The 100-metre race is a basic, short burst that presents a simple test: how fast can you go?
No matter what the surface, or if it is on an oval track or a straight line, the distance isn’t such an obstacle to be a burden for most people. But add a stop watch and some urgency,
and suddenly the short stretch becomes a power sprint.
When Norm Lesage looks at it, the challenge is not the if, but the how quick.
At 87-years old, the Burnaby senior is bearing down once more for a race this weekend that others younger than him will take a pass on.
A passion for running, however, has fuelled Lesage’s healthy habit of lacing on his sneakers and pushing the limit.
“What else is there?” asks Lesage when the question comes up if running isn’t perhaps something he should consider stopping. “I’m not the kind of guy who wants to sit and watch the world go by. When I’m running, I BS with people all along the trail. I say hello to everyone.”
A gregarious type, Lesage enjoys the camraderie of the competition. Seniors are too often stereotyped as sedentary, grouchy retirees, he says. While Lesage loves to share his knowledge and encourage those around him to keep moving, he’s equally just pleased as punch to be doing it himself.
The one-time bar and motel owner feels fortunate to still be chasing the finish line, having picked up the sport competitively at the age of 68.
“I never did track at (Vancouver College), and it wasn’t until I was 68 that I kind of got into it,” he recalled. “We were down in Arizona and I got sick and tired of running by myself, so I signed up for a race.
“I finished dead-last, and by the end of the finish line my track suit was falling off.”
Although he still ran recreationally, it wasn’t until nine years later that he saw a race result he liked – when he crossed the finish line first.
“Suddenly, I was beating guys I’d been running with for nine years.”
It’s easy to focus on the now and somewhat fascinating story of an octagenarian sprinting for the fun of it. As someone who has seen too many friends and acquaintances suffer poor health and die too young, Lesage’s own story is fuel for thought.
Marrying Mary Lou four years out of high school, he found a career in managing vending machines around the city – mostly selling cigarettes. For today’s younger generation, the heavy smoking habits of past generations is a weird picture, but it was reality in the 1950s and ’60s.
A smoker then himself, Lesage remembers just dropping it one day as if on a whim.
“I went to some ‘doo when I was young, and I said to my pals that I was quitting at midnight – and I did. That was that.”
After running a bar and a motel, Lesage picked up flying. He went from piloting a single engine airplane to a helicopter, and with less than 100 hours of experience, found himself called to do a rare rescue of a woman trapped on a half-submerged vehicle in 1982 beside the Hope-Princeton Highway.
“I only had maybe 80 hours (flying experience in the helicopter) but it was kind of a panic job. The only choice I had was to drop a sling down, where a fellow fitted it around the woman and (I) had to pull her out and put her on the road.
“I had never lifted anyone up, but there was a guy directing me from the ground... Someone took a picture of this as we did it, and the whole thing was on CBC.
“I got a medal out of it.”
Since grounded, Lesage finds running to be a safer hobby. In 2007, he was the provincial master athlete of the year. Over the past seven years, his times have placed him as high as fourth in world rankings.
While he was sidelined five years ago with a slipped disc in his back, he maintained a level of activity despite the pain. Then suddenly, his health improved and things all fit together again.
“It was a pain I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” said Lesage. “It got to be so debilitating, but then it went away. I could feel it getting better. I was getting faster and sleeping longer. And then, suddenly, I was running my old times again.”
A multiple record holder and medal winner from various masters events including the B.C. 55+ Games, Lesage knows there will be few contestants in his 85-89 men’s division. He wishes there were more who could run the race, never mind beat his typical sub-20-second time.
“I thoroughly enjoy running – I could do it every day,” he said. “I push the training hard, but if there was no race, I’d just run.”
