Hollyce Kirkland, 100, Sevierville, Tennessee

The match was set. The anticipated “Battle of the Centenarians” had created a buzz in Albuquerque at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Media lined up to cover the 50-meter race between 103-year-old Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins and upstart Hollyce Kirkland, who had just reached triple digits. When the gun sounded, however, only Julia was at the line. Where’s Hollyce?

It turns out that the Tennessee swimmer and runner had taken a fall the day before, and while it happened at the track, it wasn’t in competition. She was helping her athlete friend and travel companion Rhonda Ratcliff find her event, and says she was distracted by some attractive plantings and slipped while stepping up to look closer. The force of the fall bruised her face badly and knocked out a tooth. Amazingly for a woman her age, Hollyce said she had “a little pity party” and then got up angry because she would miss her track events and the chance to make some records. She did manage to pull herself together to carry the Tennessee flag in the Celebration of Athletes, and she’s already fixed on a goal to compete at the 2021 Games in Greater Fort Lauderdale, when she will be a spry 102.

Hollyce isn’t Superwoman, but she is a senior athlete, and NSGA athlete screening research has revealed that our highly active seniors only experience one-third as many falls as their age peers. Further, the rate of recovery for those who do experience a fall is much higher. Consider Hollyce Kirkland to be our Poster Girl for Active Aging.

Speaking with us in her delightful Southern drawl, Hollyce admits that she is blessed with good genes, but because she was raised on a farm, she believes that led her to always practice good health and exercise habits. Good genes are no advantage if you don’t take care of yourself. Sports were scarce for her growing up, but she had plenty of friends to bike, run and play with, and she recalls when the kids even built their own tennis court. In her adult life she fell in love with hiking in the Appalachian Mountains and volunteering to help mark and clean up trails.

Regular walks and swims at the local pool kept her going after retiring to the Volunteer State in 2000. Hollyce finally entered competition at the Tennessee Senior Olympics in her 80s and then traveled to California in 2009 to make her National Senior Games debut. She’s not an experienced or gifted athlete and focuses on the fitness and fellowship with others, but she always gives her best and is delighted to have set six NSGA age division records, including setting marks in 2019 for women 100+ in her 50-yard Breaststroke and 200-yard Freestyle performances.

Grab a glass of sweet tea and set a spell as Hollyce shares her story and some advice for us youngsters. Her biggest advice is to create a support team to help and encourage you to continue for the long run. Better listen to her – Hollyce may have been gifted good health, but her Personal Best attitude to keep moving and motivated has made the difference for her to cross the 100-year line.

Hollyce, congratulations on your good health and for breaking the century mark! We’re proud to have you in The Games!

Thanks, yes I will be 101 this year. I was born on 10-31-1919.

You were born on Halloween? Did you feel cheated having to share your birthday with trick or treating?

Yes that’s correct. It was fine, I didn’t feel left out at all. I had three sisters, so we always celebrated. We didn’t do a lot of trick or treating or chimney climbing, just celebrated it as my birthday, not Halloween.

There’s been another woman older than you on the track of late. You raced with Julia Hawkins in 2017. Are you looking forward to your next meeting in 2021?

Oh sure, I certainly would look forward to seeing her again! I didn’t really get to know Julia. I usually have someone with me, and we didn’t get to talk much. I do enjoy the company of the other people. I would not go if I didn’t enjoy it.

I am most fortunate that I have this to do. Now, I am not competitive enough that I would be concerned that she was going to take the title away from me. [Laugh]

Well, “Hurricane” Hawkins beat all of the 90+ women’s times. You did give us a scare in Albuquerque last June when you were a no-show at the 50-meter race with her. We found out later that you had taken a fall the day before.

Yes. All the swimming was finished so I was at the track stadium passing some time since I had no races that afternoon. I was walking around with my friend Rhonda Ratcliff looking for her long jump event. But I was also stepping up to look at the plantings that were a little uphill on the side…and I tripped and fell on my face. That was a trip that wasn’t necessary! [Laugh]

Important reminder for people, even active people, to be aware of your balance. How badly were you hurt?

I messed up my mouth and knocked out a tooth. But I was really having more of a pity party than I was hurting. [Laugh] I was also upset with myself for doing something stupid and it messed up my records.

I will say that I got good medical attention out there. But I sure did hate to miss out by not running on that event.

We are betting that nothing will keep you from going to Fort Lauderdale to finish that race in 2021.

That’s the plan!

One thing is certain – you are one tough woman, Hollyce.  

Growing up on the farm we always had something that we needed to do, and there was always somebody around who wanted to do something as well.  A group of us made up our own tennis court, if that tells you anything about the place I grew up in. We had rackets and we built the tennis court in the dirt.

Farm life is a very physical and active. That must have set the tone for your life and a big reason for staying healthy this long. 

Probably. I was active and had friends to be active with. We had trees to climb and bicycles to ride. I just didn’t have organized sports. I took up swimming after I finished high school. I also hiked a lot with a club that did maintenance on the Appalachian Trail. I served on the board of the group for some time in the ‘60s, and that’s how I met my husband Marvin. Marv was doing transportation for the group, and one night he came to pick up his friend and I happened to be the second passenger.

For the most part I have always been in good health. I would say that part of it is in my genes-my grandfather lived with us, and I knew my great grandfather as well if that tells you anything. I had one slight touch with cancer in 1985 and I had some lumps removed from my breasts. But that was about it. And I was raised on a farm, so I always have eaten fresh foods and not a lot of processed foods. Awhile ago, I was diagnosed with Celiac disease and that does limit the kinds of foods that I can eat now.

Are you a native Tennessee girl?

No, I was born in Texas and my family moved me to Greensboro, North Carolina when I was a couple months old. I stayed there until I was married. Later we moved to New Jersey and finally retired in Tennessee.

Did you go to college?

Not back then, I finished high school and then went to work. Greensboro has seven colleges and I took and took some courses at two of them in adult life. I ended up working at one of them.

What was your career?

I started as a printer’s devil, which meant I did anything that needs to be done, mostly communication and bookkeeping at the printer. Then I worked as a Methodist church secretary to a minister, and from there I became secretary to the president of the Methodist college in Greensboro. The college had night classes taught by a couple of the attorneys in town. I took the courses and then ended up working for them.

We moved to New Jersey for my husband’s job. We retired and moved to Tennessee in 2000. We decided on Tennessee because Marv had a real good friend here that was moving into a retirement home and we bought his house. Marv had hiked with this gentleman quite and bit and they were real good friends. We are very happy here.

So when did you get into competition and Senior Games?

I started swimming at the local pool here several days a week, and my friend Rhonda Ratcliff told me about Tennessee Senior Olympics and we went together. I think it was 2005 and it was my first competition. It was 2009 when I first went to the National Senior Games. That was in California.

Swimming is my first sport, but I like doing almost everything they offered on the track, too. That’s probably from all of my walking and hiking. In this part of Tennessee there are some great places to walk uphill and down.

You are living proof that it’s never too late to get into The Games!

