Train hard, put in lots of miles, sweat a lot, give it your all … and you too could finish in the top 20 and win your age category.
Alternatively, you could find a race where the keys to success are:
- Making it to the start line.
- Crossing the finish line before everyone else goes home.
Less than 10 months after capturing the 5-mile Delaware state championship in the old-and-fat category (Clydesdale Master division), I found victory again, this time in the inaugural Go-Green 5K in Staunton, Va. When the only other geezer dropped out at the halfway point, my triumph in the 50 and older age group was secure. I even finished with a good-for-me time of 36 minutes – 19th out of 23 finishers.
The overall winner of the race nearly halved my time despite being 35 years my junior, 15-year-old Jacob Warner with a time of 18:26. His 11-year-old sister Zella was the top female at 22:31. Col came in last but deserved the good sportsperson award. She opted to let a slower runner finish ahead of her.
Staunton, in the Shenandoah Valley, has a population of 24,000. It is the home to Mary Baldwin College, an all-woman’s college. It is the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, president from 1913 to 1921. In 1908, it became the first U.S. city to hire a city manager.
74 runs downs, 60 to go.
