Some older runners not ready to hang up the shoes

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By Michelle Laczkoski/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

Posted Apr 11, 2009 @ 09:51 PM

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The rush of crossing the Boston Marathon finish line is addicting, and it can be hard to give up even for runners getting a little older.

Several local people hooked to the adrenaline high say they won't let old age stop them from making the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston on April 20.

"I don't plan to stop," said 66-year-old Sudbury resident Michael Gonnerman. "I have no excuses."

Gonnerman is one of several veteran runners the area who are running again this year. Of the 5,180 runners from Massachusetts, 39 are 65 or older.

The race on Patriots Day will be the 33rd marathon for 68-year-old Milford resident Ken Poole. It will be his 13th race to Boston.

A knee injury sidelined Poole at last year's Boston Marathon. After he recovered from stepping in a pot hole and hurting his knee, doctors told Poole, "You've run your last marathon," he recalled.

"I don't agree with that," Poole said. "And I've proved them wrong so far."

Gonnerman also said his doctor advises him not to run each year.

"He says I'll hurt my knees, but I don't plan to stop," said Gonnerman, the oldest runner in the Heartbreak Hill Striders Running Club. "It's a lifestyle. I like to keep fit and meet nice people."

Nothing compares to the thrill of completing a marathon, said 65-year-old John Moynihan of Westborough.

"There are not too many life experiences that can compete with the feeling of accomplishing that," Moynihan said. "Every year it doesn't get old, it's a tremendous experience."

Dr. Sean Rockett, who practices sports medicine at MetroWest Newton Wellesley Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, said older runners have enough experience and knowledge of their own bodies to know when to stop.

"Usually I'll tell people if they are having any kind of symptoms and are running through pain, they probably shouldn't," he said. "Their body will let them know what they can get away with."

Rockett said those who still run past age 65 have a different genetic makeup than most.

"They are probably the type of person who will not have problems with arthritis or pain being an issue," he said.

With more time to train during retirement years, Rockett said veteran runners are not more prone to injury than younger competitors.

"They are probably very well-conditioned, and most have been running their whole life," he said. "A lot of them are running throughout the year and typically train by running at their own pace."

Although Moynihan feels strong and healthy, he said this year's Boston Marathon, his seventh, will be his last.

"It's getting harder and harder to do," he said. "When you push 66 (years old), it's about time to hang up the shoes. It becomes harder each year, I just run it to see if I can do it."

Harry Carter, a 72-year-old man from England who lives in Blackstone, has run Boston about a half-dozen times.

He began running competitive long distances at 58, and once clocked a 3-hour, 25-minute finish time, when he was 60.

"I thought, 'This is fun,' and I kind of stuck with it," Carter said.

In his retirement, Carter easily fits in 50 to 60 miles per week, he said.

After what he considered a disappointing finish last year, Carter hopes to complete the Marathon this year in three and a half hours.

"I ran it in 3:40 last year, I got cramps and had to slow down. I had to walk the last few miles," he said. "Each year it gets harder to predict. At this age you tend to lose a minute or two each year, although it doesn't feel like you've run any different."

Carter said his doctor has commended his exercise habits.

"He's got me pegged as biologically a 55-year-old man," Carter said.

Poole is also aiming to run the Marathon in under four hours.

"I think there is still a sub-four-hour marathon left in these old bones," said Poole, who has run in all five major marathons: Boston, New York, Chicago, London and Berlin.

"There is no doubt that Boston is the most difficult with its unforgiving hills at the worst possible times," he said.

Wearing bib number 18,383, Poole will sport a Natick High School Redmen T-shirt which reads "Class of 1959" in honor of his alma mater.

Moynihan is expecting to finish in five hours, about an hour longer than his time at age 35, he said.

"Running a marathon is still a source of tremendous personal pride," he said. "It makes you feel young."

By running, Moynihan reaps many benefits.

"You stay in good shape, feel good, sleep better, and it's a distraction from everyday life," he said.

Rockett's tips to runners of all ages are to stay hydrated and have fun.

Poole's advice: "Don't make any predictions. You don't know what will happen out there. It's a long road."

And avoid pot holes, he said.