Yeah, I guess so. To the people who tell me that I shouldn’t have started the Senior Games in my 80’s, I just shrug it off. The Senior Games opportunity gave me courage.

I will say that it’s important to have a support team around you. I went to California on my own but after that it was usually with Rhonda. She started in her 50’s while I was starting in my ‘80s. I have quit driving, so Marv gets me to the pool and Rhonda usually gets me to where I need to be for the sports competitions. Rhonda is the one who keeps me at it.

I can take care of myself, but you don’t want me out there by myself. If you want my advice, I can’t stress enough that it’s important to have a support team.

Your big reward for starting late is that you have less competition have set quite a few NSGA age group records.

I am most fortunate to have set the records at the National Senior Games. I won’t say that I am very competitive, but I do enjoy the sports and it’s fun to stand on the podium.

I will tell you that the fellowship is wonderful. It is always nice to go to the games with Rhonda and we’ve made many friends. It’s also a good excuse to go somewhere. It got us to California, Texas, Alabama, and New Mexico. Marv drove me to Ohio for the 2013 Games.

What would you tell others looking to start this as older adults?

I think I would start out by asking questions. Do you walk or swim? And if they did either of those, I would ask questions to help them choose a sport. They know what they’ve been through, what it took to get from point A to point B and whether they have a handicap or a special need. I can’t play ping pong or racquetball, but I can walk and swim.

I would also tell them it is age bracketed so you aren’t competing with a 50 year old at an older age. Then I assure them that’s its not body-eat-body. They will meet some wonderful people showing what they can do. Competition is really not what I go for, I go for the fellowship more than anything.

It’s important for people to know they will not embarrass themselves if they don’t win a medal or ribbon.  

One good thing about it is that you start out at your local level, and then state, and then Nationals. Along the way, you make your friends at the local level, and you add new ones at state. By the time you get to Nationals, you already have a support team that is with you.

So, your competitors are also part of your support team. You must also consider the Tennessee Senior Olympics staff and volunteers as part of it too.

Yes. I think that they do an excellent job. They are very patient and happy to help with whatever you need and they take you at whatever skill level you are at.

You worked at a church and Methodist college. How important is your spirituality to your outlook?

I am at church every week, and I worked in a church all my life. I am not a holy roller, but I take care of myself and I won’t try to take care of you. I do care about you, but I’m not expecting you to believe in everything I believe in or act like I act.

I would hate to worry about every hour of every day. I know that I have people who are going to help me and that I’m not here by myself. I’m thankful for enjoying good health and fortunate to have support.

It makes sense to us that you have a positive attitude and keep looking forward, Hollyce.

It does make sense, and of course that is what I do. I hadn’t taken time to analyze it. I have a mindset that as long as a have my support team then I can put forth the effort to go to the next meet and compete. I’m not disappointed if I don’t come out on top. I go with friends and I always have fun.

So, I have good health and a good support team. You can’t do these things without that.

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

Simeon Gipson, 74, Tahlequah, Oklahoma

A highlight of “Indian Day” activities held during the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Albuquerque was a live national broadcast of public radio’s Native America Calling. During the hour-long program, Oklahoma cyclist Simeon Gipson, who is half Cherokee and half Choctaw, captured the audience with his story and perspective. (Listen here.) We wanted to learn more.

Ten years ago, Simeon had no inkling he would be competing in National Senior Games. In fact, he retired early because he was feeling constant pain. He had undergone heart surgeries, a knee replacement, and had become severely diabetic from being overweight and not eating properly. Thinking he had been dealt his last hand, Simeon started planning to travel and spend more time with with family. But the will to overcome pulled him out of his funk.

He couldn’t bring himself to stick a needle in his belly, so he asked his wife to help prepare more healthy meals to try to beat it. He had been riding a bicycle to work in recent times and mentioned to his son maybe he should ride more to be fit. He hated exercise but loved pedaling through his Cherokee country. Two weeks later, his son presented him with a premium racing bike he bought used from a friend.

Simeon decided he had to get serious having received such a nice bike. He started extending his stamina for distance and joined in diabetes charity rides and other races before he entered his first Oklahoma Senior Games time trial in 2012. Limited finances and a racing injury prevented him from attending Nationals in 2013 and 2015. He drove all night to race in The Games in Birmingham in 2017, and in 2019 he was among a group of athletes selected for a “Hand up from Humana” scholarship to go to Albuquerque. He’s already gathering resources to make sure he can go to Greater Fort Lauderdale in 2021.

There’s a lot more to Simeon Gipson’s story than this. In the following edited conversation, he talks about growing up in a large family surrounded by poverty, feeling both grateful that his father had a good job and they always had food on the table, but also feeling isolated from his less fortunate neighbors. He recalls spending nine months each year at the nearby Indian Oaks Mission boarding school, and how he has returned five decades later to help form an alumni group and refurbish a century-old building on the campus into a museum to educate current youth. There’s more, from his military days in a submarine, to his annual 300-mile rides through the former Cherokee Nation and his growing involvement with speaking to youth, especially at his alma mater.

Simeon is not unlike many others involved in the Senior Games Movement who have found fitness, fun and fellowship in midlife through sports activity. He doesn’t care that he may never win a national medal. He considers his good health and newly found sense of purpose is worth his weight in gold, and he wants to tell others they can improve too. That is a Personal Best attitude!

 

Let’s start from the start. Were you born on a reservation? 

I was born in a log cabin out in the country in a little community called Bull Hollow in the northeast corner of Oklahoma. It is a poor area. It’s not really a reservation, they were done away with in this state when the government gave the property to individuals. Before we broke up it was called the Cherokee Nation. 90% of the natives that lived there were Cherokee.

My dad was from further south-he was Choctaw and my mom was Cherokee. When he first came up looking for work there was nothing available, so he basically did a little bit of farming and such. Then he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, working for the government as a heavy equipment operator. He traveled a lot and built probably 75% of the roads in northeast Oklahoma.

At home in the country, we were considered a little bit of outsiders because most of those people were very poor and we had meat on the table every night. One of the things it did was make me a loner because I didn’t want to be excluded, so I excluded myself.

How was your schooling? Did you play sports?

Our pastor asked my mother to send us to a Lutheran boarding school called Oaks Indian Mission. We could’ve gone to any of the local schools, but we were put at the boarding school to help stabilize the student population. We went there every fall for nine months until school let out in the spring. I was there for 12 years, so that was the school I grew up in. It was a dormitory type situation with a public school across the road.

There were 10 children in my family. There were five older in one group around my age, and there was a few years between us and the second five. The first group of us spent the most time at the boarding school.

I played two sports, basketball and football. I played center and defensive end in football.

Now I want to tell you here that I developed Polio shortly after I was born and fought it until I was 11 or 12 years old. I can remember times I tried to be in games like hide and seek, but when I would squat down my legs would lock up and I wasn’t able to move or get up. Sometimes I wasn’t able to walk and my brother Simon would carry me around on his back. He is who convinced my parents that I should play sports.

We’re glad you got past that! What happened when you finished high school?

