Still a Runner
A Blog by Mary Lou HarrisArchive for Women Runners
ATHLETIC COMPETITION THROUGH LIFE
Do you yearn for more physical activity in your life – perhaps a sport from your youth? You may have a secret passion for something you have not yet tried. Opportunities abound at any age, so why not explore them?
There is a world of friendly competitive sports out there for the senior athlete, be you a novice or from the world of the elite. From alpine skiing to weightlifting, there is a sport (or two) for each of us.
Many organizations open opportunities to train and compete with those in our own age group. To offer you a smattering of those, let’s start with the Senior Games.
National Senior Games Association
The National Senior Games Association(NSGA) offers competition at the state and national level in 20 different sports categories for athletes age 50 or over.
Athletes compete in games at the state level in even numbered years, i.e., this year and meet the minimum performance standards shown on the website in order to qualify to go to the national games in the odd numbered years.
Contact information for each state is listed on the NSGA website. The 2019 national games will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico in June 2019. You will have plenty of company as the national games usually draw 10,000 – 12,000 participants.
Sound interesting? Take a look at the state game schedule. Not every state offers every sport and most states will allow qualifying for out-of-state athletes. For example, my state doesn’t offer road racing, so in past years I have participated and qualified at the Delaware State Games.
Huntsman World Senior Games
The Huntsman World Senior Games have been around for more than 30 years and hold competition in 20 different sports. Where NSGA changes the locations of the biennial games, the Huntsman Games are held annually and always in Utah. Again, they are open to athletes age 50 and over, through 100+ years.
The Huntsman Games use the NSGA minimum participation standards. Contact, registration and information on each of the sports offered is available on the Huntsman website.
USA Track & Field (USATF)
Where other organizations catering to senior athletes offer a variety of sports, USATF is specifically track and field events, which still provides a wide variety of venues.
The Masters category starts at age 30 with USATF. Keep in mind though that competition is held within 5-year age groups. Currently, I’m in the group Female AG 70-74.
USATF Masters events are held regionally and nationally. Information on international venues for Masters is also available on their website.
Beyond Athletic Competition
Travel Opportunity
Many organizations have events locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. If travel is one of your joys, sports make a wonderful excuse to take a second vacation.
After your competition or training, spend a bit more time in tourist mode, kick back and enjoy. And while you are busy preparing for your event, the rest of the family can take in some local color.
By example, several of my siblings accompanied me to Senior Games in Minneapolis one year where they happened across hundreds of bicyclists coming down the street in the ‘Freedom from Pants’ Bike Ride, which was pretty much like it sounds. We followed that up with a much more sedate evening with the Minneapolis Orchestra accompanied by a choir from Cuba.
Family & Friends Support
Get your family and friends into the spirit. I’ve seen two and three generations of families supporting their senior family members in competition.
After many seasons of freezing on the sidelines or sitting on hard grandstand seats in support of your children or grandchildren, give them the opportunity to be there to cheer you on. What an example you will set.
Senior Athlete Websites
Websites that cater to senior athletes offer inspirational articles about people like ourselves who have been late starters or recently renewed their interest in sports. Others offer information on training specific to the older athlete, in addition to health-related issues.
Join as a Spectator
If you are not yet ready to jump in as a participating athlete, attend and enjoy any of the above as a spectator. USATF has the most accessible regional competitions with many indoors where there is the opportunity to witness our counterparts sharing competition and camaraderie.
What do you do to stay fit and healthy? Have a chat with your health care professional and get the green light. If you have recently embarked on a new activity or participated in a senior competition, what was your experience? Please share it with us in the comments below.
This is an adapted version of my article previously published on http://sixtyandme.com.
Qualifying for Boston through the Ages and through Age Groups
As a young pipsqueak, age 58, and latecomer to marathons, I ran my first Boston Marathon in the W55-59 AG. At that time, Boston’s qualifying time for me was 4:15. I’m still making that trek to Boston every few years. While I’ve increased in age by 12 years, my qualifying time (70-74 AG) has increased to 4:55. Sound like an easy qualifying time? Think again.
