I’ve had a busy, active, and fun week thus far during the 30th edition of the Huntsman World Senior Games here in St. George, Utah.
Race Walks Finished, Awards Earned!
On Tuesday, Oct. 4, I joined 30 other women on the track for the 1500-meter race. I finished in fourth in my age group with a time of 14:43.50. That was a full minute faster than the same race at the Nevada Senior Games the previous Saturday. The overall female winner, Barbara Duplichain, smoked the entire field with a time of 8:37.76.
I then race walked the 5K race the following morning. The course was on the runway at the former St. George Airport up on the mesa overlooking downtown. Weather conditions were perfect: Blue skies, cool temperatures, and little wind. My finish time was 51:35.2 — three minutes faster than last year — and good enough for a bronze medal in my age group!
At the walks’ sports luncheon, I met three-time Olympic swimming champion Debbie Meyer! When she won gold in the 200, 400, and 800-meter freestyle in Mexico City in 1968, she set a record that stood until this year with Katie Ledecky swam to Olympic glory.
Gracious, humble and so very personable, Debbie attended the post-race social to present awards to all race walk and power walk competitors.
Thank you, Debbie, for making my day so special!
Triathlon Up Next!
I have one more event to play, I mean, participate in. The sprint-distance triathlon takes place early in the morning at the Summit Athletic Club off River Road. The race features a 450-meter outdoor pool swim (with a 20-minute time limit), followed by a 20K (12.4 miles) bike ride on a fast course (no big hills), and a 5K run (well, a power walk for me).
This will be my first triathlon in a few years. My last senior games’ triathlon was back in 2010. I’m excited to get back into it!