USA: Athletic senior citizens are older, wiser, faster

CHICAGO (Associated Press/Sun-Times), November 27, 2005: When Johnnye Valien was younger, she was told track and field was no place for a girl. A few years later, she was turned away because she was too old. Well, Valien sure showed the naysayers. Keeps doing it, too. Now 80, the grandmother of seven travels the world for masters track and field competitions, collecting medals and breaking records. "I like a challenge," she said. "Quite often people say, 'Why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove?' I'm not trying to prove anything. I just enjoy it." She's not alone. Competitive sports no longer are reserved for the young, and there are plenty of geezers who still have game. And we're not talking mall walking, shuffleboard and golf. A recent issue of GeezerJock magazine, devoted to competitive athletics for people over 40, had articles on the Senior Olympic Hockey Championships, 50-year-old rugby players and the Ironman Triathlon. Check out some of the 10 finalists for the GeezerJock of the Year award, which will be announced early next month: *Valien, who set age-group records in the triple jump and javelin at the National Masters Outdoor Championships in August. *Frank Piemme, a swimmer whose four world records in the 80-84 age group this year included a 40.92 seconds in the 50-meter butterfly. *Bill Collins, a 54-year-old who outran Billy "White Shoes" Johnson last year and whose 10.95 seconds in the 100 meters is not only a world record in the 50-54 age group, but is faster than the mark in the next-youngest division. *Elsie Dahl, a 70-year-old weightlifter. *Ojars Stikis, an ultramarathoner who beat two other 70-year-olds in the Vermont 100-Mile Endurance Run in July. "It's sort of a reflection of a culture. People aren't stopping doing the things they loved when they were kids," said Sean Callahan, editor of GeezerJock. "The sports they played when they were kids, they're still playing them. And I think we encourage it. There's a new emphasis on health. "Over the past 30 to 40 years, there's been a realization that exercis is not something that's going to kill you as you get older.' Stikis had his own computer consulting business for financial companies, and he could see his weight and blood pressure creeping up the closer he got to 50. When he was 51, he joined a gym and started running on the treadmill. But that got boring, so he started running outside. At 55, he ran the first of what's now about 35 marathons. And when Stikis heard some fellow runners talking about ultramarathons, he was intrigued. In 1994, four years after his first marathon, he did a 50-mile race in Central Park. "It went from there," he said. "I guess it's like a personal challenge. You kind of keep raising the bar. Years go by, and you find yourself doing 100-milers." Stikis now has done five 100-mile races and numerous others at shorter distances. Last weekend, he completed the John F. Kennedy 50-mile race in Hagerstown, Md., in 11 hours, 36 minutes. He beat more than 200 people, including a bunch some 40 years younger. And as impressive as that sounds, Stikis didn't even win his age group. That honor went to another 70-year-old, Leon Bierbower, who finished in under 11 hours. "It's all what you do with your life," said Stikis, who runs 40 to 60 miles a week. "Some people are content being inactive and becoming a couch potato. It's kind of sad to see that. In my way of thinking, there should be more to life. Even when you're getting older. "Whether it's running, whether it's learning something different, keep challenging yourself and it will keep you younger," he said. "At least mentally." Valien was a swimmer and a physical education major in college. She moved to Los Angeles after graduation and tried to join a track team, but the only ones she found were for school-aged girls. "They said I was too old," Valien said. "They didn't have women's track teams in the time." She turned to coaching instead, and ran, played basketball and skied in her free time. It wasn't until she was 64 that she heard about the Senior Olympics. "At the ripe old age of 64, I started competing again," she said, laughing. She works out for an hour to 90 minutes twice during the week, then trains with her track club Sundays at UCLA. In the last three weeks before a competition, she'll train every day. She's competed in the triple jump, long jump, high jump, 300-meter hurdles, 80-meter hurdles and heptathlon. She holds eight U.S. records in the 70-74, 75-79 and 80-84 age groups. "I said when I reached 75 I was going to retire. Now I'm 80, and I'm thinking about it," she said. "But now I have an opportunity because I'm the baby in the 80-84 age group, so my [record] chances are better. So I guess I'll be out there again. Oh, yes." While her children and grandchildren are proud of her accomplishments -- one grandson likes to pick up her medals and ask what each is for, others like to race her in the hurdles -- Valien said she doesn't tell her non-track friends much about her hobby. They just can't understand why an 80-year-old woman would want to jump over hurdles or pole vault. "Those years are going by fast, but I'm not going to let them slow me down," she said. "The only thing that's getting old is my memory." By Nancy Armour