I’ve begun following a new (at least new to me) blog, Mathematical runner.com. In a recent post, titled ‘Which Age Group has the Easiest Boston Marathon Qualifying Time?’ I learned that the easiest qualifying time does not belong to the group of persistent (mostly) white-haired ladies (mostly) lining up in the fourth wave.
In reviewing the data, Ray Charbonneau says that older women runners have the toughest qualifying times. Having debated this very point over a number of post-training run refreshments, I’ve found there are strong feelings about Boston qualifying times and their perceived equity. So, although they lost me in the finer points of the math, Mathematical Runners supported my view that qualifying times are a bit tough(er) for older women.
Harrisburg Marathon, my first marathon, 2003, a decent finish but not a BQ. In fact, I was such a novice, I didn’t know anything about BQing.
Another point made in that blog is the scant number of women in the senior age groups. I have noticed the number of participants in my age group dwindles every few years, and seems to dwindle more rapidly than the number of men in the same age group. Still, no matter how few women are competing, there are some incredibly talented women in their sixties, seventies and beyond. If I can finish mid-pack in my Boston age group, I call it a victory.
A few years later I learned how difficult it was to BQ and that getting older didn’t necessarily make it any easier.
Those of you who enjoy exploring the math of all this will certainly enjoy other posts in Mathematical Runner as well, particularly those who are following all things Boston in the countdown to 2018 Patriot’s Day April 16.
Read on and run on.
7 GIFT IDEAS FOR SENIOR FITNESS FANATICS
Do you have a few blank spaces next to the names of friends and relatives who continue – or have begun – to pursue exercise or athletic endeavors in their senior years?
My suggestions here focus on gifts for runners, primarily women, but the same gift selection thought process and some of the items can be applied to men and to almost any other sport or activity.
In past years, I’ve done a gift list post or two on my blog and most of those manufacturers and categories still hold true.
In addition to my earlier finds, there is an array of items out there, from the economical and practical to the snazzy or cutting edge. So, let’s get started. Perhaps you will find just the thing for your senior runner or other athlete.
When it comes to gourmet gifts, here are some suggestions to consider:
Healthy Foods and Ingredients
By choosing healthy foods and ingredients you can pick up an economical gift for your runner/athlete host or hostess. They will make a nice addition to the healthy array of foods likely already in the athlete’s cupboard.
Organic food stores carry a number of packaged items and ingredients that can sometimes be difficult to find. Here is a list of organic food stores from across the geographic spectrum.
Organic Restaurants
Eating out can be a challenge for athletes who prefer healthy food, so here is a gift card opportunity. Spec out an organic or generally health-conscious restaurant that your friend or family member has not yet found – or one she particularly likes.
Cookbooks
On my personal wish list this year is Run Fast East Slow developed by Shalane Flanagan, recent winner of the New York City Marathon, along with chef, nutrition coach, friend and college track teammate, Elyse Kopecky.
The cookbook has been around for a year or two, and I have enjoyed some of the recipes prepared by friends who were among the first to purchase it.
Moving on to clothing choices, here are some interesting items that I would definitely consider:
Tights
When hiking, running, doing strength work or cycling, tights are almost essential. Although we all keep that one pair of black tights that can morph from the trail to looking quite nice under a dress or long sweater, the wild splashy colors and prints in tights are far more fun.
Don’t let age stop you from making these a gift purchase for your senior athlete. Join in this trend and go wild. Stop into any athletic store or browse around online, and you will find them.
Socks/Gloves/Hand Warmers
Does your favorite athlete have a favorite brand for socks, gloves and hand warmers? Then stick with that. Most people have worked out what fits best in their running and cycling shoes and what level of warmth is needed.
Your fitness fanatic may appreciate compression socks. They’re a good gift choice – useful for long runs or when traveling soon after an endurance event.
