National Senior Games (NSGA) 2022 – Fort Lauderdale are over. It was a time of great competition and great friendships, old and new.

Now, for NSGA events, there will be busy schedule, resulting from COVID delays. First, comes qualifying at the State level sometime during 2022 (yes, this year). Then, on to the NSGA – Pittsburgh, scheduled for July 7- 18, 2023.

I won’t be available on the dates scheduled for State Games In my home state of Pennsylvania, (for my running friends who will be there here is a link to the Track & Field Schedule) so my next step is to locate a state where out-of-staters are accepted in competition and their dates work for me. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here is a link to the list of State Games contacts.

NSGA recently released minimum performance standards for 2023 competition in several sports included track and field. I haven’t seen performance standards for the 5K and 10 K Road Races. If you want to delve deeper, here is a link to the NSGA 2023 Official Sports Rules updated June 2022.

A friend recently sent me information on the 5K and 10K requirements for 2023, so I’m doing a post update with that information: https://mdseniorolympics.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Road-Race-6.20.pdf

Getting to the second part of my title, there are a myriad of reasons to participate. I will list two of them here: Great Competition and Great People.

No matter my skill level, I find participating in competition gives me an incentive to improve. Meeting many of the people I competed with as well as some on the sidelines was an extra bonus. Some I renew friendships with, others are new faces.

Either way, it’s fun to meet and interact with a large field of active athletes.You will find a few of them below. Have a great summer and enjoy the competition should you decide to participate in the sport of your choice.