Marshall Strikes Gold at Senior Games

Sometimes, Rich Marshall has a great run, beats his previous personal best, but discovers he's finished last in his age group. The 75-year-old Newfield resident feels the need to sing the blues.

"You're not a natural runner; you're fortunate to even be running. You never ran until age 63," he sings. "You're fortunate to be here -- suck it up!"

But sometimes he exceeds his expectations, and runs so well someone presents him with an age group award. It's time to belt out an upbeat jazz tune.

"Hey, you did good Old Man -- yes, you did," sings Marshall, retired from a long career with the New York State Division for Youth. "You are the Man, and so lucky to be here!"

Marshall has no need to be composing sad songs, because he's having a championship season. The father of five, grandfather of seven and great-grandfather of two has won age group (70-plus) honors at the Big Flats Race for the Cure 5K (33:24) and Cazenovia July 4th 5K (32:11); a masters gold medal in the 10K road race (1:07:35) at the recent Empire State Games in Binghamton; and, most prestigious of all, a silver medal in the 5K road race (32:08) and a gold medal in the 10K road race (1:08:32) at the Empire State Senior Games, held June 15-18 in Syracuse.

"I'm a frustrated jock who is hooked on the sweat, aches and pains," said Marshall, who started running 12 years ago when he came out of retirement and accepted a program manager job near the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. "I've loved sports my whole life. All the athletic activities there drove me crazy, and I had to get involved -- I had missed it all so much.

"I said, 'I bet I can handle running,' and started by running and walking along the Chesapeake Bay. Then my son Robb convinced me to come back and run the Cayuga Heights 5K. I was hooked."

It became a family affair, when Marshall's other son Rick started running too.

"The best times of my life have been spent running with my sons," said Marshall. "We trained together, raced together and Rick would always finish first, then come back out to pick me up."

Now Marshall has found another family of peers at the Senior Games.

"Without a doubt, the Senior Games are the best organized tournament I have ever experienced," said Marshall, whose performances were so good, he qualified for the National Senior Games, to be held July 14-28, 2001, in Baton Rouge, La. "In retrospect, the most impressive thing to me was the congeniality among the hundreds of senior athletes ,who came from all walks of life and of varied races, who were there to compete against each other. Conversations were so spontaneous among total strangers it appeared as though we had all been friends for years."

The Senior Games, open to anyone age 50 and older, is an organized and leisure program which provides recreational opportunities; encourages life-long fitness; combines sports and games with fitness and fellowship; promotes a positive image of seniors; and advocates true amateur competition among athletes of similar ages.

"I got a booklet about the Games, and I was intrigued by the idea of a mini-Olympics for seniors," said Marshall, who runs 3 to 4 miles every other day near Ellis Hollow, and works out with weights on alternative days at Courtside Fitness Center. "I called the director of the Games, and said 'Hey, I'm thinking of participating, but I'm not a great runner. What do I have to do to be competitive?' We went through past results, and whatever he told me, it wasn't as good as I was already running. I said, 'Sounds like fun. Guess I won't make a fool out of myself.'"

Both the 5K and 10K road races at the Senior Games were held at Onondaga Lake Park, and Marshall had to do something he's never done: race two days in a row. And it wasn't just show up and claim a medal. His age group 70 to 74 was loaded with some gray-haired opposition.

"I was beaten in the 5K, so I ran the 10K differently," said Marshall, who lives part of the year in Florida with son Eric, and was selected as one of the age 70-plus Southern Florida Runners of the Year in 1998, by Florida Sports Magazine. "I checked out the gray-haired guys, and thought I didn't have a chance, but I wanted to make a showing. I ran faster than I normally do from the start, and was thinking, if I run myself into the ground, so be it. I can't let them get too far ahead of me.

"It reached a point where everyone was gone, but I hadn't seen the two guys I wanted to beat," he said. "Where could they be? At the turnaround, I heard a pat-pat of feet, and it was one of those guys. We both stopped for water, and he stuck with me through four miles, but he couldn't keep up. I had not anticipated winning; I just wanted to be a good competitor."

When Tom Murray of Courtside heard that Marshall had qualified for Nationals, he offered assistance.

"Tom said, 'You're going, right? And I said, 'I don't know. I'll need to improve my time and there's expenses involved, too,'" said Marshall. "I won't go unless I can be competitive. But Tom said, 'We'll help! You've got to go.'"

Marshall is mulling over his options, but medals are not the reason he continues to run.

"If you could join me on a run as I cover the rolling highway which encompasses the Ellis Hollow area, if you could do that just one time, you would understand why running is so enjoyable," Marshall said. "The quietude is awesome, you hear the pit, pat of your feet, the chirping of the birds and the rustle of leaves within the woods as small animals scurry about.

"In the fall, the colored leaves become kaleidoscopic at each turn, and in the spring the thousands of blossoms along the way seem to be saying, 'Hey, I'm back, good to see you again," he said. "Before you realize it, you've completed your run and feel fulfilled in ways you may not understand."

--Diane Sherrer