How We Became Senior Athletes…
We first saw the notice two years ago in the Senior Spectrum activity pages. The City of Reno was hosting its annual Summer Senior Games in August. The Senior Games are a national program of competitions styled after the international Olympic Games and designed for people aged 50 and above.
The Reno Senior Games, coordinated by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, offered both individual and team competitions. There were several different events. Some were physically active like Pickleball, Bowling, and Track and Field. And several were much less physical like Bunco, Shuffleboard and Darts. Participants could compete for gold, silver or bronze medals within their age groups.
The idea of my wife, Eddie, and me competing at our age was tantalizing! It created healthy goals for us to get in better shape and to become more active. Eddie had never competed in serious athletics, but in my younger years I had experience running marathons, triathlons and 10K races. I quietly worried that too much time may have passed since those glory days and I’d get pulled muscles instead of gold medals.
We mulled over the excuses not to participate. The weather was too cold, too hot or too wet. We felt old, achy and stiff. Our knees hurt. Training would mess with our comfortable daily routines.
In contrast, we found plenty of reasons for participating. There were proven health benefits to meeting the physical and mental challenges head-on. Recapturing our youth (and maybe win a gold medal) was a tempting reward. Ultimately we embraced the idea, laced up our shoes, slipped on our knee braces and made the commitment: We were going to become Senior Athletes!
The first day of training was tough. But it proved to be the start to an amazing 18-month adventure that was inspiring, exciting, incredibly rewarding and fun!
The vision of the Senior Games is to promote healthy lifestyles and to encourage adults to get active and involved in sports. More than 100,000 people, ages 50 – 100+, compete in annual Senior Games in every state, and dozens of regional venues (like Reno). There’s also a National Senior Games every two years which, like the Olympics, the athletes must qualify for in their state competitions. Last year more than 11,500 senior athletes, from all 50 states and eight countries, competed in the Nationals in Pennsylvania.
For the Reno Summer Games we set our sights on competing in the Wall Climb, Obstacle Course and 1,500 meter Power Walk events. I was attracted to the Power Walk because, after 19 marathons, my knees were shot and running was not an option.
We found two perfect places to train. Looping the Sparks Marina is a flat, paved, well-lit and well maintained two mile trail with plenty of people walking or running. There are restrooms, drinking fountains and lots of shady places to rest. On the weekends we trained at Reed High School where we could time our pace and measure our progress, and get used to walking on a track.
Eddie and I quickly became a team. We trained together and encouraged each other’s progress. We set goals together. We nursed our pains and strains together. We grew much closer as a couple!
At the Reno Games we both won gold medals in the challenging Obstacle Course and Wall Climb events. I also took silver in the Softball Throw. The 1,500 meter Power Walk was fast, and we both won gold in our age groups. After our races that day an experienced competitor suggested we consider entering the October Nevada Senior Games in Las Vegas. Not wanting to waste our newly earned athleticism, we immediately signed up!
In Vegas, Eddie and I both won gold in our races. I also took first in the High Jump and second in the Softball Throw! These top performances qualified us to represent Nevada in the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh the following summer.
At the Nationals the competition was intense and exciting! Eddie finished exceptionally well in her race. I made the podium in both the 1,500 meter and 5,000 meter Power Walk races, ranking me in the Top 10 nationally in my age group (70 to 74).
We sustained last summer’s momentum by competing in the state Senior Games in Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada. Eddie captured either gold or silver in each of those track meets. I finished the season undefeated in all my races and took home medals in the High Jump and Long Jump events as well.
We completed our Senior Games experience with a few observations to share. Most importantly: damn your excuses, you’re never too old to get out and get active! We met athletes who were over 100-year-old. We competed against seniors who’d had multiple knee and hip replacements or back and heart surgeries.
There are no losers in the Senior Games. While you may go for the gold, you’re truly a winner simply because you’re trying! And don’t be embarrassed about how well you do. We saw athletes finish dead last and still get rousing cheers of encouragement from virtually everyone in the stadiums!
If you are a senior, think about getting active. You’ll feel better– and earn some amazing bragging rights to share with family and friends. Of course before starting any physical activity you should first consult your physician for a complete physical assessment.
You can start your quest to becoming a Senior Athlete by registering for the upcoming August Reno Summer Senior Games at www.Reno.Gov/SeniorGames or by calling (775) 334-2262.
