Staying Young, One Run at a Time

by Erin Masterson

For some runners, victory is not defined by how fast they run a race on any given day, but by the number of races they have run over a lifetime. And this victory is further measured by the months, years, even decades they have spent working hard to maintain fitness, stay healthy, stay young, stay alive. 


NOVA Coach Jerry Alexander
with Betty Blank
photo courtesy Justin Buenaflor

While there may not be a true fountain of youth, staying active is truly the secret to a long, healthy life. Two of NOVA's longest serving members, Bob Weiner and Betty Blank, can attest to this. Bob joined NOVA in 1975, and remembers Betty as a consistent presence on the NOVA track even then, just as she is today. He says of Betty, "Her dedication is unparalleled. She has maintained better than anyone else I know. She runs like a teenager! But I don't dare talk about her age." For the record, Betty is 60 and proud of it.  

Betty has been running for over 35 years and has had very few injuries over that time period. She feels you don't have to get slower as you age. Having the right attitude, a love of running, and a healthy life style will keep you from slowing down as you get older. Betty hasn't slowed down much in the last 20 years.  Her times now are just a few minutes off her PRs when she was in her 30s. But Betty cautions that you do have to take care of your body. Betty doesn't race as much as she used to, but she does the big races around DC and then also runs in low key races in the summer to keep in racing shape. She thinks people who race too much will break down, as she has seen this in many runners who have slowed down a lot and are racing just to race. If Betty runs a race she wants it to be a quality race and not just a fun race. A fun race is not in her vocabulary.

 While the NOVA Running Club is composed of runners of all ages and fitness levels, many of NOVA's members do qualify for Masters races, which start at age 30 for track & field events and 40 for long distance running according to the USATF. Masters sports allow for lifetime fitness and health for training and competition, but the important thing is to stay positive even when times get slower. Runners, traditionally a stubborn and driven bunch, can work to develop a different perspective on the definition of success as they get older in order to set reasonable expectations for performance. 

Coach Jerry Alexander (l) with Joan Benoit Samuelson (r)
photo courtesy GRC

Bill Rogers and Joan Benoit Samuelson are two role models that any runner can aspire to emulate, but especially those Masters runners who may get discouraged as their times decline over the years. Bill and Joan continue to be successful in their age groups on the international stage, and winning an age group award can be a great motivating factor for many runners. Aging is a reality of life, and it's important to set new standards and milestones to keep working towards, even though a lifetime PR may be far behind. 

NOVA Head Coach Jerry Alexander's background is in college coaching, and when he first started with NOVA in 2005, he states that "My uneducated view was that Masters athletes were either not serious about their training, or worse, that they would hurt themselves by running." At his very first NOVA practice, Jerry met Dick Williams, who had recently turned 70. As Jerry watched him warm up, he feared for Dick's safety, and thought to himself that Dick would be lucky to get around the track three or four times. When he next learned that Dick had completed a 5 mile race two days prior, finishing in 37:30, Jerry was absolutely blown away--a 70 year old running even one mile in that pace seemed amazing, but five in a row?! Since that revelation, Jerry has learned to never underestimate what a motivated Masters athlete can do.


NOVA's Martha Mertz
photo courtesy Justin Buenaflor

Coach Jerry counts NOVA's Martha Mertz as one of his standouts in his history of coaching elite Masters runners. During one practice in the fall of 2007, Martha had just completed a great workout in which she kept pace with a fellow runner who was a legitimate Olympic Trials aspirant in the marathon. Martha then mentioned to Jerry that she had just turned 45. Jerry replied that he would be shocked if another 45 year old anywhere in the US could have run that workout, and a few months later, Martha proved him right when she broke the American Record for 10,000 meters for women 45 and over. And she did it at Penn Relays, running against college athletes who were younger than her daughter!

Jerry has had success coaching elite masters athletes by using the same approach as coaching elites in their 20s on workout days. Masters athletes can handle hard workouts.  The difference is in the recovery days. Masters athletes normally need a little more down time after hard efforts, and need to be smarter about listening to their bodies. And with years of accumulated mileage, they can succeed with less volume. As long as the quality is there on workout days, the performances are there on race day.

As for beginning masters runners, Jerry says he has found that the key is patience. It is harder to bounce back from routine injuries in your 40s and 50s, so he strongly encourages new Masters runners to build their mileage and intensity slowly, so they don't get hurt in the first place. 

Mixing up surfaces is also key to avoiding injury and staying motivated. Switching up track workouts with roads, dirt trails, even the treadmill when needed late at night or when weather doesn't permit a run outdoors helps to keep things interesting, and alternating with a bike or swim also helps. Strength training is another essential component of maintaining fitness through aging, most importantly for improving bone density and reducing the risk of injury. Other maintenance activities recommended by Betty Blank include foam rolling to eliminate tightness in quads and hamstrings, a hot bath with Epsom Salts, a lot of sleep (at least nine hours) every night, frequent massages, and adjustments by a chiropractor when needed.  All of these components can be done as part of a complete physical fitness routine, one that can easily be incorporated into your weekly schedule until it is a natural part of your daily life.    

NOVA's Bob Weiner in his 1975 NOVA jersey
photo courtesy Justin Buenaflor

Bob Weiner says, "What excites me, at this stage in my running career, is being able to maintain fitness and health. Lifetime fitness allows you to gain 10 extra years on your life. And not just that - but a HEALTHY 10 years. And when you meet at the track for NOVA workouts, week after week, that's the result." Having been a member of almost every running club in the DC area, including DC Road Runners, Potomac Valley Track Club, Montgomery County Road Runners Club, and his own Capital Hill Runners, Bob's word can be trusted when he says that NOVA is one of the best clubs in the country. "The spirit, the history, expertise, and professionalism, along with the dedicated group of leaders and a skilled coach, make NOVA the ideal community for a runner looking for support in achieving lifetime fitness. NOVA creates a sense of camaraderie and loyalty that keeps people coming back every week."  NOVA encourages runners of all ages to seek out the Club and find a source of inspiration from one of the many long time runners who represent our team's history.