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In This Issue:
From 275 Pounds to WOW!
Latest News from the Ageless Wonders
Ed Whitlock – Runner
Rich Abrahams – Swimmer
Scott “Old Navy” Hults – Bodybuilder
Ken “Ice” Morrison – Hockey Player/Runner
Glenn Luttrell -- Runner
Until Next Time – Ponder this
Dear Friend/Subscriber:
If you want to be inspired, you’ll love Anthony Humpage’s story: From 275 Pounds to WOW! Also in this issue you’ll find updates on what some of our Ageless
Wonders have been up to lately. And if you want to know why staying fit, healthy and out of hospitals is the
best medicine, listen to this. According to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academies:
• The average hospital patient suffers through one error in medication PER DAY
• Each harmful medication error (not all errors are harmful) adds a wallet-flattening $8,750 to the cost of your hospital stay
So read on and find out how the Masters of Fitness are significantly slowing the aging process and staying well. Enjoy!.................The Best Is Yet To Come – Ed
From 275 Pounds to WOW!
Anthony Humpage had been overweight all his life. He remembered the other kids in school teasing him unmercifully about his weight…, so much so,
that he would wear his gym clothes under his regular school clothes so as not to have to undress in front of the other boys. The fact that he was asthmatic didn’t help. The asthma plus the excess fat kept him from participating very
much in sports or getting the exercise he needed.
As he reached age 44 and a demoralizing 275 pounds, Anthony decided he’d had enough. It was time to take control – to enjoy life. To transform
himself into the person he would like, he completely overhauled his lifestyle. Anthony started strength training at the local health club and revamped his
diet. After about a year of pumping iron he had lost 75 pounds. Now a more manageable 200 pounds, he finally felt able to run
comfortably and safely, prompting him to add running to and from the gym to his regular routine. Finding
running enjoyable for the first time in his life, he entered some local 5K and 10K running races. This eventually led to longer and longer races, culminating in 26.2-mile marathons.
Meanwhile, he became friends with an ultra-runner who worked out at the same gym. This ultra-runner started telling Anthony stories of individuals such as
himself who were running 50- and 100-mile races (ultras are any races longer than marathons). He introduced some of these runners to him. As a result,
Anthony began to have an interest in trying some longer runs – maybe even 50 miles. At first, Anthony had no interest in 100 milers, since those folks were
“obviously crazy.” However, having met some of these ultra-extreme-distance runners and heard their stories, he gradually became more interested in maybe
trying the more “insane” distances, such as 100 miles.
After his first marathon (which he ran about 2 years after first starting his gym workouts), an inspired Anthony (or Team Woofie as he liked to
refer to himself) set a goal to run a 50-mile race within the year and a 100-miler within 2 years. He ended up running his first 50-mile race in just a
little over 8 months. Whenever one sets such lofty goals, there are always obstacles and challenges with which to contend. One of his major challenges was
that his asthma, which had laid dormant for decades, decided to make itself known during the two 50-milers he ran preliminary to his prospective100-mile
attempt. In one of the 50-milers, an asthma episode forced him to walk the last 10 miles and in the other, it almost “brought [him] to [his] knees.” This
reemergence of asthma made him question the feasibility of running 100 miles. However, with the help of a pulmonologist and some medication, he got his asthma
under control.
Thus, just 16 months after his first 26.2-mile race - eight months ahead of his goal – Anthony found himself at the very-tough Vermont 100. By
using his newfound fitness and taking his asthma medicine during the race, Anthony was able to complete this supreme test of endurance in an impressive 27
hours, 34 minutes.
In a mere four years “Team Woofie” had transformed himself from a “sedentary porker” to a youthful, fit and happy 47-year-old. The moral of this
story? What you were in the past doesn’t have to dictate what you will be in the future. You are free to change your destiny at any time – no matter how long you
have been stuck in your current dilemma.
Latest News from the Ageless Wonders
Here’s the latest from the world of the Master athletes – the folks who are showing the rest of us that we really can significantly slow the aging process
for a better quality of life. We have exciting news from a swimmer, a body builder, a hockey player, and of course, some runners who are showing us that
age doesn’t have to stop us from enjoying life and living to the fullest.
Ed Whitlock – Runner
Canadian Ed Whitlock was the first Septuagenarian to break 3 hours in a marathon (see my book Fitter For Life for details and to see how he did it). This year he
turned 75 and celebrated with some amazing times:
• A 18:45 5K (6:02/mile pace – impressive at ANY age)
• A 39:25 10K (middle of the pack in most 10Ks is about 50 min.)
