It’s never too late
to master fitness

Athletes defy their age at the USA
Masters Outdoor Track & Field
Championships

When her parents passed away due to health complications, Honolulu's Joan Davis knew it was time to do something about her own life.

She took up running, starting with fun runs, and has since run marathons for the past 15 years. Davis' story was a common one among competitors at the USA Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Cooke Field.

The four-day event concluded yesterday with more than 800 participants competing in the national championships for those over age 30.

While some competitors were once college stars or Olympians, others picked up the sport later in their lives for different reasons -- to get off the couch, to get off the junk food and even to get back at their local politician.

"My dad died at 68 of emphysema and my mother passed away at 69 of prostate, liver and colon cancer," said Davis, 64. "That's when I decided to change my lifestyle. I still want to feel good and live longer."

"Very few people my age are even interested in track and field," added Kathy Bergen, a 65-year-old from La Canada, Calif., who won her age division in the 100-meter dash and high jump.

Bergen said she sat on the couch and ate bon bons for 38 years. In 1994, Bergen and her husband, who high-jumped in high school, saw a magazine article and he asked if she was interested in track.

"I said, 'I love to watch, but what could I do?' " Bergen said. "He said, 'Well, anybody can run 50 meters,' and that's what started it."

Since then, Bergen has become a four-time winner in the indoor 60 meters and high-jump record holder. She's also laid off the bon bons.

Twenty years ago, Clarence Trahan started masters track at age 70. He remembers seeing the lieutenant governor of California competing at a meet and thought, "I could beat that guy."

"I entered and I beat him later on," said Trahan of Hemet, Calif., who won the 100 and long jump for his age division.

But masters track is more than just getting out of the house and going for a run. Even with a running background in high school, college and the Army, it took James Stookey five to six years before he won anything after he discovered masters track more than 10 years ago.

Now, the 75-year-old veterinary pathologist from Dickerson, Md., is running through his third straight year as the National Masters Athlete of the Year. At Cooke Field, Stookey won the 80-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump and 100 meters for his age division.

"The first time was really most appreciative," Stookey said of his first award. "The masters, if you don't lose what everybody is losing, then you rise to the top a little bit."

Competitors said the biggest key to masters track is staying healthy. Many cross train by doing other sports, weightlifting, or simply taking a break when their body tells them "no."

"If I feel twinges, I rest a little more," said Bergen, who cross trains by playing on a tennis team and doing strength and flexibility training.

"There's a very fine line between training very hard and not getting injured," added Alex Rodriguez, 56, of Hawaii Kai, a runner for the past 40 years. "I run on a treadmill, I run on the road and I alternate four different pairs of shoes. I do a small amount of weightlifting and I do the Stepmaster and the bicycle."

He placed fourth in the 1,500-meter run for his age division yesterday and came in second behind Kailua doctor and former Olympian Duncan Macdonald in Thursday's 5,000 run.

"I think all the different techniques I've been using have helped."

Kathy Martin, one of the top age 50-plus distance runners in the nation and the current National Masters Athlete of the Year, feels masters athletes are setting an example for their peers.

"I look at it as we hold ourselves to hopefully inspire other people to get out there," said Martin of Northport, N.Y., who won the 800, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. "You look at people who started running at 30. If they can do it, I can do it. That's my hope, to get America off the couches.

"I'm in the best physical shape of my life and that's awesome. I don't believe age is a factor. We just keep pushing the envelope."