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What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to younger competitive runners looking to stay sharp into their 60s?
There are a number of things I’d say. Number one is about being consistent with your training. You have to be out there every day. Normally, when I’ve got the time, I work out in the morning and I work out in the evening, and that’s really helped me sustain what I had back in the 70s and 80s, all the way into 2015. Number two is the flexibility issue. You cannot ignore the fact that father time is overtaking you and, as a runner, you’re not nearly as flexible when you’re sixty as you were when you’re sixteen. I have to constantly work on it. I probably spend half an hour to forty-five minutes a day on flexibility. If I’m working, every hour I’ll get up for five minutes, in the cockpit, and stretch–make sure that the blood is flowing. The third piece of the puzzle is weight. I’m still at my high school weight. I refuse to gain any weight, primarily because I know that it’s going to put more stress on my joints–stress on everything–and the more stress on your joints, the more problems you’re going to have. That’s why I kept the weight off and it’s been working for me.
Level-Menton, who began road racing 1 1/2 years ago in order to lose weight, finished sixth in 1:16:27.
Level-Menton, 24, of Seminole, was more concerned with her social life than anything else four years ago. She ran track in high school at Port Townsend, Wash., joined the team at Oregon State as a walk-on but quit running in 1981. After moving to Florida, Menton, 5 feet 3, decided to begin training again after she ''ballooned to 115 pounds.'' Eighteen months later, she has a 35-minute 10K, 53:13 15K and a 2:43:35 Twin Cities Marathon to her credit.
Unfortunately for Jacksonville's Larry Green, somebody involved with the administration of the 1984 Citrus Bowl Half-Marathon just didn't do their job. Green, a good regional runner who had never set any national records, ran the race of his life on the flat, fast course through the streets of downtown Orlando last December to set what appeared to be a half-marathon (13.1 miles) world record with a time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 27 seconds. But when the course was measured by an official of the sanctioning national
Green's record was negated by problems he had absolutely no control over. In order to make the starting line more accessible and convenient, a decision was made by the Orlando Bureau of Recreation to move the start ahead to in front of the Lake Eola Bandshell on Rosalind Ave. Unfortunately, no adjustment was made for the distance lost in the change.
''Running is like hitting yourself over the head with a hammer,'' Garcia said. ''When you stop, it feels good."
