Age just doesn't mean a thing - ask Harriet Anderson
One of our newest members, doc, finished up a post with these very wise words:
Quote:
Age just doesn't mean a thing. Never say never, and never say too late.
Well, here's living proof of that (like we need more encouragement ;)).
Harriet Anderson is 68 years old, and, according to Mike Jacoubowsky of Chain Reaction Cycles, "started cycling seriously maybe 13 years ago or so (we sold her her first nice bike) and has been beating up those in her age bracket ever since. And she's absolutely the nicest person you could ever come across."
And she competed in her 13th consecutive Ironman this weekend.
There's an article about her in the San Jose Mercury News, you might need to register to read it...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/9935797.htm
Here are some excerpts:
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Never mind the sun setting
SOFT-SPOKEN, BUT ALSO CALLED `THE DOMINATOR'
By Mark Emmons
Mercury News
Before the sun begins to rise off the coast of the Big Island in Hawaii today, Harriet Anderson will jump into the Pacific Ocean. She will swim 2.4 miles. Then she will ride a bike for 112 miles. Then she will run the marathon distance of 26.2 miles.
[...]
The late-blooming Anderson never considered herself an athlete. She played tennis in high school and was a band majorette, but it was a college summer job working in Yosemite that provided clues of her fitness.
[...]
When Gary [her husband] and Harriet became empty-nesters, they joined a fitness-for-life class. Through that they met some runners and began doing 10Ks. Then marathons. Before Anderson knew it, she was trying triathlons, winning her age group in her first event in 1987.
[...]
She competed in her first Hawaii Ironman in 1989, and ever since has been a regular because each time she wins her division, she earns an automatic berth to the next year's Ironman. It means she does not have to qualify for the ultra-exclusive race that Babbitt calls the Super Bowl of triathlons.
Anderson always finishes the challenging course within the 17-hour time limit. Last year she won her division despite the fact her training was interrupted months earlier when she was hit by a car -- totaling her bike. Luckily, she suffered only soft tissue injuries. This year, Anderson's preparation was delayed by a month when she was slowed by pneumonia.
[...]
But Anderson, wearing a sleek Nike sweatsuit, really did look like a kid in a candy store when she was showing off her high-tech bike recently. Anderson's helmet and outfit will match the yellow-and-black bike. She even planned to wear yellow nail polish today.
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Just checked the standings, she won her 65-69 division :cool:
