Sarasotan takes home 800 meter medal at Florida Senior Games

Running is the worst possible activity.

This is a hill on which I'm willing to fight and die. There is no joy in it. It is painful and monotonous and painful (Yes, I said painful twice, but I need to hammer that point home). I know people disagree, and that's fine. Stan Edelson is one of them. He’s the reason I'm writing this column, and even he can't explain his love for running beyond him feeling good when it's over. Edelson did something Dec. 10 that I not only don’t want to do, but couldn't do, now or ever.

Edelson, 76, won the men's 75-and-up division of the 800-meter race at the Florida Senior Games in Clearwater, finishing in 3 minutes, 29.89 seconds, approximately 11 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Granted, only four competitors were crazy enough (in a good way) to attempt such a thing, but he crushed it. He won it last year, too, his first year competing in the Games.

Running is a way for Edelson to clear his head. It works better than drinking, he said, and I can’t argue that point much.

Still, the whole thing with your legs, moving them back and forth, pounding your feet on the pavement … it’s awful. Doesn't Edelson want to slow down? I would if I were retired. He doesn't, he said. He's always loved physical fitness. He started running in his late 30s, and got serious about Masters running in his 40s. He also boxes with his wife, Wendy Edelson, though she's on my side about running, for the record.

“He's the only person who can't wait to get to the next age group,” Wendy said.  

He admits that used to be true, so he could have the freshest legs and the best chance at winning races. His next age group is 80, though, and that just sounds old to Edelson. His plan now is to enjoy the sport as long as he can. He runs about 15 miles a week, he said. Some of his favorite spots are Celery Fields and Twin Lakes Park.

“If you like it, it’s not torture,” Edelson said.

He's proud of himself for doing as well as he has, but wishes he could put up the times he used to, back in his Masters days. He has a friend in New Jersey, Bill Indek, who put things into perspective. You always feel the same while running, Indek said. You feel fast.

“Then you look at the clock, and the clock doesn't lie,” Edelson recounted.

“If you like it, it’s not torture,” Edelson said.

Edelson didn't stop to think about his accomplishment when the Senior Games race ended. He was too tired, too out of breath for that, he said, but he knows Wendy and the rest of his family is proud of him.

I’m proud of him, too. Having the motivation to stay in the best physical shape you can is an admirable trait, even if that motivation leads you to the official exercise of Hell. Edelson is considering competing in the USA Track and Field Masters Indoor Championships in Landover, Md., in March, a sign of how much he enjoys it.

He says he’d have to up his weekly mileage to 25 if he wants to seriously compete. As a man of principle, I can’t endorse that much running in a lifetime, let alone a week, but I can wish him good luck.