I went two years to a local college, Northeastern State here in Tahlequah. Then, my second oldest brother got into a motorcycle wreck and he was near death. I stayed with him for nearly three weeks, and I thought I had an arrangement with the college to go back after my brother was better. But when I went back, they wouldn’t let me re-enroll. So, in the brilliance of a kid I said, “I’ll show you!” and was in the Navy two weeks later. [Laugh]

After I did boot camp in San Diego and completed “A School” in Great Lakes, our class was asked, “Would any of you men like to be in the submarine course?” Again, I showed my brilliance and said, “I’ll do it.” From that I learned you never volunteer for anything in the military. [Laugh]

They sent me to Connecticut for submarine school. While I was driving cross country I had a car wreck and broke my leg. I spent a few weeks at the VA hospital in Iowa City and then they transferred me back to Great Lakes to the big hospital for almost nine months before I got to Charleston, South Carolina and my first boat, the USS Harder 568. I’ll remember that number for the rest of my life. We went to countries like Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, and Bermuda, and eventually got transferred to the west coast, taking our submarine through the Panama Canal and ending up in San Diego.

I got married in 1969 before we did that, so I was gone nine months of the first year of my marriage. Victoria has been through thick and thin with me but mostly thick. We’ve had a good life together. So, I transferred back to Charleston and left the service after five years.

What was your career after you got out of the Navy?

I worked in this area. First, I worked in a Native American art museum for a short while. I was the night watchman, getting there at 11pm and spending all night long looking at things I knew were going to get me in the middle of the night. [Laugh]

The 2D [two dimensional] native artwork was very prevalent at that time. One day I looked at a painting on display and thought, “I wonder if I could do that?” So, I painted a 2D mountain view and gave it to the curator to see if it would sell. She called me about a week later and said that my painting sold! I could have been a successful painter of that type back then, but I just wasn’t interested in it.

From there I worked for various tribes in administrative positions within their housing programs. I spent about 14 years working in housing programs for different tribes and for the city of Tahlequah. I spent a few years working for the Bureau of Indian Affairs in California. Then I did carpentry work, and then I worked for the Department of Human Services WWH Hospital in Tahlequah in the medical legal section for 19 years before retiring. While I was still working, I was in a lot of pain from diabetes, two heart surgeries and having one of my knees replaced. I also had to have another knee replaced and tore some shoulder ligaments once I retired.

Did you retire so you could get yourself healthy? 

No, I retired so I could at least enjoy the last little bit of my life. Yes, I did think I was going to die. I was in terrible pain, I could barely walk at that time and I weighed about 250 pounds. I was taking five medications. It was just difficult for me. We were going to take my retirement fund and visit a few places that I had never been to before.

Is your diabetes under control now?

I was diagnosed in 1994. They told me I would need insulin shots, and once I got home I would sit there with the needle trying to get the shot into my belly, and I could not make myself do it. I knew I would have to control it somehow, so I told my wife that I need your help to try and get this thing under control. She said, “OK, I’ll make you the proper meals.” So together we got the thing under control.

We bet your cycling activity helped, too.    

Well, they went pretty much hand in hand. I was already cycling and I realized that I wasn’t as tired anymore and my cycling made me want to eat properly. But I’m not a strict diet person. I can’t get by eating Brussels sprouts. I love candy and cake. If I see a piece of cake, I’m going to eat it and deal with it tomorrow. I’ll ride a little extra tomorrow for that slice of cake. [Laugh]

When I first started cycling I weighed about 250 pounds, and right now I stay at about 175 to 180 and I feel good. The only medication I take now is aspirin.

Sounds like you are a late bloomer with cycling.

Yes, I took up riding on my own in the last few years I was working. I rode a bicycle five miles into town from my house to work.

How did you get serious about doing more miles?

My son Simeon James is mainly who started it. I’ve been retired for 10 years now, and about two years after I retired, I told him that I was thinking about taking up exercise. I told him because my knee was so bad, I couldn’t play basketball anymore so I’m thinking about bicycling, and he just says “OK.” Then two weeks later he bought me a Klein racer that he bought used from a friend. That sells for around $5,000 but he got it much cheaper. I’m getting the bike refurbished right now, and that is the one I’ll ride in the next National Senior Games.

By the way, my son plays golf. He’s looking forward to becoming 50 and getting into Senior Games in 2023.

At the time, did you think you would race the bike your son gave you? 

No no, I was just content riding five to six miles every day, but when he gave me that bike I thought, “Oh man, I’m gonna have to justify him buying this for me.” At that point I decided that I was going to ride longer distances, but I hadn’t thought about racing yet.

I thought 10 miles was a long distance, but once I had the bike I started riding it further and further. Since I have diabetes, I committed myself to doing at least two 25-mile diabetes charity rides every year. After the first year with this bike, my son asked if I wanted to go to Wichita Falls, Texas with him for the Hotter’N Hell Hundred bike ride. That’s how it went.

When did Senior Games cycling come into play?

It was put in front of me in 2012 by someone who has encouraged me all along. Kathleen Fitzgerald from the Oklahoma Senior Games called and urged me to try it. I’m not sure how she knew about me, but I had actually played basketball in the Huntsman games in Utah in ’96 and we got a bronze. We qualified for the 1997 national games in Tucson but didn’t go.

Kathleen was helping with Senior Games in Florida and came up here and revitalized the Oklahoma games that had been dormant at the time. She talked me into competing and now it’s a part of my life. There were maybe 15 riders in that first year, but it’s grown since then. I’m happy to have been a part of her life in helping to reintroduce the games to Oklahoma.

When was you first National Senior Games? 

I qualified to go to Cleveland in 2013 but wasn’t able to go because of finances. In 2015, I also qualified, but at a race in Kansas I got about halfway around in the race and my knee just screamed out at me. I didn’t go to the Minneapolis games because of that.

Birmingham in 2017 was my first National Senior Games, and we drove all night to get there. We raced time trials one day and the next day was postponed because of rain. We planned on coming and doing two days of racing and then going home but we managed to scrape up enough money to stay a couple more days.

And you were a recipient of a scholarship from Humana to help get you to The Games in Albuquerque last year.

The scholarship gave me the opportunity to experience The Games fully. I want to thank Pastor Don Marshal at the Oaks Indian Mission for nominating me. I’m grateful to Humana for the scholarship I got, but I wouldn’t want to apply for it again and take away an opportunity from another athlete. In the past I’ve waited too long to start getting money, so I am already starting a year early this time around.

We hear you take a bike ride across the Cherokee Nation every year. What is that about? 

I do it every year. The Cherokee Nation has 10 casinos in the 14 counties they call home. It is something to ride through this country. I start south and go to each of the casinos that I can. I ride to Sallisaw about 40 miles south of us and come back to Siloam Springs which is just north of us almost in Arkansas. It’s about 300 miles in total. Of course, I don’t do it all in one day, I just take my time.

Let’s turn now to your volunteer work with Oaks Indian Mission that people have praised you about.

I had been away and had never thought of going back after I graduated. I went to a few basketball games, but the school was pretty much out of my mind until 40 years later. I thought, “What have I done for the place I went to school?”