Do you know what kind of gear your friend needs? Let’s look at the choices:
Reflective Gear
Reflective gear is always a nice addition and can be a stocking stuffer. It can be anything, from a reflective strip with a velcro back that can attach to any clothing item to something offering more coverage.
My very favorite gift received last year was the Tracer360. I can be seen in the dark, coming sideways,front or back.
Activity Timing/Tracking
Activity timing gadgets are very personal. I enjoy Garmin products for timing and pacing information on runs, hikes and swims. I also like to look back through the data over time. Seeing the maps of trails trodden in the past can bring wonderful memories, much like photos.
However, there are many technical products, and you will want to know your athlete very well, and perhaps get her input, before making this purchase.
Happy shopping!
If you are 60 or over, what is on your fitness fanatic gift list? If you are the new or experienced athlete, do friends and family encourage your activity with gifts, large or small?
This article was previously published in early December on Sixtyandme.com
Accessorizing for Safety
Being prepared for our own safety is important for everyone. For those of us over 60 years of age, it’s imperative we stay active to maintain as much strength as possible. We can also supplement our strength with accessories, which may or may not have a bit of flash and sash to them.
From high tech to low tech, we all have our favorite safety accessories. We may not think of them as such and while they are not appropriate or helpful for every situation, accessories they are.
For my lifestyle, safety when running the roads and the trails is where I most frequently rely on low tech devices. Whatever your lifestyle, for the majority of outings safety accessories are not needed. However, if we have one or more of them handy, it is one less thing for you or me to be concerned about. Then, we can concentrate on the beauty of the day on the trail or enjoying the sights in the city.
So, let’s look at a few low tech devices I have in mind to accessorize your look and your well being while out and about.
The Other People (OP) Strategy
Seriously, surrounding yourself in a group can be a safety accessory. Think penguins. When penguins take that leap into the water, they do so as a pack. When penguins take that dive with the pack, they are less likely to be gobbled up by a seal. Take that swim alone and it’s nearly a sure thing the penguin won’t be returning to the safety of shore. It’s similar for humans. If we’re with a group, the OP strategy generally works. We are less likely to be hassled, intimidated or something worse.
OP are an excellent safety device when hiking the Appalachian Trail. They’re also fun company.
Alas, we are not penguins. Many of us enjoy a run or a stroll without OP. Are there times you want to take a solo run or see a movie or show that doesn’t appeal to friends and family? Here, the OP strategy doesn’t work unless you forego your own interests. Are you in this category? Well then, we’ll move to the next option.
“You know how to whistle, don’t you Steve?”
Your name is likely not Steve, but that was the advice from Lauren Bacal’s character to Humphrey Bogart’s character in “To Have and Have Not.” It’s a question for you if you want to stay safe. Can you whistle when your safety is in question? You can if you have a basic trail whistle. I have several models for the trail and usually wear one on a chain around my neck tucking the whistle into my running bra. Some people attach a whistle to their auto or home key chains.
A whistle is also great for getting the attention of a crowd
Whistles can be less than a quarter inch in diameter and no more than a inch or so long, and yet make a loud, shrill sound. This is a wonderful passive device that can quickly be used if you become lost on the trail, are hurt and immobile and need help, or if you are in a dicy situation anywhere.
I’ve looked around and found that whistles now come in some elegant styles. You can find a variety on many websites, such as Etsy.
Carry a Big Stick
So said Teddy Roosevelt and so can we. There are variations of the stick that will work for your particular lifestyle. If it’s a run, hike or walk in the woods, a hiking pole will suit.
The citified version of this would be a cane or a walking stick. Whether or not you need it for strength or balance, it can be handy in self-defense and also quite stylish.
My friend Carol with her hiking stick maneuvers around a rough course and any unsavory humans or animals that come her way.