• A 5:41.8 Mile (breaking the existing age-group WR by 16 sec.)
With these age-group (75-79) World Record times (5 in all), he looked to break 3 hours in a marathon, at the Toronto Scotiabank marathon in September. This would
have been his fourth sub-3-hour time since he turned 70 (he did this 3 times from the ages of 72 to 74). In this regard, his 3:08 was a disappointment, but
was still easily a new age-group World Record – breaking the old mark by nearly 10 minutes. This is a time the majority of marathoners of all ages can only
dream of. He set this WR despite having to deal with some physical issues that interfered with his training for the marathon.
Rich Abrahams -- Swimmer
Rich Abrahams competed at the FINA Masters World Swimming Championships in Palo Alto, California this August. About 7,000 Masters swimmers, divers, water
polo players,… from 77 countries took part. Having trained hard, with the goal of being the first 60-year-old to break 1 minute in the 100-meter freestyle,
Rich did not disappoint. He set a new age-group (60-64) World Record with his phenomenally-fast 59.5-second performance. This is nothing new for Rich, he’s
been setting age-group records for years. You can find out more of Rich’s inspiring story in Fitter For Life.
Scott “Old Navy” Hults – Bodybuilder
Scott “Old Navy” Hults, who first decided to give bodybuilding a try around age 60, has been a busy athlete indeed this year. I count no less than 9
bodybuilding competitions he’s entered since last February (with his last of the year scheduled for November) at which he’s had 25 award-winning performances.
Now 63, here are the results for his two most recent shows: At the 2006 OCB Gulf States Championship, in Baton Rouge Louisiana, on
September 16th he won the Men’s Master 60+ class, came in 2nd in the Men’s Master 50+, and finished 3rd in the Open Men Tall.
Then September 30th, at the 2006 NGA Nationals World Bodybuilding & Figure Championship in Duluth, Georgia, Scott garnered 2nd in the Open Men’s
Lightweight (out-muscling and out-posing all but one of the younger men competitors) and 1st in the Men’s Master 60+.
Not bad for someone who’s only been competing for a couple of years. However, a picture is worth a whole bunch of words, maybe even a thousand, so I
encourage you to go to www.bodybuildingsenior.com and check out the PHOTOS – they’re awesome.
Ken “Ice” Morrison – Hockey Player/Runner
Ken, now in his mid-sixties, ran the Virginia Beach Half-Marathon (in Virginia) on Labor Day weekend; then, later in September he was headed to
Philadelphia to take part in the Philly Distance Run; and he was thinking of following these 2 races up with a 5K race. Meanwhile, he’s started yet another
year of hockey (roller hockey now) – making him one of the oldest hockey players in the whole US of A. Ken was featured in my book, Fitter After 50.
Glenn Luttrell – Runner
Glenn and I belong to the Shenandoah Valley Runners, a local running club, and we both compete in the 60 -64 age-group. I am envious of Glenn because this
year, although he’s been racing for years and years, he has set 11 PRs – Personal Records (that’s right, eleven!). He recently lowered his 5K time to 24:47, or around an
8:20-per-mile pace. Way to go, Glenn! Glenn, Ed, Scott, Rich, and Ken are just a handful of the folks who are showing us that age need not be a factor.
Makes a Great Gift!
Are there some folks in your life that you would like to keep healthy and fit – whose
quality of life is important to you? Fitter for Life: The Secrets of
25 Masters of Fitness and Fitter After 50: Forever Changing Our
Beliefs About Aging make great gifts for that special someone. Both
books reveal the secrets of dozens of Masters of Fitness,
individuals ages 40 to 93, who have significantly slowed or even
reversed the aging process and detail how they did it AND how you
can, too! To order or for more information: Visit
www.FitterForLife.com
or call 1-800-342-6068. And don’t forget to check out www.FitterAfter50.com
to find out more about the Masters of Fitness and the blockbuster,
original book that started it all – Fitter After 50: Forever
Changing Our Beliefs About Aging.
* Share this newsletter with those you care about *
If you know someone who you think could benefit from receiving this newsletter, feel free to forward it to them or even print it out and give it to them.
Until Next Time, Ponder This: Joe, Sister Madonna, and Robert have
shown us once again that age is just a number. By reading about and
focusing on Masters of Fitness such as these, you challenge the old,
outdated self-destructive beliefs about aging (that we all have to
one degree or another) that are sabotaging your quality of life.
Ed Mayhew’s Fitter After 50
Newsletter
Reclaiming the Energy, Vitality & Stamina of Youth
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