We came up with this project and got funding to put together an alumni group and reunion. The first year there was about 50 of us, the next year there was close to 70, and this year we are hoping to get 100 to come. Most of them are older like me. We have a banquet every year and give an award and provide clothes to kids with the money that we have. Most are poor and they can’t get the Nikes that everyone else wears. Developing self-esteem in the children is important.

The project kind of just grew from there. We started talking about things that we could really do to help on the campus, and we decided to remodel a 100-year-old building into a museum. We all have stories and pictures and about what it was like when we were there. We want that to be saved to show the children what it was like 50 years ago. We weren’t pursuing any money but a man up in Nebraska who has sponsored the school for years gave us $10,000 to start it. Then he gave us another $50,000. We are all poor people, and then all of a sudden we had this money. Well, I guess we had to do it now! [Laugh] We had a dedication event last May with the grand opening coming this year.

Do you mentor the youth? 

I speak occasionally at a Lutheran church in Oklahoma City, and I speak to the kids at the mission. My brother conducts a service there on Wednesdays, so l go with him and speak regularly. I want to keep the kids on their toes by giving them advice, life advice. I also tell them I never want to grow up! [Laugh]

What do you tell them about life and taking care of themselves?

I teach that life is fair, and it treats everybody the same way whether it’s good or bad, whether you are a rich person or poor person. You have to be strong enough to use the good times to survive the bad times.

Kids like to ask how far I ride, and I tell them 25 miles a day now but I didn’t do that from the start. It took years to get up to 25 miles. Years to get to 100 miles. I tell them everyone can do it, and it can be easier for youth to do it because they have a lot of energy and stamina and can do anything I can do. It doesn’t come easy, but it will become easy if you stay active.

Let’s close with a simple question: What motivates you to cycle and go compete in Senior Games?

What motivates me isn’t the medals. It’s just doing it at my age. I’m not supposed to be doing things like this and that’s what motivates me. I like to hear people talk behind my back saying, “How can he do that?” Those secret accolades that people don’t think I hear are what motivates me.

I would like to get a medal, but the thing is that I cycle alone and I do not know how to train. I have no clue about how I should train. I just ride my miles. I have never tried to get fast because I don’t know how. I’m usually finishing about 75% back in the pack of riders.

I do it because it is so much fun. My doctors ask me what I do for exercise and I tell them I don’t do anything for exercise. Then I tell them about how many miles I ride my bike and their jaws drop. They say it’s exercise, but I tell them that I don’t think of it as exercise because if I do then I’m probably not going to do it. [Laugh]

 

 

 

 

Kate Fisken, 77, Bethesda, Maryland

People who know Kate Fisken say she has a heart as big as the ocean. Perhaps that’s why she swims, but it’s really a statement reflecting on the retired Maryland accountant’s lifelong commitment to serve others, which dates back to when President Kennedy called on citizens to do “what you can do for your country.” Kate served in India with the Peace Corps after college, and has been doing volunteer work with nonprofits since, including more recent board service with her local masters swimming club, the Maryland Senior Olympics and the National Senior Games Association.

Swimming also developed Kate’s tenacity and resilience through high school competition and taking on the wild surf of the Pacific Ocean while in college. Being pre-Title IX, there was no college swim team for her to join. Opportunities to swim were more limited during her Peace Corps service, and afterwards, as she says in the following interview, “My family came along, and you know what happens.”

Ironically, a 1999 car accident injury and a bad twist on a yoga mat five years later pointed Kate back to the pool. Her spine injury presented options of invasive surgery or radical rehabilitation therapy and pain tolerance. Kate chose to commit to the hard work, and the swimming lane became her path to restored health and ongoing wellness. She couldn’t swim even one lane on her first day back in the pool, but in less than a year she completed her goal to finish the one-mile Chesapeake Bay swim in 2006. To date, she has since competed in over 115 masters swimming events, including Maryland Senior Olympics and regular appearances at National Senior Games since 2009. 

Life never stops presenting challenges to overcome, and Kate had to face a bout with uterine cancer in early 2017. She was disappointed to cancel plans for a triathlon relay with two former Peace Corps friends, but equally determined to at least show up in Birmingham for the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Not only did she compete, she logged her best time for the 500 Freestyle event.

Kate Fisken and her supportive husband Bernie (also a past Peace Corps volunteer) are now retired from the company they began, and she reports her sciatica is now manageable with over the counter medications. In what follows, she repeatedly credits her swimming with restoring her health, and for staying motivated through the goals she sets for Senior Games competition. Her athletic experiences have enriched her life and motivated her more to volunteer and to present a Personal Best life example. She hopes to inspire others to follow their own path to healthy aging…and to also consider giving back to make the world a little better.

Let’s start at the beginning, Kate. How long have you been swimming?

I grew up in Seattle and that’s where I learned to swim when I was two or three. I had two brothers and a sister. My grandmother was very instrumental in teaching me how to swim. She rode horses and was quite an athlete.

When she came to visit, she put me on the kitchen table and showed me how to move my arms and kick. She was something. Both of my grandmothers were very athletic, and so were my mother and my father.

Were you on a swim team as a youth?

I started swimming competitively in junior high in Pennsylvania and in high school in Ohio. We moved back east and I swam in summer leagues. But when I got to college there wasn’t women’s sports, so I’m one of these women that were caught by pre-Title IX.

After college, when did swimming come back for you? 

Well, I am an ocean swimmer and I did a lot of body surfing and board surfing while I was in college in California. My mom was a great ocean swimmer, too. She was amazing and set that example for me.

I joined the Peace Corps and went to India after college from 1964 to 1966. Wherever I could swim, I swam. But what happened after was basically my family came along, and you know what happens. The day-to-day took over, and I didn’t swim again until after I was severely injured in a car accident in 1999.

Tell us about that experience.

My husband and I were living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and we were commuting back and forth to downtown Washington, DC where we had our public accounting practice. One morning – it must’ve been before 6 O’clock – we drove onto some black ice in our 4-wheel drive truck. I was driving and we skidded off the road in the middle of cornfields and cattle. I told Bernie, ‘OK, let’s call AAA and we’ll have them get us past the black ice, or we will just wait here until the sun comes up.’ He took a flare to the top of the hill. I took my seatbelt off to get my phone to call AAA. Just as that happened, a truck came over the hill and hit the corner of our truck. I did a 180 and flew out of the truck.

How terrifying!

I can still hear to this day my husband screaming my name and I kept saying ‘I’m OK I’m OK I’m OK.’ Then another three or four vehicles drove past and someone called 911. The next thing I remember was being put on a board. They said, ‘Raise your head,’ and I couldn’t. They took me to the nearest hospital in Warrenton, Virginia. I was pretty badly bruised on my back and my arms but they couldn’t find anything wrong. When we went home I stayed in bed for a couple of days. I was pretty beat up, but I recovered.

Then about five years later, that was in June 2004, I’m in a yoga class and my knees were over on the right side of me. I twisted my shoulders and hurt something. I said, ‘Oh no,’ and couldn’t get off the floor. I had twisted my spine and there must have been a hairline fracture. I have what’s called a Grade 2 Spondylolisthesis in my L4 vertebrae.  What that means is my spinal column kinda takes a little detour-it comes down and then goes around L4 and then it goes back to the L5 and down to the coccyx. It’s still there.