The street and travel version can be the very elegant and decorative canes I have seen used among friends. They vary from rhinestones and animal prints, to classic wood business styles. You can find canes specifically for women at many retail stores or on lines at numerous websites such as this one. I haven’t taken this up as a safety accessory myself but if it is something you use as a safety ruse, please comment on how it has worked for you.
Who Are You?
If you are hurt and can’t speak for yourself, let your identification bracelet or necklace speak for you. It won’t keep bad things from happening, but it can quickly provide necessary information to medical or other professionals. Most outdoorsy folks will wear some form of identification that gives their name, at least one contact person and any other pertinent information.
ROAD ID bracelet just happens to match running gear for the Harrisburg Mile.
Road I.D.is one of many companies where you can find them. Mine is on a wrist stretch band so small I sometimes forget I’m wearing it.
What’s That Odor and Why Are My Eyes Burning?
Pepper spray or mace can be a safety accessory. You can find these in most sporting goods stores. Models vary from handheld to clips.
Some sprays can be considered a weapon and are not welcome everywhere, so think twice before throwing one in your handbag or pocket when you visit certain office or government buildings, arrive for a flight or travel by any means to foreign countries.
That’s my list. Now it’s your turn. What do you recommend adding as a low-tech safety accessory?
(A version of this post was previously published on sixtyandme.com.)
My DWR’s (Daydreaming While Running)
Who doesn’t love that sensation of being in the zone during a run? My generally cautious nature of being aware of my surrounding goes by the wayside when running in the zone moves to a state of running in trance.
Industrial Road section of the Harrisburg Marathon course – not a good place for trance running
So far the most unsettling result of moving to the trance state occurred on a day I left my office for a quick lunchtime run. Somewhere along the riverfront on that beautiful afternoon, I slipped into the trance. Coming out of it, I was more than a mile past my planned turnaround point. After picking up the pace while rehearsing in my head the points I needed to make at the upcoming meeting I would be late for (or was it already happening), taking the fastest shower in history and silently slipping into a chair in the meeting room, disaster was averted. For some reason, my fellow attendees thought I had been at another meeting and were impressed that I rushed over to participate in their discussion. I don’t know what led them to that conclusion about my tardiness, although it may have been my red cheeks still flaring off/on like a stuck red traffic signal, still settling in from the effort of my sprint return.
Then of course, there was that finish line incident. Are any of my readers old enough to remember when road races used pull tags from race bibs and if the race was large enough, separate shoots were for set up for men and women? I was in that punchy-near-the-end type of trance when one of the shoot monitors was shouting “Miss, Miss – to the right – women to the right.” (I was young enough then to still be called a miss.) It didn’t register that he was shouting at me until somehow through body language, he redirected my trance-like brain state to do that simple thing – finish in the women’s shoot.
But enough about my tales of trance-like running state. Surely, you have some to share. Please tell.
An unexpected running partner in her own trance. It’s a good thing one of us was alert.
A 5-Mile Fresh Burst
With so few five mile races available, I took a drive to Lititz, Pennsylvania to check out this local race. The Freshburst 5 Mile Run/5K Walk has been around for 20+ years but just came to my attention recently.
Arriving near the race venue I saw runners moving to the start line. I quickly ran to the late registration table, then returned to my truck to drop off the registration bag. I sprinted to the start and joined the back of the pack as the race director was giving instructions.
I am ready to vote this the most generous race registration bag of 2017
I had not run a short distance race for many months, so my goal for the race was to just pick it up a bit without concern for a specific finish time. In the first mile, portions of the road were adjacent to a pasture. As we runners came down the road in a line, the cows in the pasture formed a line of their own, pacing to the opposite side of their pastureland. Clearly they wanted no part of us.
Another pasture area brought some black-faced sheep into view. Beautiful, but I didn’t take the time to stop for a photo opportunity. You can guess from the pastureland description that the course was mostly flat, just a bit of rolling up and down and a few turns to take us back to the start.
