Hear that sound?
That’s the sound of new year’s resolutions everywhere breaking, snapping, being ignored.
It happens every year about this time when resolve gives way to the usual temptations of greed, sloth, gluttony et cetera and we slump happily and guiltily back into default mediocrity for another year.
Fortunately, here on the North Shore, we have a role model we can all look up to, a titan who holds five world records in the marathon. That she’s an 88-year-old granny just adds to the legend.
We’re talking about Betty Jean (BJ) McHugh; the poster girl for “age is just a number.” BJ holds the marathon world records for the years ‘75, ‘81, ‘82 and ‘85, and on Dec. 13, obliterated the 88-year-old world record by 91 minutes and 52 seconds as she ran the Honolulu marathon in six hours, 31 minutes and 32 seconds.
If you don’t think that’s such a big deal, BJ would probably agree with you. “The record wasn’t that good compared to what I’m used to running,” she told Runner’s World after the race.
It’s just faster than anyone else at that age has ever gone for that distance.
And speaking of that distance, anyone who has ever run for 42 kilometres without stopping respects the distance.
What’s so great about BJ McHugh is that she’s a testament to willpower, and at a time when so many “will” give up, BJ’s smiling determination “will” keep us on the path.
She didn’t start running until she was 50, an age when too many of us have permanently retired to the couch. Since then, she’s run 20 marathons, knocking off world records as she gathers birthdays along the way.
Sure, the overall marathon world record is 2:02:57, held by Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, but those guys train with cheetahs or something. The important thing about BJ McHugh is that she demonstrates to all of us lesser mortals that we can defy gravity right up to the end.
This is important if like me, you’re part of a generation that has the word “baby” in it. We have a tendency to think the world ended in 1971 along with Jim Morrison. At a certain age, we start thinking that our major accomplishments are behind us. That’s when BJ McHugh was just getting started.
She is an antidote to all those self-declared experts who are constantly telling us to knock it off before we permanently damage ourselves. Instead, we’re supposed to sit still and make ourselves sitting ducks for so-called lifestyle diseases like diabetes and high-blood pressure. What kind of style is that?
By the way, self-declared experts: running is not bad for your knees. The American College of Rheumatology studied 2,439 regular runners, 55 per cent female and average age of 65 years old, with an average BMI of 28.5. If you have been a runner you will be less likely to have osteoarthritis. The most frequent runners also had lower BMIs and less knee pain. That new year’s extra weight is probably more of a factor for knee pain than running.
So at 88, BJ has outlived almost all of the naysayers and is still going strong. Facebook features fresh photo evidence of BJ recently discovering snowshoeing on Mount Seymour.
Yet another great thing about BJ is that unlike most legendary icons, she’s a truly local hero. Run on a local trail, and you’re likely to run into BJ and her entourage. Go to the Delbrook gym, and there she is, strength training and smiling. She’s an accessible icon.
Look, it’s not all smiling selfies. BJ McHugh falls – she did a face plant just before the marathon and fell trying to get the hang of snowshoes. But she gets back up again. For those of us who are about to ditch a resolution, that’s a vital lesson.
In fact, that’s the main lesson.
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Vancouver resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. He can be reached via email at p.sullivan@breakthroughpr.com.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
