As the images of older Americans sipping Geritol in a rocking chair are being left behind
Age is becoming more and more only an attitude sense
To live in the present with an eye to the future, avoiding life in the past tense
The way to delay or defer aging involves such a simple act
Bend over and tie your Nikes and head off to the track
Not to bet on the nags or run the sprints or the hurdles jump
But to train for a race that the rabbits it usually dumps
Where unless you are in the professional elite
The win is to regardless of time, a personal best and the finish line a runner gets to greet
The race is the marathon, a test of endurance and internal will
Rewards the ability to set an enduring and comfortable pace as a finishing skill
If the win is to be able to finish in one piece and not collapse crossing the finish line
To run a marathon is to the measurement of true age refine
Harriet Thompson last week was truly ready to rock and roll
At the ripe young age of 92 finishing the San Diego Marathon was her goal
Unlike 2014 when she set a record for the oldest woman over 90 in just a little over seven hours
She was a few minutes slower as through the course surrounded by bands she powered
Now the oldest woman to a marathon complete
This is a woman whom cancer twice could not defeat
For those women who may not be born jocks
But want to turn back the aging clock
Harriet did not start running until the young age of seventy-six
And credited her pianist skills to help her the marathon’s wall trick
This might be her last race if her statements at the end of the race one might believe
This poet doubts it and suspects the couch potatoes next year to be green with envy as another record, Ms. Thompson might achieve
© June 1, 2015 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet
Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire
Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
Rhymes for All the Memorable Times
The Perfect Gift, All Recipients to Receive a Lasting Lift
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