The race finish was old school with tear-off tags. With a finish time of 46:05, along with about 200 other runners, and 50 or so walkers, I sauntered back to the race venue where cool drinks, fresh fruit and ice cream awaited us.
The experience of the race staff and volunteers was apparent. Everything seemed to flow well. This fun, friendly and fresh 5-miler was worth the drive and one I hope to run another year. Proceeds of the race benefit the Harmony Playground, designed for accessibility for children of all abilities.
Check out the Freshburst next July if you’re looking for a well-run small town 5-miler, or a 5K walk. Besides, I ask you, how many races have ice cream at the finish line?
Hiking a 40-Mile Meditation
I’ve had a draft playing around in my head for a month or two, a sharing of my experience at the Hike Across Maryland (HAM). I’ve come to think of this experience as a walking meditation. This morning, a radio program gave me the impetus to move ahead and put those thoughts to keyboard.
Krista Tippett’s “On Being” was airing, her topic being Running As Spiritual Practice. A number of runners (including Olympian Billy Mills) share with her how running has taken them through dark times, lifted spirits, developed discipline and in many different ways become part of each runner’s spiritual practice.
I have felt many of those sentiments through my years of running. At the HAM, the closest I felt was the necessity to be mindful of every step I took as I ran and hiked the 40-mile distance on the Appalachian Trail (AT) in a single day.
The HAM is an incredible opportunity for hikers to test their endurance and pacing. From the 5 a.m. start at the Mason-Dixon line where Pennsylvania meets Maryland to the arrival crossing the Potomac River at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, we were supported by volunteers and checkpoints providing refreshments and documenting our passage. While this event is not a race, we were required to reach specific locations by specific times or be asked to drop and accept transport to the finish.
Rain was heavy the previous day, making our May 6th passage on the trail muddy and slick. Temperatures at the start in the high 50’s would have been perfect if not for the cool rain. A love of nature and tests of endurance still brought out over 100 participants.
Off-and-on again sheets of rain came down as we ran a portion of an early mile. As water ran down her face, my friend said “Isn’t this great? We get to be in the woods all day.” She was serious and set a tone of optimism for me.
I realized early on that 40 miles of hiking, with running spurts where I was sure of my footing, would require concentration. I decided if I was to make it through with minimal injury, it would need to be a meditative endeavor.
I cleared my mind of any extraneous mumbo-jumbo thoughts that usually find their way into my thinking. Every step was a mindful step. That’s not to say I wasn’t aware of the rushing of the streams we crossed, the calf-deep mudholes, the occasional birdsong and the rustling of unseen critters in the woods. It’s not to say I wasn’t aware of the beautiful deep, deep green the rain was bringing out in an already lush area. And it’s also not to say that I didn’t listen to and acknowledge a number of fellow hikers talking through their love of the trail, concerns about and pride in their children, job and health challenges. Being on the trail is license to spew out to total strangers the things that really matter in life.
With any and all of that seeming to be on a separate track, my concentration was in each step of the trail, 40 miles of meditation. Even that concentration did not stop me from taking a face plant as we climbed a rain-slick boulder. The bill of my cap and my glasses let me escape with nothing worse than a small goose egg on the forehead and a few scratches on the palms of my hands.
At our last major checkpoint, I turned over my headlamp and heavier raincoat to friends who volunteered support, exchanging that weight for a couple of quick chugs of Coke. Off then for the last few miles, still mindful in each step, my pace was quicker than the pace of my first few miles.
Hello, West Virginia!
Although the towpath near the finish seemed unending, the stairs to the bridge a cruel trick and as we crossed to West Virginia the wild beauty of the rain-swollen Potomac breathtaking, I stayed mindful of each step on this wonderful earth.
There are no regrets I took up this challenge. Through this 40-mile hiking/jogging meditation, I treasured the company of good friends as well as strangers and the support of the organizers and personal hiking friends who made the day.
Enjoy your weekend, dream of a new challenge and try taking a mindful approach. Gotta run.