Did they operate to correct it? Like a fuse?

No fuse, all the doctors wanted to do what’s called a laminectomy to take bone from my hip, take out the vertebrae, and fill it in with screws and rods. I then met with Dr. Arthur Kobrine, who is the doctor who saved Jim Brady when he was shot in the Reagan assassination attempt.

He told me that it’s a very tough operation and you are not guaranteed anything, and then asked if I could live with the pain. I told him it doesn’t happen every day and I can live with it as long as I have some meds. He said, ‘OK, if you don’t want to have an operation, we have to do radical physical therapy, and if you can lose a little weight and swim, you might want to try that and see if it can help your recovery.’ That’s where my journey led me, and I am very grateful to him.

You were fortunate to have a great physician caring for you.

Yes, and I grew up in a family where we didn’t go to doctor right away. We would take our time and see if the body would heal itself. That’s just the way I was raised, but obviously there is a huge role for medical expertise particularly with what happened to me.

The first day I went to the pool I had to get over what my body looked like in a swimsuit. [Laugh] Once I got in the pool, I couldn’t even swim a length. During the fall of 2004, I would make myself swim longer every day, and then finally I got up to speed by May or June in the following year. I really needed a goal, so that’s why I found masters swimming and my goal was to swim the Chesapeake Bay one-mile swim in 2006.

So you found a goal that took you back to your ocean swimming in the past.

When I was a little kid, one of my dreams was to be like Florence Chadwick. We had a little tiny television and my mom and I watched her swim the English Channel, and I said ‘Someday I’m gonna do that.’  So, my goal was to swim Chesapeake Bay, and that’s what I did.

How have you been getting into swimming shape since coming back? 

I regularly work out with the U.S. masters swimming club in Montgomery County. We are called the Ancient Mariners. Our meet every year is called the Albatross Open, and our newsletter is The Rime. [Laugh]

Ancient Mariners! That’s a really cool masters swim club name.

Yeah, we have a great group. I really enjoy diving in and swimming with other folks, and even when I’m not at masters, I meet a couple of women at the pool on a regular basis. I go Saturday and Sunday mornings, and I try to get in one or two mornings during the week. I don’t keep track, but I know I swim probably between 5,000 and 7,000 meters a week.

You must be sore after a long swim.

We have this joke at the pool, if it doesn’t hurt then you aren’t doing it right. [Laugh]

So that’s how it all got started again, and then I went to the Maryland Senior Olympics swim meet in 2006 and met a woman by the name of Nancy Brown. She really encouraged me to keep it going and be part of the National Senior Games. I later learned that Nancy set a world record for the 100-meter short course backstroke in 1991 and was featured in Sports Illustrated. Sadly, she died from cancer just recently. She coached Maryland masters and was a role model for all of us.

Another inspiration. Has it been smooth waters for you since then?

I wish. Before the 2017 Games I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. I was getting ready to do a triathlon relay in Florida with two of my Peace Corps buddies who are both very accomplished athletes. One was going to do the running, another was going to do the bike, and I was going to be the swimmer. But I had to back out and get an operation.

I was determined – I can’t tell you how determined I was – to go to Birmingham and swim National Senior Games. I didn’t care if I didn’t train but I was going to show up, and I did. I realized that so much of competitive swimming is attitude and your head, because I had my best 500 free and I couldn’t believe it.

Things are much better now. I don’t have the sciatica I used to have. I get it sometimes, but I don’t have it regularly. I don’t take any pain meds except for over the counter Advil.

Have you won medals? 

I should send you a picture of them. When I swam the Chesapeake Bay I came in second and I’m like “What??” Then I went to the Maryland Senior games swim meet and I won medals. Whenever I go to a U.S. masters meet I usually win medals. I’m usually in the top eight. And the older I get, the less competition I find. It’s funny, but we athletes can’t wait to age up into the next age group.  I am 78 as of March, so I’ve got another year in my 75 to 80 group. When I go to Florida in 2021, I’ll be in the top of my age bracket, and then after that I will be the youngster again. [Laugh]

Of course, medals are great, but the health benefits you have gained is the best Gold.

It’s made a big difference in my life. The people I’ve met and swim with on a regular basis are wonderful to be around. The camaraderie is great, and we help each other when we can.  And it keeps me fit! When I go to my doctors they are like, ‘Whatever you are doing, don’t ever stop.’

Do you think about winning or just getting a best time when you compete? 

I try to always get better times. When you compete like I do, you know the swimmers year after year. When I get in the pool, I know who is going to beat me and who probably won’t beat me. One of my great friends is Betsy Beddow from Oklahoma. She is a great swimmer and was in the summer Olympics in 1964. I met her at the National Senior Games in Cleveland in 2013 and she beat me in the 50 free by one-tenth of a second. I said, ‘Betsy you are never going to do that again, I’m gonna beat you the next time.’

There’s a lot of good-natured banter between athletes at this age level. 

I think it’s not about the winning. It’s about the getting up every day with people who you love to be around and have the same goal as you. I mean, we’re not Michael Phelps or Katie Ledecky, we’re people who love to exercise and swimming is that sport that fits us best.  I always try to improve my own time so that’s kind of where I’m coming from.

We always see your husband Bernie with you wherever you go. People tell us what a cute couple you are. 

We’ve been married 51 years. Bernie and I got married in 1968 and we lived overseas in Nicaragua and Bolivia after the Peace Corps. He was in the Peace Corps too, in Ecuador, but we didn’t meet each other until we were finished. I met him in Palo Alto, California. Bernie’s career was the same as mine. He has an MBA from Wharton in public accounting, and we had our own business working together for over 25 years.

Why isn’t Bernie swimming?

Bernie doesn’t like the water. He didn’t learn to swim when he was a kid. He grew up in downtown Boston and he didn’t learn to ride a bike or swim until later as an adult.

Well, that’s love for you! Let’s turn to your volunteer spirit of giving back. How did you get involved with volunteering for Senior Games? 

I’ve always been a volunteer with nonprofits and throughout my life. I started out my volunteer work in the Peace Corps in India. President Kennedy asked to give back to your country with your volunteerism.

When I came back, I did all kinds of things. I am proud that I started a daycare for migrant workers in California, and then when I got to DC I started an after school program at my kids elementary school, and started a group called Friends of India. That just sort of mushroomed into working with nonprofits.

I also taught swimming to little kids for Montgomery County in the summer. I like the little kids, the two- to four-year-olds. It’s mainly safety, showing them how to get in and out safely. You know, drowning is now the number one cause of accidental death in children in the U.S. It used to be cars. This motivates me big time. I feel like I’m the grandma giving back. I had to stop when my husband had a stroke, but I’ll probably do it again this summer.

In senior swimming, I was secretary for my masters group several years, and recently became the treasurer. I’m also the treasurer of the Maryland Senior Olympics board.

And we’re happy to have you serving on the NSGA Board of Directors since 2017 too!    

