Seniors Fit For Adventure
Runners, Bicycle Riders Seek Challenges in Travel
Senior runners, bicycle riders, swimmers discover active travel that puts their physical fitness to the test in races, expeditions and excursions all over the world
Senior adventure often is synonymous with "competition" among senior runners, senior bicycle riders, swimmers and other weekend athletes.
Jay Norman, 69, and Peter Spiller 63, enjoy adventure travel when it's combined with their lifelong sport of ultra-marathon running. So it's not surprising that both completed the Coastal Challenge race in Costa Rica, known as the Route of Fire, earlier this month. Both are veterans of previous CC super and their attitude exemplifies the "Yes I Can!" credo of mature adventure racers worldwide.
The Coastal Challenge this year was a 6-day 230-kilometer run through the remote northwestern coast and volcanic regions. The route took racers through inland lakes, windswept highlands, jungle and tropical dry forest. The course was set in Costa Rica's driest area.
Norman, from Irving, Texas, did not start racing competitively until at age 48. Having done both marathons and ultra-marathons, he said that while he's no longer in his prime, he still enjoys the physical test of high-endurance expedition races. His first Coastal Challenge was in 2005. Aside from enjoying different areas of Costa Rica, the race allows him to reconnect with the staff, volunteers and racers, particularly his fellow
veteran runner, Spiller. Besides, he said, he does it "to do something that very few others ever attempt. The rewards are the memories of the experience."
Similarly, Peter, a St. Augustine, Fla. resident, took up running at a time when he needed something different in his life. "I was working a little retirement job at a small beach in the Bahamas, and was looking for something to train for," says Spiller.
Like Herb Schon, a Santa Fe, N.M. resident who is planning a cross-country bicycle trip to celebrate his 75th birthday, senior adventure seekers are signing up for more and more travel experiences that are as much about being physically fit as they are about touring the world.
Herb will ride from San Francisco to Portsmouth, N.H. starting June 2 on an America By Bicycle tour that averages 82 miles a day. " Life is a challenge and efforts are rewarded!" he declared. This will be his longest bicycle trip. He got the bug after managing to climb mto the Santa Fe Ski Basin after arriving in Santa Fe a decade ago. "That was 15 miles with a gain of 3,000 vertical feet at age 66." Another feat: "winning all the events in the local and state Senior Olympics for two years in my 65-70 age group."
Senior athletes like these inspire others to start dreaming of larger physical and mental accomplishments in their senior years. And one rule is, No Excuses. Schon, for instance, rides with one artifical shoulder and bandages on both knees.
For more on senior active challenges , click these links:
US Cross Country Bicycle Tours
