Going Great Lengths – Vivian Stancil, 67, Riverside, California Photo (below) By: Cathy Wilson If you had told a young Vivian Stancil she would one day be swimming and competing in Senior Games, she would have laughed out loud at the notion. She was always deathly afraid of water, and could have easily quit with

Forever 21 – Karen Newman, 52, New Greenwich, Connecticut It would be easy to survey the athletic accomplishments of seven time All- American triathlete Karen Newman and assume her road has been a relatively easy one. Of course, a natural runner with an intensely competitive attitude would be able to return to form after taking

Fran Allison, 80, Kinston, NC & Jackie Allison, 56, Youngsville, NC Fran Allison’s motor never stops, and the energy has rubbed off on her family and everyone else around her. She played what high school sports were available for females in the early ’50s and her husband taught her to play tennis and golf, but

John Morgan, Jr., 90, Salt Lake City, Utah John Morgan, Jr. is first and foremost an entrepreneurial businessman. The role model was his father, who invited him to join as a partner in resource development ventures after John earned his degrees at the University of Utah and completed Army service in World War II. Their speculation

Elli Edgar, 65, Phoenix, Arizona Elli Edgar is a colorful character who colors for a living. Starting from a background working in traditional tattoo parlors and a stint in the costume and makeup fields in Hollywood, Elli’s love of aesthetics led her to the permanent makeup profession. She has owned a full service salon for men

Col. James “Jamie” Houston, 59, Fort Jackson, South Carolina Col. James Houston, like most who make a career with the Army, maintains a fit profile.  However, Jamie (as he prefers to be called) has been a self-professed fitness and sports fanatic for his entire life. To our knowledge, Jamie may be the only active duty

Jackie Stephens, 76, Fairfax Station, Virginia When Jackie Stephens was young she lived with her grandfather who was the Baptist minister for the African American community in a small town not far from Philadelphia. She would sit enraptured at the end of the long mahogany dinner table at Sunday dinners in her grandparent’s house, soaking

“I perspire to inspire” – Mike Fanelli, 56, San Anselmo, California What can you say about a guy who has logged over 100,000 miles of running by age 56; completed 100 miles in 16 hours 40 minutes; run a marathon in 2 hours 25 minutes; run a mile in 4 minutes 16 seconds, – and 4 minutes

Making Up For Lost Time…Fast – Oscar Peyton, 60, Accokeek, Maryland Oscar Peyton always knew he had natural athletic ability and could run fast, but he didn’t discover how fast he really was until his fifth decade of life. Taking up formal track competition at the age of 49, the man people say deserves the

Pencil Me In – Mary Lauffer, 95, Annapolis, Maryland You would think a golfer would talk first about getting two hole-in-ones in a lifetime. But Mary Lauffer likes to talk about her pencil collection. You see, her hobby has been to collect one of those skinny scoring pencils at each course she’s ever played.  She