I came to NSGA through Maryland Senior Olympics. The executive director at that time was Ted Wroth and he suggested I ought to try to get on the national board. I gave it a whirl and I enjoy it.

You stay busy, but you obviously enjoy giving back.

Basically, if it wasn’t for NSGA, I wouldn’t have had the goals that I’ve experienced with my swimming. I couldn’t believe when I went to my very first national competition at the 2009 Games in Palo Alto. What a great group of people I found, and how well the games were run. I decided I want to be a part of this and someday give something back to NSGA.

Everyone has their own unique situation, but what advice do you offer to others inspired by you?

People ask me you how did you do this or that, and I tell people that you have to be gentle with yourself. That’s because a lot of people try swimming and then give up because they can’t keep up with x, y, or z. You need to start out slow and just keep doing it. For me it became therapy, it really did, maybe some mental therapy but more physical therapy with my back.

For those who look at us and say, ‘No, I could never do it,’ I encourage them to just do it for recreation and fitness. I’ve swam with a guy who is very crippled now from MS since 2005. He comes to the pool and he gets in the water and he swims. It’s about his wellbeing more than anything, both mental and physical.

What I have accomplished bears witness to the fact that your body can be resourceful if you are given the right instructions. I have always been someone who achieves a goal. It’s not about me. It’s about the ability of a person to achieve a goal and move on with their lives. That’s the best way I can say it.

It’s hard to imagine how you would be doing if you had not jumped back in the water, Kate.

I can’t tell you what a difference this has meant to me and my personal life. It’s given me a goal. It’s given me a reason to get up and go to the pool and it just fits very well in my life.

Obviously, the adrenaline and the high that you get after you exercise is so healthy for your body. There’s the camaraderie you get from your swim mates. With swimming, it is a cardiovascular exercise, and if you can set goals that are realistic you will never stop swimming. My goal is to win a gold medal when I’m 90. I figure I’ll just outlive everybody. [Laugh]

 “Mr. Impossible”

Andy Steinfeldt, 71, Minnetonka, Minnesota

People are realizing how much more they can do and achieve in the second half of their lives, and that applies to every senior athlete who is challenging aging stereotypes. When we see stories about Senior Games athletes doing unexpected and sometimes extreme things, we take notice.

 In 2019, Minnesota distance runner, track & field athlete and basketball player Andy Steinfeldt made international news when he held an abdominal plank for a mind-boggling 38 minutes on his birthday in front of an audience and the media. (Watch here) Sounds improbable for a 71-year-old man to do, but after we had the following jaw-dropping conversation with Andy that reveals all of the challenges he has overcome to reach that point, our rational minds screamed out that what he did truly seems impossible.

 Meet “Mr. Impossible.”

 The planking demonstration was Andy’s extreme way to show others that they can do more to be healthy and active. It also represents an intense effort to fight his way out of a bad series of life and medical challenges in recent years, and to prove others wrong about what they felt wasn’t possible for him to do.

 In our conversation, Andy recounts being emotionally overwhelmed after trouble came in threes –over a span of two years his business crashed, his father died, and his best friend was senselessly murdered. There were times he wondered why he should get out of bed, but he pulled himself together and started to run at the suggestion of his son. He would eventually take off 50 pounds of fat and add 15 pounds of muscle back onto his frame. But then came some daunting medical problems, starting with a blood clot in his leg that required emergency surgery which went awry and left him with only one of three arteries in his right leg functional. He was told he would have permanent challenges with walking, let alone running. Andy refused to believe it and went to work building collateral circulation through extreme workouts. Within a year, Andy was back to running 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons, and eventually full marathons—which he hadn’t achieved prior to the circulation challenge. In the process, he was able to stimulate his leg to regenerate veins and capillaries and reach full circulation, something his doctors had never seen before. He was called “one in a billion” by the head of sports medicine at Mayo Clinic. “Mr. Impossible” had made his first statement.

 Then came prostate cancer with abdominal surgery and later ongoing radiation sessions. Again, there was a serious complication and Andy was subjected to a second major surgery the same day. He was told after this and two more procedures that also weakened his abdomen that he would have to seriously curtail exercises that challenge the abdominal muscles. Once again, he proved everyone wrong, punctuated by his public planking performances. To get there, Andy committed himself to an intensive cross training workout regimen to augment his YMCA fitness classes, running and basketball activity. He even devised what he calls his “Strength and Endurance Trifecta” with repetitions of pushups, handstand pushups, and abdominal planks. The result? A 71-year-old cancer patient with a severely compromised abdomen was defying gravity for longer than any other human his age had recorded before. And he plans to break his own planking record each year on his birthday.

Read on. There’s more you should know about Andy’s difficult early life, and he has launched a singing career that has produced multiple recordings and has taken him to Brazil twice to perform and record. (And “Mr. Impossible” performs and records in six languages!)  Andy’s greatest new passion is to share a multimedia motivational presentation of his inspiring story far and wide to all ages. He ends his talks with a series of handstand pushups and a song.

Andy Steinfeldt’s message is not for others to copy his extreme measures; rather, it’s that if he can do what he has done despite his challenges, then all aging adults can do more to be fit and better able to face the challenges that come along – even if they appear impossible to overcome. 

 

Andy, we have to start by asking about the planking achievement that got you international media attention last year.  

I’ve set what I believe to be an abdominal planking record for anyone 70 and over, and I’ve done it two years in a row on my birthday in March. The best time I could find searching the Internet for age records was that the most on record for 70 and over was just over 36 minutes, and I beat that the first year. Last year, I got the press to come out and I beat my previous time by a couple of minutes. I expected to go a lot longer, but I had just finished a course of 38 abdominal radiation treatments, and I think it had sapped some strength. I am confident that I will break my own record by a lot next time.

Did Guinness certify the record? 

When I Googled about age records, I found a press release about a 71-year-old woman who did almost 37 minutes, and that it was a Guinness record. So I thought that was what I had to beat, and I did.

 

Turns out that Guinness doesn’t have age level records, and what that woman did was the female record for all ages. A woman from Canada blew that away since then. And a 62-year-old guy in Chicago recently did it for over eight hours. I thought I was built – you should see this guy! I’m not in that league at all, but I may still have done the longest plank for my age. I can’t find anything that disproves that.

 

My goal is simply to go for at least 40 minutes on my next birthday, and to keep doing it every year and to do better than I did the year before, at least until my age finally catches up with me and my time begins to decline. But even then, it will probably be a record for the age I will be.  I’m not resting on my laurels-I’m always trying to improve on the things I do. It’s what keeps me juiced!

 

You mention prostate cancer. Was that a motivation to shape up to do something extreme like this?   

One of them, yes. There have been several over the past decade. But it’s the biggie.

 

I was diagnosed in 2014 and had my prostate removed. Long story short, it was a botched surgery. They used robotics, and when they sewed me up I had a lot of pain and went into kidney failure. They had to open everything up again and unkink a ureter. The second surgery went on hours longer than expected because a needle dropped off one of the robotic arms and they couldn’t easily retrieve it. They probably had to do a lot of pushing on my organs. My abdomen filled with fluid and the drain tube had to be left in for three weeks instead of the usual three days. I was having cramps and was doubled over and sometimes screaming. It was like being in hell. I eventually had to call 911 after three weeks of near-constant misery. It turned out that the drainage tube was pressed against both my bladder and large intestine causing near-constant spasms, and after they removed it I was okay.

