Turn, Turn, Turn

Things change, time moves on. The seasons turn, and so does the world around us.

With the end of winter comes the promise of spring. This year it seems more like a promise that won't be kept, but unless we flip poles, have a nuclear winter or repeal the laws of physics, we will have warmer weather. Eventually. I hope.

Lately, I've been reminded of how much things change, even when they remain the same.

When we all began running, we took for granted that we will set a faster time for most distances we run almost every time we put on a bib number. After a couple of years, those PB's (Personal Bests) become fewer and farther between and the effort to attain them harder and harder. Eventually, time robs us all of the ability to stretch the limits of our boundaries any further. Then the battle becomes not one for advancement but merely a holding action against further declines.

We all fight the loss of our abilities to do the things we used to do so easily. It could be as simple as buying a watch with a bigger face because the eyes don't work as well as they used to, spending more time exercising to the same level of conditioning, or recognizing that your PB's are behind you. Some runners struggle with the ghosts of their past achievements, never satisfied with their current performances, while others just retire from the scene and quit running altogether.

It could be so easy to just fold up your tent and go home, but a surprising number of runners don't. Instead of holding a grudge against Father Time, they celebrate each age category milestone as an opportunity to become competitive again. They compete not against the sands of time but against their true selves and the people they have run against over the years.

Take the example of the older members of our running club. One person that continues to inspire me, started running in 1975. Why? Well, he initially joined the Burlington Y just to get some exercise and lose a few winter pounds. A few of the guys at the gym bugged him into joining them on their run. I hear that on the initial five miler, Charles Fraser and the boys almost killed him.

Since that initial run, he ran his first marathon as a bandit in Boston (3:32) and set a career marathon PB of 3:16 at the Toronto International Marathon in 1981. He has an Around the Bay PB of 2:14 at the old distance of 19.1 miles, and a 10 km PB of 41:07.

Not to rest on his laurels, he's just as competitive now as he was 20 years ago. Just look at the results of the 2002 Casino Niagara Half marathon, and you'll see his name with first place honours in 70+ age category.

Ron Riuli turned 72, on April 6, 2002. While his marathon days are probably over, he's still running half marathons and taking home hardware in his age group. As for the future, well, he's got his sights on the Utica Boilermaker and two more half marathons this year, one in Quebec City, as well as defending his title in Niagara.

Ron, while not as fast as he used to be, keeps reminding me that I've yet to beat his best times. I'm not sure if I ever will, but I can only hope to achieve the length and quality of his running career.

In the end, how much can we control and how much can we change? Not too much, really. We as athletes can at least try to keep the hands of time from holding us back by continuing to live an active life style. The secret may be in figuring out when to stop training to be the fastest person across the tape and start training to be the runner with the most mileage at the end of our days.

To paraphrase the psalms and the Birds song, to every thing there is a season, a time to train, a time to rest, a time for marathoning and a time for running five k's.

After all, a lifetime shouldn't be a sprint to the finish. I think all of us, by embracing change as a positive influence, can strive to not finish first, but to finish last in that grand ultra marathon called life.

By Mark G. Collis

Revised: April 13, 2004.