Born to run?
By Lisa Menninger
LISA MENNINGER'S BLOG (Feb. 15, 2010) -- My client Kevin, a former Ironman, marathoner and adventure racer, called me recently to help him get ready for a half-marathon trail race. Having been mired in work and work travel, his kids' sports schedules and just the stresses of life, he found himself out of shape and barely working out. This was not a natural state for him. And after reading Christopher McDougall's book, "Born To Run," as he waited for planes in airports across the country, Kevin was motivated to lace up his shoes again. . . . keep reading...>>
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Keeping those resolutions
By Lisa Menninger
LISA MENNINGER'S BLOG (Jan. 3, 2010) -- You made it through 2009. Congratulations! It was no small fete, was it? Wasn't for me. What a year. I moved after being in the same place for more than seven years, moved my son to Washington, D.C., to attend college, began a new business endeavor, re-evaluated my goals as an athlete as I graduated to a new age group and experienced a lot of change in all areas of my life. It was a challenging year in many ways but necessary to lay the groundwork of new and exciting things I know are heading my way in 2010. . . . keep reading...>>
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Baiting Down Under
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Oct. 12, 2009) -- The World Masters Games started on Saturday in Sydney and will run through Sunday, Oct. 18. The Games, which are an Olympic style event featuring 28 sports, have reportedly attracted a record number of athletes even in these tough economic times. "The Games have attracted a record 28,292 competitors from 95 countries, with international participants accounting for 30% of the entry," Shane O'Leary, the Games CEO, said. On the lighter side, a group of New Zealand women who are competing in the over-40 age group in netball (a game similar to basketball with a hoop, but no backboard, on a post) had their team name disallowed. The name? The Master Baiters. The team changed its name to the New World Master Netters. . . . keep reading...>>
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Huntsman Games start today
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Oct. 5, 2009) -- The Huntsman World Senior Games start today. The Games, which take place in the southwest corner of Utah in the red hills of the town of St. George, are representative of how the Masters and senior sports movement has boomed over the past two decades. The first Huntsman World Senior Games, had a few hundred competitors. Now it regularly attracts about 10,000 athletes. And the "world" in the name isn't hyperbole. When we've covered the Games, I've met athletes from Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Russia, Latvia, Japan and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Here's a press release about the Games and their history... . . . keep reading...>>
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The power of play
By Don McGrath
DON MCGRATH'S BLOG (Oct. 5, 2009) -- In the process of interviewing the athletes over 50 that I've spoken to, I have come to the conclusion that they lead lives that they love, and a major reason for this is that they have found a sport of physical activity that they LOVE. While interviewing Gene Wilken, an 81-year-old tennis player, Gene asked me why we love our sports so much. At the time, I had no answer. I went back and polled the athletes that I had already interviewed and got lots of great responses. I did my best to take those responses and categorize them, resulting in 17 categories. These categories were: . . . keep reading...>>
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Life Fitness contest
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Sept. 28, 2009) -- I know there are plenty of readers of this blog who have had their lives changed by exercise and by competition. Life Fitness, the marketer of treadmills and other exercise equipment, announced last week that it's having a contest for people who have an "inspirational success story" involving exercise. The catch is that your story has to involve Life Fitness equipment. Here's text from the press release.... . . . keep reading...>>
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50!