 

What an ordeal!

There’s more. They had made six openings in my abdomen with this robotic surgery, and then they had to open them all over again. That’s a dozen, and within two years I also had an appendectomy and a surgery on a hernia which developed on one of the scars from the prostate surgery. All in all, I had 14 incisions over two years, and every one is known to weaken your abdomen. They either go through or between muscles, and then break through the layer below called the omentum. They suggested that I should be done with doing sit-ups and such, but I refused to accept that.

 

I decided to see what I could do to restore my abdomen. After lots of strengthening work, I invented what I call the “Strength and Endurance Trifecta” with the aspiration that it will become a worldwide competition. It’s a combination of the abdominal plank, regular pushups, and handstand pushups with 30 seconds of rest between activities. You would be hard pressed to devise a more severe torture test for the abdomen. In my case, to perform it regularly might be damaging, but to prepare I cross train at least twice daily with various abdominal exercise routines. By the way, I only actually plank for long periods when I’m performing for the record.

 

So you proved them wrong!

Yes, and I’ve done that many times and I’m still standing. For example, I had barely started running in my 60s when I was told by my doctors that I couldn’t do it anymore. [Laugh] Here’s what happened: I started to run in 2014 shortly before I had my medical problems. My eldest son was doing a half marathon in Indiana and wanted me to come along and do the 5K. That’s 3.1 miles – I couldn’t run 3.1 blocks – I really couldn’t. He said I didn’t have to run the whole way–I could stop and walk. So I trained during the few weeks until the race and steadily increased my range. The course was hilly, but I only stopped three times. I didn’t get a stellar time, but there was no one else in my age range, so I won the blue ribbon for my age group in my first race. [Laugh]

 

Then came the next hit – I got a blood clot in my right leg and only then found that I had a congenital clotting disorder. If I had known that I would have been taking blood thinners. I was hospitalized, and they unsuccessfully tried to flush it out with IV blood thinners. They finally tried a procedure with a needle and it punctured an artery. My leg filled up with blood, and in order to save it they had to perform a fasciotomy, which involves massive and deep cuts on both sides of the lower leg. They had to cut through muscles and nerves, which is very debilitating in itself, but on top of that I was permanently left with only one of three arteries functioning in that lower leg.

Talk about tough surgeries! That sounds crippling.

Tell me about it. So I was told I wouldn’t run again, but if it healed well maybe I could take a long walk. It took six months for just the incisions to fully heal. I was told that if I worked really hard and exercised the leg aggressively, I could develop what’s called collateral circulation. That’s when you develop smaller veins and capillaries to recover the circulation to some degree. I worked like crazy and it wasn’t long before I was able to run again. In fact, the circulation in my right foot is now identical to the left, and the doctors at the Mayo Clinic had never seen that before. It was due to having had a great surgeon, but mostly to how hard I worked to recover.

 

I worked back into running and then entered races of increasing lengths, and finally marathons. I also became a competitive sprinter, long jumper, and triple jumper. Last year I ran my third full marathon the day after returning late at night from the National Senior Games in Albuquerque.

 

We’ll get to Senior Games in a moment, but first tell us more about your early life – did you do sports?

My mother died when I was four and my father had a hard time holding it together, so my sister and I were shipped off to relatives in Iowa for a couple years, and then we came back. My dad wasn’t athletic, and there really wasn’t much available for organized sports for kids at that time until you were in upper school.  I went to St. Louis Park High School in a suburb of Minneapolis, which was a big school with over 700 in each class. It wasn’t a shoo-in that a decent athlete would make varsity.

 

Besides that, because of my unusual upbringing I had emotional issues and was drinking as an adolescent. I got caught by the police, and at that time Minnesota had a law that banned you from varsity sports for a year if you were caught with alcohol or substances. It ought to be the opposite, you should be made to do sports! [Laugh] So I may have been a “bubble” player to begin with, but I was banned from sports for my entire sophomore year, which sealed my fate as far as varsity sports were concerned. I took up partying as an alternative.

So, you didn’t know if you were a good athlete or not.

I did play Little League baseball and rec basketball through high school, and I also worked out a lot. I was a muscle guy and loved to lift weights. Honestly, I may have had what it took, but I wasn’t motivated to excel in sports, and the system in place certainly wasn’t encouraging me. For college, I went to the University of Wisconsin, which of course was too huge for someone of my size and unexceptional capabilities to compete. I did enjoy playing rec basketball.

 

Were you active after college?

I did play basketball and kept myself pretty much in shape for many years. I was the scoring champion in my over-35 league into my 40s. I played some golf too, but basketball was always my favorite sport. When I reached my 50s, I became less active, wasn’t eating right and started gaining weight. In fact, 20 years ago I looked older than I do now. But after all these life challenges and health issues hit me about ten years ago, I started running and resolved to get my health back and to ‘up my game.’ I now thrive on setting lofty goals and being competitive.

 

You have mentioned the medical issues. What else was life dealing you?

For many years I owned a successful manufacturing company which made upscale signs and displays. My big product was those prismatic three-panel displays you used to see on billboards, especially in big cities. I had over 100 employees at the peak around 2005, but due to a sudden “perfect storm” of factors, the business closed its doors in 2010 and it hit me hard. I didn’t do much of anything for a couple years. During that time my father died, then my best friend and several others were killed in a horrible workplace shooting incident. Then I had all of my medical problems.

 

Oh, my!

Yeah. I hadn’t made any plans for what to do next and didn’t have any reason or motivation to get out of bed except to do some exercising. It was a depressing time to say the least. Those were the hardest years of my life until I started back with my athletic stuff and eventually rose above it all.

 

Wow. So Senior Games and the planking challenge got you out of your funk?

Yes, plus the running, and of course a very supportive family.  I started competing in 2018 at the Iowa Senior Games to do track and field events and saw they also offered basketball. That’s my sport. I couldn’t find enough local guys my age willing to drive down there as a team, but the Iowa folks were nice enough to make a few calls and I got onto a 70+ team from Nebraska that was short one player. That team won the gold, and I joined their team that went to South Dakota and we won gold there too. That qualified me for Nationals.

 

 

The following year I found a team in Minnesota (in the next lower 65+ age group) that had a guy drop out. I joined them for the Nationals in Albuquerque just in time. Unfortunately, I ruptured a tendon in my left hand playing basketball in the spring so I was not stellar. I couldn’t shoot well, but I could play make and drive the ball. I wasn’t a big factor, but I sure enjoyed doing it.

 

By the way, I had a fiberglass cast after I had surgery on my arm. I decided to go to the neighborhood court to see how I could shoot with one hand only. I surprised myself and made a video for fun, and to use in my “overcoming obstacles” motivational presentations. [Watch it here] So instead of being bummed about not being able to play, I practiced shooting one-handed almost daily, and now I’ve added some new shots to my game I didn’t have before.

