breaking bones?

It’s a funny question, because every doctor I talked to has encouraged my running because it strengthens your bones. I have one doctor who is not a cancer doctor. She’s half my age and acts like my Grandma. “Take it easy now, Don.” [Laugh]

You want people to do the right things to take care of themselves. Regular physical activity is a big part of that. What do you tell others who think they aren’t as athletic as you and can’t run, let alone race?

The most important thing you can do is walk. The faster, the better, but any speed is good. A mile is nice, two miles is even better. You should do that every day.

Something like “an apple a day” advice?

Walking is more important than an apple. By quite a lot. Dr. Oz would agree.

Speaking of food, how has your diet changed?

My younger son lives in Minneapolis and he is a runner. He and his wife are trying to get us to go on a vegan diet, but we have another plan that is not vegan. We eat a combination of paleo and Mediterranean. We eat high quality food, don’t eat any more sugar than what is in the plants and fruit. We do believe that protein from meat is important.  We also joined Weight Watchers several years ago and we’re still members.

Is there anything you gave up that you miss eating?

It’s been awhile so let me think. [Pause] I used to really like a jelly donut, but I’ve sworn off both the gluten and the sugar in that. I don’t really miss those things, it’s actually more of an inconvenience on others because you have to tell them you can’t eat that loaf of fresh baked bread they made for your visit.

Some people really are reactive to gluten, like my number one son. We don’t test reactive to gluten, but we still think it makes us healthier.

Your stated goal now is to qualify and compete in the National Senior Games in Albuquerque, and to visit as many state games as you could to spread your message of hope. What future goals will you have after that?

I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll try high jumping. I think I could do OK at that. I know what I’m not going to do – pickleball. We have a really nice running track at the local high school and it has four basketball courts in the middle where they play pickleball. When I get close to where they are playing I pick up my pace a little. [Makes sound] Pa-tick…pa-took…pa-tick…pa-took! [All Laugh]

 

One continuing goal must be to keep spreading your message of hope to others dealing with cancer and advising fitness and health for everyone.

You betcha. I do want to reach many people. But if even one person who feels negative about their life could feel positive, that would be enough for me. If it’s more, so much the better.

What hope do you have for yourself?

There’s a saying somebody had about wanting to die sliding sideways into the grave. Boom! That’s my idea of how life should be lived. [Laugh]

You have looked death in the face, and that usually brings a different perspective on life for people. How has your experience affected you?

I do see life differently now. Every day is a free day. It enabled me to do things I might not have done, like run 100 marathons. I guess having the myeloma made that a reasonable thing to do. Otherwise, why spend the money and the time to do that many? I will tell you that the travel kinda makes up for that. We have been to 50 states since I took this up, and we always allocate a day or two to look around.

I have to say there’s never been a better time in my life than right now. [Smile]