Refrain from intense running when older

It has been said your average professional athlete, within five years after his retirement, swears he could return to the game if he wanted and play at a decent level.

This discussion arose in connection to Magic Johnson once. Johnson was planning his return to basketball after he famously retired due to his health predicament. How well could he play?

The ability of athletes to sustain their skills is an interesting topic. We're watching Peyton Manning now. Manning is showing the rust from a year's absence. He's throwing some "floaters." We shouldn't be that concerned about whether he can again be a top-tier quarterback. The guy has neck issues. His basic health is the issue.

Guys who have had a fling in athletics have a hard time putting aside thoughts that they can "do it again."

There was a time when I ran 10Ks. Right now is the most agreeable time of year to be a distance runner. The Twin Cities Marathon was scheduled in the fall. It became a sister to Grandma's Marathon in Duluth which sprang to the forefront when running was a fad.

But Grandma's is in the spring. So to prepare, you have to plow through the rigors of winter. To each their own.

I ponder all this as I realize my running shoes are still in the basement. So often I figure that if I just wanted to, I could establish a regimen and "do it again." I visualize this. I grasp it in theory. Last spring I jogged out to the WCROC and back.

But the dedication just doesn't seem to come naturally. I'll find better things to do the next day. The shoes remain in the basement. So hold off on hearing that "Rocky" song in your head as you see me out on the shoulders of area roads.

That image was very much a reality in the 1980s. For some reason I could find contentment weighing around 170 pounds (light for my frame). And I was working full-time.

Why are the ravages of age so unforgiving? Those age divisions in 5K and 10K runs are there for a reason.

Recently I got an email from a physician/researcher who wanted to know more about the death of a well-known senior runner in the 1980s. He had become aware I was a close acquaintance of that individual. I was a little puzzled he would reach out to me. But he seemed legitimate so I responded.

I was interested in how he felt the need to study the deaths of dedicated senior runners. I remember the most famous one in the 1980s here in the Upper Midwest was a fellow named Dr. Alex Ratelle. My acquaintance was Carlyle Sherstad, a Donnelly native who established a men's clothing store in western Wisconsin. He was a terrific person.

Could it be that extreme dedication to distance running when up in years is not healthy? It might stand to reason. Common sense tells us running takes a toll on the body.

We're resilient when young, so "paying dues" as a runner might have the effect of building our bodies up. We recover from the negative stuff.

I'm age 57 now and I'm experiencing revelations about age. We cannot pretend we're young. Running many miles could have the effect of wearing our bodies down. Look at NFL players who played into their 30s. The physical rigors of their activity certainly did them no favors. The consequences might not be felt immediately.

A guy over age 50 probably has no justification planning a marathon.

I'll share my opinion in the most naked way here: I don't believe in marathon running. I'm reminded of the former mountain climber who said after you get past a certain altitude on Mount Everest, you are only hurting yourself. He said the human body wasn't meant to do such things. This is a perfect analogy to running beyond the 20-mile mark in a marathon. Your body begins to break down.

As a young person you can recover over the long run (so to speak). When older we must be so much gentler with our bodies.

The boomer generation became captivated by running after Frank Shorter won the Olympic Marathon. Soon there was that book with the red cover by James Fixx, who ended up dying from a sudden heart attack. Boomers have a history of doing things to excess.

Over the years I had the privilege of writing several articles for the print media on area marathoners. We were spellbound by people who would want to run 26.2 miles. Finally I had to probe the activity myself. I ran the 1984 Twin Cities Marathon in three hours, one minute and eleven seconds.

I'm puzzled why Paul Ryan has such a hard time remembering his marathon time. I shouldn't be cynical and suggest he's exaggerating, should I? Why do we expect so little of our politicians? People would scoff at me if they knew I was lying about my marathon time. But we allow politicians to blather in all sorts of crazy ways and it just becomes background noise.

Believe me, when you have run one or two marathons in your lifetime - and that's enough - you absolutely do remember your time. I was age 29 in 1984. I suppose that's the prime of one's physical life. I found it exhilarating and thrilling. But it would be folly for me to consider such a thing today.

The media are often attracted to those "senior" runners. This sort of glorification should be discouraged. It's a young person's activity. After a certain age you're better served jogging relatively short distances, or better yet setting up a diversified exercise routine. Never push yourself to where you're panting.

I can't say enough about how much can be accomplished just eating a sensible diet. At present I eat at McDonald's too often. But I'm at least aware of what I should do. Just like my running shoes are still in the basement.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com