Run for your life!

A "late bloomer" shares the secrets of her athletic success.

By Barb Valiukenas
Editor

Are you too busy, or too tired, to exercise? Is you body too frail to withstand the physical stress? Do you find exercise boring? Does it interfere with your family or social life? Is it too expensive for your budget?

Anne Clarke, 76, of Glen Ellyn rejects all of the above reasons and any other of the common excuses people give for not exercising. A self-proclaimed "late bloomer," Mrs. Clarke entered an exercise program at age 64 in an effort to lessen the discomfort of her chronic arthritis and bursitis.

"I originally went to the YMCA for swimming lessons and became interested in an exercise class to help my arthritis," Mrs. Clarke explained. "I had never exercised or done anything physical, so I found the exercises difficult.

"When the teacher told us that we had to run for 15 minutes, I thought it was pretty silly," she said. "But I

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still tried in my dollar sneakers, and my feet hurt terribly,"

Her subsequent purchase of running shoes helped her feet, but did not increase her enthusiasm for either the exercises or running. It wasn't until a classmate stressed the importance of running at a comfortable self-set pace that Mrs. Clarke began to enjoy the sport and ran a mile nonstop.

Her progress was halted temporarily for six weeks when the local school district called her out of retirement to substitute teach.

"I knew I would be out of the exercise class for six weeks," Mrs. Clarke stated, "so I told the instructor to call on me the date I would be finished teaching.

"When the time came, the teacher didn't call," she said. "Instead, she came over and got me on her motorcycle! I was screaming the whole two miles back to the YMCA. But she was determined that I would go back, and she was able to help me in many ways."

A new approach

Mrs. Clarke continued to run for health reasons during the next several years. It wasn't until the Bonne Belle (cosmetic) Company sponsored a local running workshop that she considered participating in competitive events.

"I originally went to the workshop to learn something so I could be an assistant to the teacher by encouraging older women to exercise," Mrs. Clarke said. "But I found out there were some older women at this workshop with white hair who were actually going to run in the Bonne Bellesponsored 6.2 mile race.

"The people sponsoring the workshop said that if you ran three miles every day you should be able to run the 6.2 miles safely," she said. "At that point I was waddling around four miles and thought, 'If they can do it, so can I!'"

And how did her family react? "My husband and son both thought I had lost my mind," Mrs. Clarke remembered.

Racing debut

Mrs. Clarke, then 69, made her competitive racing debut on a cold, rainy Sunday morning. She overcame her fear of contracting pneumonia and ran "as if I had on wings" — for the first three miles.

"And then I thought I was going to die," she said. "My legs hurt and I thought about turning around and going back, but I didn't know how to get back. I realized that the only way back was to complete the race.

"People along the way were applauding as I limped to the finish line for my first race," she said. "I wasn't

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sure that I would even be able to walk again when I got out of the car later that evening, but when I discovered that I could, I was elated."

Her personal triumph was shared with Chicago area residents on the front page of the Chicago Tribune newspaper the following morning. Since then, the media have covered Mrs. Clarke's participation in three Chicago marathons, one in Honolulu and the International Avon Women's Marathon in France.

Her times have improved steadily over the years, and she competes in approximately 30 events each year. For example, she ran her first Bonne Belle race in 69 minutes. Her time in the same event last year was 57 minutes.

Food for thought

Mrs. Clarke says her health was "fair" when she embarked on her exercise/running activities. She has since "worked out" all of her bursitis and arthritis, and credits the exercise, natural vitamins and a change of diet for her improved condition.

She urges senior citizens to undergo a complete physical examination from their doctor before embarking on any exercise program. She also encourages them to begin with simple exercises and progress slowly.

"In my class we do aerobic activities to music for only about two minutes of the class period," Mrs. Clarke explained. "During the other time, participants are taught how to breathe properly, to listen to their own bodies, and to do certain yoga-style movements that will stretch muscles without aggravating sore backs, bad knees or any other physical problems."

Her other advice is to stop smoking, drink plenty of water, eat a lot of raw vegetables, be with people and enjoy life.

Mrs. Clarke's first class was strictly for senior citizens. She now teaches a general exercise class with a large senior citizen enrollment, and does specialized exercise classes at retirement homes.

"Some people come to my classes in walkers, and one man even came in a wheelchair," Mrs. Clarke said. "No one is too unfit or old to exercise. Even if they are 100 years old or young, they can move something and will still benefit from the right kind of exercise."

Mrs. Clarke's philosophy travels by word of mouth and through other instructors and pupils in her classes.

And how long does Mrs. Clarke plan to continue her running?

"I'm going to live a long time and die young . . . that's my motto," she said. "One day I'm going to write a book called Keep the Old Bod Movin, because that really is the secret. I know because I have proven it."

Anyone wanting more information can contact Mrs. Clarke at the B.R. Ryall YMCA, 49 Deicke Dr., Glen Ellyn, IL 60137. Phone (312) 858-0100.

And if you happen to talk with her on Sept. 21, you might want to wish her a happy 77th birthday!

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