 

Another challenge met! What was your impression of the National Senior Games?

It was absolutely awesome to see what people can do at these ages. You see it also at the state level, but there’s such a huge number at the Nationals. Seeing Pat Boone playing basketball at 85 was fantastic. Between my events, I went to check out some of the sports I had never dreamed of playing. It was a lot of fun, and I especially liked looking around the Village exhibit area.

 

I quickly learned that I’m competitive on the state level and not so much at this level where you have lots of serious competitors who’ve been doing this forever. Now that I see what the national competition is like, it’s challenging me to work harder on everything. I hope to medal there someday, and to do it with fewer working arteries than the competition is a little added challenge. [Laugh]

 

You respond fiercely to challenges. Some of this seems impossible to achieve. What caused you to become this ornery, Andy?

[Laugh] That’s a good question. Maybe it’s got something to do with aging. If I’m ever going to take on a challenge, I guess it’s now. Also, establishing measurable goals really helps to focus, which in turn helps distract from life’s other challenges—like cancer, in my case. And once I realized I could excel in one area, it gave me the confidence to try new challenges.  For instance, I’d never heard of the triple jump until I saw in listed in Iowa in 2018.  Now that I’ve medaled in it in numerous state senior games and I’ve got my sights on pole vaulting for the next challenge.

 

All of this is part of my multimedia presentation which I’m constantly updating. A close acquaintance at a social media agency asked me to come tell my story a couple of summers ago. I put together a presentation and spoke to this group of millennials and ended by doing 25 handstand pushups, which of course none of them could do. That really got their attention and a big ovation. I was in better shape than most of them. [Laugh]

 

I’ve since done many talks, and I’m eager to share my story more. Maybe not everybody has the ability to do many of the things I’ve done, but everybody has the ability to be better than they are now–I don’t care who they are. I just ran into a friend at the Y today. His wife has MS and uses a wheelchair, and she’s in there three times a week working out on the equipment with his sweet assistance. She’s not going to be running marathons, but it may delay development of the disease, plus it helps take her mind off of it.

 

Most people aren’t in that dire of straits, but maybe they are overweight, out of shape, or simply don’t think they can do certain things that they actually could do. But everyone can do a little more or a little better. I’ve overcome alcoholism, depression, obesity, and then all these physical challenges I was told I couldn’t overcome. If I can give somebody a little spark, you know, get out of the idea that ‘My fitness life’s over, I’m just going to enjoy my grandkids and become a couch potato,’ I feel great about doing that.

 

You are in amazing shape given everything you have shared. How do you exercise and train to achieve that?

One of the keys to my success is to do cross training. In fact, I go against all the rules of distance running, such as the notion that you should run 50 or more miles per week. I don’t think I run one marathon’s worth of distance training in a whole year. Instead, I do a lot of strength training. I lift weights, not heavy weights, just a lot of repetitions. I do squats to build up my leg strength. And I never practice long planks either. I do tons of core exercises such as various crunches, short planks, mountain climbers, bridge exercises, etc. For sprinting events I do some practice, but for distance running I think the downside of doing a lot of road work is greater than the benefit for me at my age. I do various types of low-impact training which mimic or are similar to the running motion, such as elliptical machines, biking and swimming. I also do water running.

 

Another thing I do is play basketball three times a week with competitors in all age groups except my own—that also boosts my endurance and strength. Additionally, my YMCA offers a lot of classes that I take advantage of. By doing cross training this way I don’t grow to hate running or doing the plank.

 

You do a lot of things against the grain, and you’ve said some of it may not be right for others. What’s the most important advice you can give others that is common with your practices now?

Well, I do my own thing a lot, and I don’t work with a trainer. But there’s nothing wrong with getting a trainer – if I needed motivation I would get one, but I’m getting everything I need with self-motivation. I do tell people to do the classes that are offered at their club or Y. They have a zillion activities – aerobics, Zumba, spinning classes, water exercises, weights and more. They’re all good and burn a lot of calories. And inevitably you will work harder and smarter than you would working out on your own.

 

I tell people nutrition is key too. I tend to gain weight easily, so I avoid desserts and don’t add butter, sugar or salt to my food. When we do eat out my wife and I usually share an entrée and add an additional salad.

We are also intrigued hearing you have launched a singing career. Is that another result of your challenges?

Yes, it did start when I was coming out of all of my troubles several years ago. I took vocal training because I always knew I had a voice and could shower sing, but I was clueless about technique. Long story short, some lucky things happened. I went to Brazil and found just the right people to move me along. Barely two years after starting vocal training I headlined at one of the top clubs in Rio, and recorded my first CD there—a combination of Sinatra and Brazilian songs.  I returned in early 2019 and had a show with a fabulous Brazilian jazz singer, Célia Jones.  We recorded a CD afterwards of timeless love songs from around the world, which was just released in December.  It contains ten duets and four solos, in five languages…

 

Wait. Five languages?

I took Spanish in high school and Portuguese in college, and I made a point to keep up with them. So, I speak three languages fluidly.  In Minnesota, residents 62 and over get free tuition for higher education at state institutions. Last fall, I enrolled in freshman French and Italian at the University of Minnesota. I had to leave after six weeks for some travel, but I did learn comprehension and pronunciation well enough to sing in those languages. From Brazil, I even sent practice recordings to my professors to help hone pronunciation where I needed to. I have also recorded two versions of Ave Maria in Latin, so I could stretch it and say I sing in six languages. And I plan to add another soon. That’s pretty good for a guy from farm country! [Laugh]

 

Your singing must lift your spirits.

Absolutely. It’s very therapeutic for me. It has brought some income, but I don’t do it so much for money as for enjoyment. I perform at restaurants and clubs, but also at senior facilities. I have a wide repertoire that includes all of the old American standards. I sing only happy nostalgic songs for the seniors and it gives both them and me a lot of joy.

You’re hooked on Senior Games now. Do you plan to keep doing marathons too?

I had a big blister problem in my last one and the normal aches and pains afterwards, and I vowed to cut back to half marathons. But now I’ve resolved to find ways to avoid those setbacks and continue running long distances for as long as I can. I try to never say “never”!

 

Whether it’s distance runs or sprints, I’m rarely the fastest in my age group, but then again I’m surely the only one running on one artery in a leg! [Laugh] My goal is not to be the fastest, but hopefully to one day be the oldest in the race! [Laugh]

 

Andy, you’ve learned that the radiation wasn’t successful and you’re now battling prostate cancer for the third time. How does that affect your attitude and plans to compete?

The good news is that it’s a very slow-growing type of cancer.  I’m not a fan of the current therapy options, and it’s not urgent, so I’m hoping something more appealing is developed soon. Also, there is increasing evidence that a wholistic lifestyle—eating and exercising right, reducing stress factors, etc. can effectively fight progression of the disease. So I’m being more diligent than ever.

 

In the meantime, it just motivates me to push myself harder and to do all of these activities as much as possible for as long as I can. I constantly remind myself that the horizons are wide, and with the right attitude, nothing is impossible!

 

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