Reprinted with permission from Postmedia CalgaryBy Stephanie Babych
Marathoner Gerry Miller — a 2017 Top 7 Over 70 recipient — is one race away from completing all six world marathon majors in his 80s. The 82-year-old Calgarian is currently ranked No. 1 in the Abbott World Marathon Majors 80+ category, with three gold medals and two silvers from the five majors he’s run in the past two years.
Miller has already qualified for the London marathon in April 2020 after finishing first in his age category in Berlin, New York City and Tokyo, and second in Boston and Chicago. He says it’s a blessing to run the races and aims to be an example to other seniors about the value of fitness.
“This is a matter of being an example of, what I would call, someone who tries to exemplify lifestyle fitness in natural ways to try to help people, try to be positive . . . But most of all it’s trying to give back,” says Miller.
During Seniors Week — June 2 to 8 in Alberta — Miller says he wants seniors to understand the importance of being active and taking control of their lives.
“We are all blessed in ways, and what we have to do as we get to be seniors is to appreciate who we are and where we are and stay as positive as we can,” says Miller, who was also a recipient of the first Top 7 Over 70 awards.
“We can still move, we can still go for lunch and we can still share our thoughts and our blessings within a group . . . I hope in a humble way that I can share some of my ideas with them about counting their blessings about who they are now, because we forget to do that sometimes.”
Miller says he doesn’t expect seniors to start running marathons with him, but he does want them to understand the importance of good health.
“We should continue to nourish our brain, we have to keep thinking by playing cards or socializing, we have to keep grouping and interacting with people, count our blessings and absolutely have to keep moving. Movement is one variable that helps with brain functioning,” he says.
He has only been doing marathons since he was 58 when his son convinced him to try one. Without any training, Miller ran with his son and loved the experience and community.
He trains now but chooses a natural approach, which includes a “soul-run” on Tuesdays, cross training on Wednesdays and a group run on Sundays.
No matter how much training he puts in, running a marathon isn’t smooth sailing every time. During his 12th time running the Boston Marathon, the temperature dropped and he was removed by EMS because he had contracted hypothermia. But that didn’t stop him from returning a 13th time to complete the race again only six weeks after Tokyo.
Once he crosses the finish line in London, he will be awarded a trophy with fresh medals from each of the six races symbolizing his achievement. The race will be after his 83rd birthday and he is hoping to keep his No. 1 global ranking.