COURTESY BRIAN CLARKE
Don Anderson has been training for Sunday's TriUmph Classic triathlon. The third annual event consists of a quarter-mile swim, 20-kilometer bike ride and 5-kilometer run.
Run, Grandpa, run
More sporty seniors are
revving up for events like
AARP's TriUmph triathlon
Growing older doesn't have to mean slowing down.
Don Anderson, for example, says he's "a lot stronger than I was five years ago, and I'm in better health today than I've ever been in my life."
The 63-year-old Hawaii Kai mortgage consultant has been training for Sunday's TriUmph Classic minitriathlon hosted by AARP Hawaii. Last year's event drew 260 recreational triathletes.
COURTESY BRIAN CLARKE
Suzi Hemmings in training for Sunday's TriUmph Classic.
"Probably the last five or six years, I really started to take care of myself a lot better," Anderson said. He walked or ran 10 to 12 miles a week.
He wasn't swimming or biking, but had been thinking about participating in a TriUmph Classic when a friend suggested he do it this year, he said. "That's all the nudge I needed."
He trained in a nine-week program conducted by Brian Clarke, race coordinator and triathlon coach.
The third annual minitriathlon includes a quarter-mile swim, a 20-kilometer (12.3-mile) bike ride and a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) run at Barbers Point/Kona Breeze Swimming Pool in Kapolei.
The events can be done at any pace and in relays, with partners taking one or two of the events, said Jackie McCarter, AARP Hawaii associate state director.
For example, she said, one woman walked the run and did the swim last year, and her grandson rode the bike.
Participants have ranged into the 70s and 80s, but the average age is about 57 or 58, Clarke said.
"They are still pretty young and active and concerned about their health and fitness to the point where they are interested in entering racing events or training programs that cater to people over 50," he said.
The TriUmph is the most vigorous activity sponsored by AARP Hawaii but is for people at all levels of fitness, he said, "from couch potato to experienced triathlete."
Formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, AARP is a nonprofit organization that provides information, resources, services and advocacy for people 50 and older.
About three-fourths of the 5,000 Hawaii members are active, according to a survey done earlier this year, McCarter said. "Not all are as active as the level of a triathlon, but most walk or work out on a treadmill."
"It's very interesting to see how many people exercise every single day rather than a minimal three times or five times a week."
McCarter said she has been working on programs to encourage AARP members to be physically active. "They are somewhat daunted by the triathlon, but everything we've done basically has been overbooked all year long."
A "Shape UP Across Hawaii" program attracted 1,700 participants through Oct. 31 this year, with workshops to help sedentary members get started. They were challenged to a 400-mile virtual journey across the state with such activities as walking, running, surfing, gardening, dancing and using a wheelchair.
Welcome Back to Tennis programs with the U.S. Tennis Association also were held on Oahu and in Kona to reacquaint people with tennis who hadn't played in many years. About 100 people participated on Oahu, and 70 in Kona.
McCarter noted that her father didn't exercise regularly until he turned 50.
"That was the year he ran his first marathon. He did three marathons in three consecutive years. Now he's in his 60s, and he and my mom spend a lot of time hiking, biking and running 10Ks.
"They are far more dedicated to regular exercise than their kids."
Anderson said training for the minitriathlon was difficult at first, but with coaching from Clarke and his staff, "I've come along a lot faster than I thought."
Now he's looking into signing up for the Tinman Triathlon (roughly one-quarter of an Ironman Triathlon) in July, he said.
TriUmph Classic participants can register online at www.aarp.org/triumph or attend packet pickup from 1-5 p.m. Saturday at McCoy Pavilion.
Registration fees include the race packet and a T-shirt. Participants who remain for an awards ceremony will be eligible for prize drawings.
Fees for USA Triathlon members are $35 for individuals and $15 for relay team members. Non-USA Triathlon member fees are $44 per person; two for $15 and one for $24 in a three-person relay team; one for $15 and one for $24 for a two-person team.
For more information or to volunteer, call Clarke at 737-4340 or e-mail briancsrun@aol.com.
