"Run, Pappy, Run!" The Senior Olympics Spurs Waveland Athlete
John Impson takes off at one of his many competitions. photo by Gwen Impson
contributed by John Impson
Here I am, 73 years old and I’ve just found out what it’s like to get high - on running that is. When I say running, I don’t mean the typical running events such as 5K’s or marathons. I go for sprints which are short bursts of speed! My favorites are 50 meters, 100 meters, and the 200 meters. To put it in perspective, 100 meters is about the length of a football field and my best time so far is 15.21 seconds. I say “so far” because I am continuously striving to beat my times.
My interest in running is not a carry-over from high school or college. I had enough trouble keeping my grades up and quite simply we didn’t have a track at my high school. The first time I actually ran in a competitive meet was in 2003 at an event sponsored by the Mississippi Senior Olympics where I had to ask, “Exactly where is the finish line?” With every meet I learned more and became more committed to running. I really didn’t enter a lot of competitive meets until 2010 because, like the rest of us here on the coast, we were busy recovering from you know what.
Why do I do it? Because I thought I could. What do I get out of it? I’ve actually found out I can compete with dudes who were track stars in our college days of the early 60’s. I now run in about 10 meets a year; My wife, Gwen and I travel and combine vacations with meets. I’ve been to a meet in Fairbanks, Alaska, and about eight other states. We have fun, meet a lot of interesting people and find it helps us tremendously with our personal health issues. No, Gwen doesn’t compete, but walks the track when I practice, takes photos and videos and critiques my form. She is my number one fan followed by our kids and grandkids who often travel to meets to watch and cheer me on with chants of “Run, Pappy, Run.”
I am not alone in my quest to prove myself. At every meet you will find men and women who compete with others in their age group; for instance I compete in the 70-74 age group. There are no limits on participation, don’t be surprised to find many ninety year olds participating in track and field.
Speaking of practice, I try to get to the track every other day. I find it is one of the most stimulating physical activities I’ve ever experienced not to mention the mental stimulation. I get just as much out of my practice sessions as competing - well, almost as much. I enjoy the competition but when I am on the track, I concentrate on beating my own time as much as beating my opponents.
The Senior Olympics (Games) exist in every state, most offering activities such as card games, badminton, swimming, ballroom dancing and many others for persons over 50 years of age. There are group activities as well as individual events with district meets and state meets where you can qualify to go onto national events. We have an excellent Senior Olympic district event taking place here the middle of this month in Gulfport and Biloxi. If interested, call 228: 547-8665 or go to Mississippi Gulf Coast Senior Games on the Internet.
Whether you run or walk, just do it!
Here I am, 73 years old and I’ve just found out what it’s like to get high - on running that is. When I say running, I don’t mean the typical running events such as 5K’s or marathons. I go for sprints which are short bursts of speed! My favorites are 50 meters, 100 meters, and the 200 meters. To put it in perspective, 100 meters is about the length of a football field and my best time so far is 15.21 seconds. I say “so far” because I am continuously striving to beat my times.
My interest in running is not a carry-over from high school or college. I had enough trouble keeping my grades up and quite simply we didn’t have a track at my high school. The first time I actually ran in a competitive meet was in 2003 at an event sponsored by the Mississippi Senior Olympics where I had to ask, “Exactly where is the finish line?” With every meet I learned more and became more committed to running. I really didn’t enter a lot of competitive meets until 2010 because, like the rest of us here on the coast, we were busy recovering from you know what.
Why do I do it? Because I thought I could. What do I get out of it? I’ve actually found out I can compete with dudes who were track stars in our college days of the early 60’s. I now run in about 10 meets a year; My wife, Gwen and I travel and combine vacations with meets. I’ve been to a meet in Fairbanks, Alaska, and about eight other states. We have fun, meet a lot of interesting people and find it helps us tremendously with our personal health issues. No, Gwen doesn’t compete, but walks the track when I practice, takes photos and videos and critiques my form. She is my number one fan followed by our kids and grandkids who often travel to meets to watch and cheer me on with chants of “Run, Pappy, Run.”
I am not alone in my quest to prove myself. At every meet you will find men and women who compete with others in their age group; for instance I compete in the 70-74 age group. There are no limits on participation, don’t be surprised to find many ninety year olds participating in track and field.
Speaking of practice, I try to get to the track every other day. I find it is one of the most stimulating physical activities I’ve ever experienced not to mention the mental stimulation. I get just as much out of my practice sessions as competing - well, almost as much. I enjoy the competition but when I am on the track, I concentrate on beating my own time as much as beating my opponents.
The Senior Olympics (Games) exist in every state, most offering activities such as card games, badminton, swimming, ballroom dancing and many others for persons over 50 years of age. There are group activities as well as individual events with district meets and state meets where you can qualify to go onto national events. We have an excellent Senior Olympic district event taking place here the middle of this month in Gulfport and Biloxi. If interested, call 228: 547-8665 or go to Mississippi Gulf Coast Senior Games on the Internet.
Whether you run or walk, just do it!