By Don McGrath
DON MCGRATH'S BLOG (September 26, 2009) -- Today I completed my 50th interview in my quest to interview 50 athletes Over 50. It is a big milestone. You can read more about my journey at 50athletesover50.com. You can also learn about my 50-k Athlete Challenge at 50-k.net. Dream Big! . . . keep reading...>>
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More from the National Senior Games
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Aug. 5, 2009) -- Every couple of years newspapers take note of Masters athletes. That's because every couple of years the National Senior Games take place. The host city newspaper covers the event. And many local newspapers across the country take note of local athletes who have become local heroes in the Games. This year's Games, which are taking place right now in Palo Alto, Calif., are no exception. I wish newspapers covered Masters sports more regularly, but I have few complaints when they do. Here are some samples... . . . keep reading...>>
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The Games are off and running
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (Aug. 3, 2009) -- Everybody is on the Web, and age seems to make no difference. I get updates from the Huntsman World Senior Games on my Facebook account. Milt Silverstein, who will be turning 90 pretty soon, sent me his the first pass of his autobiography via email. And you have to see the National Senior Games landing page. The Games started on Saturdy, and you can keep up with the latest by visiting this landing page: . . . keep reading...>>
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Bad numbers
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (July 14, 2009) -- The National Sporting Goods Association has just released its annual research report on participation in 23 different sports and recreational activities. The survey found that about 78.7% Americans 7 and older -- or 212.7 million of us -- participated at least once in the past year in one of the sports or recreational activities. Older Americans age 55-64, a group that makes up 12% of the U.S. population, represented the highest percentage of non-participants at 17%. The 45-54 year-olds did much better. This group represents 16% of the population but just 15% of non-participants. Our challenge: You folks in the 55-64 age group, get up off the couch. This troubling lack of exercise is probably contributing to another disturbing statistic. The CDC found that the percentage of obese Americans increased to 26.1% in 2008. In 2007, the percentage was 25.6%. . . . keep reading...>>
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Seizures, brain surgery and long, long runs
By Sean Callahan
SEAN CALLAHAN'S BLOG (July 9, 2009) -- Some paths to the world of Masters athletics are stranger and more wonderful than others. Diane Van Deren is 49. She's become a top ultramarathoner after a brain surgery a few years back to relieve her seizures. A former professional tennis player, Van Deren has now found that she can run forever but, because the surgery removed a part of her brain related to memory and organization, she sometimes makes wrong turns on the race course. It's a fascinating tale. . . . keep reading...>>
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Interview No. 3
By Don McGrath
DON MCGRATH'S BLOG (June 3, 2009) -- Bob Meluskey Sr. is a 57-year-old discus, shot put, and javelin thrower from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Bob has participated in various sports his whole life, including baseball, slow pitch and fast pitch softball, football, basketball, track and field, motor sports racing, hunting, and fishing. Bob very much values his family, which includes his wife of 37 years Sandi, his son Bob Jr., and his granddaughter and fishing partner, Samantha. He started competing in Masters track and field at the age of 51, when his wife kidded him that he was over the hill. . . . keep reading...>>
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Interview No. 2
By Don McGrath
DON MCGRATH'S BLOG (June 1, 2009) -- Terry Peterson is a 53-year-old mountain unicyclist from Redondo Beach, Calif., who has what I'll call a "nuclear" personality. His energy and passion for MUni, as its called, is palpable even over the phone. Terry participated in running and golf over the years, but only came to MUni about three and a half years ago. Terry found that in his late forties he had gained weight, had high cholesterol, and got winded very easily. Tuning and servicing pianos at his business had him fairly sedentary during much of his workday. Running bothered his knees, bicycling seemed boring, swimming was inconvenient, and he was searching for what to do. Bingo, he stumbled on a Web site, unicycle.com, and he was amazed to see how far the advances in unicycles had come since he last rode on in his teens. Fast forward to today, Terry is a sponsored, and extremely accomplished MUni rider. . . . keep reading...>>
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Swimmingly
By Terry Laughlin
There was a great article by Karen Crouse in the New York Times on Aug 12, which I somehow overlooked. Fortunately Donal Fagan did not overlook. He made this post on the TI Discussion Forum about a week ago. The article provides a rare insider insight into the elements of speed. From the NY Times: "(Cullen) Jones, a Bronx native, was third in the final, missing a berth to Beijing by 0.16 second. He was pretty sure he knew what went wrong. His hunch was corroborated by the printout, which listed his reaction time on the start; the elapsed time from when he hit the water after the dive to his first stroke; his splits at 15, 30 and 45 meters; and his stroke-rate count." . . . keep reading...>>
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Off Their Rockers
By John Rothchild
In case you missed it in Sports Illustrated, the latest "too old to be doing this" but is doing it anyway is Ken Mink. At 73, he's the oldest hoopster in college basketball --- if that's not a record, then George Burns didn't play God. Mink reminds me of Mike Flynt, kicked off his college football team for brawling --- what to you expect from a linebacker? Flynt quit school, bided his time, returned to Sul Ross State (in Texas, of course) 37 years later, tried out for his old position and got it back at 59. He played the whole 2007 season under a coach eight years his junior. All of his teammates were younger than his own kids. . . . keep reading...>>
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The Wright Stuff
By Vonda Wright
I'm about to tell you something that, as a Masters athlete, you already know: Exercise keeps you younger from the inside out! It keeps your muscles powerful, your bones strong, your heart and lungs youthful and efficient and your brain sharp! Did you know that long term exercise is the key to longevity? Now you have even more ammunition to fire back when people think you are crazy for continuing to push yourself. Hot off the presses is a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine from Stanford University that found that "older runners are less likely to become disabled with age and may live longer." . . . keep reading...>>
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