This article might just reveal too much about my overly strong desire to \u201cstay in shape,\u201d or at least be able to run a decent 100-meter dash! (my goodness, that\u2019s a long way from doing marathons … sheeesh). This never-ending search for inspiration from World Record holders led me to Julia Hawkins. Now if you\u2019re sick and tired of these kinds of articles, please let me know, or tell the editor Mira Brody to not put these articles into the BSWD newsletter any more \u2013 please!<\/p>\n
What really got me about Julia Hawkins was her response to an interviewer after she had run a World Record 100 meter race in 62 seconds. (I mean, I can do that!) But wait, she\u2019s a fit 105 year-old retired elementary school teacher from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The interviewer asked if she was worried about her competition that day. With delight she said \u201cNo, I wasn\u2019t worried because the other runner wasn\u2019t an athlete. And I am!\u201d What bravura \ud83d\ude42 And she was serious. Her grandkids talked her into entering a Masters Track & Field competition, and she agreed \u2013 at that time she was a \u201cfit\u201d 100-year old. She amazed everyone by running a 42 second 100 meter. Her goal was to run 100 meters in 100 seconds, and had no trouble. Then she entered the shot put event, and got back into the record books – by tossing a 2kg (4.5 pound) shot 2.77 meters (over 9 feet). She had so much fun, she was again talked into doing it at age 105. I finally discovered why it took her 62 seconds to run the 100. It was a cold, blustery day, and she went out there anyway, and ran 20 seconds slower, but also got into a new age category (105 and up). I\u2019ve scoured the internet to find out if she has done it again at age 106, but all I can find is that on her 106th birthday (Feb 10, 2022) she wanted to go at it again. And we\u2019re almost to her 107th birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Julia Hawkins at 103 years at the National Senior Games from doyouremember.com.<\/em><\/p>\n This whole story has got me eyeing the nearest track to where I live, and it\u2019s a cinder track in Absarokee (27 miles away), and the snow has melted off….so what am I waiting for? Living far from an urban community and their modern tracks, I have fun driving by the Absarokee Husky\u2019s high school track. Of course it isn\u2019t marked in any way – just a nice smoothish red cinder surface – I imagine it\u2019s most likely a 440 yard track, so no world records could be made here too easily. Oh, that\u2019s right, silly me, I\u2019m not 105 yet \u2013 though somedays it feels as if I am.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the cinder track picture, taken Jan 22nd, looking totally unused since last spring\u2019s track meets.<\/em><\/p>\n Of course I have to mention Julia\u2019s diet \u2013 she eats a \u201cbalanced\u201d diet of yogurt, soups and salads. And being from Louisiana, her most favorite food items are fried crabs and oysters. (Being from the Northern climes, crabs\/oysters are definitely NOT on my list of favorite foods! If I were to be asked by some reporter after having set another world record on this track, I would have to say it\u2019s my own recipe of mac & cheese \u2013 or a cheese enchilada from Fiesta Mexicana).<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t mention Julia was very active in the Senior Olympics \u2013 bicycling. That kept her active, which she has always done. And she obviously thrives on competition. But as the 100 year bracket gets nearer, the competition does thin out a bit, so the chance of winning gets better and better. Do I really have to wait that long? Sheeesh. Thank goodness I\u2019ve found that Fiesta Mexicana restaurants are all over the country, so I won\u2019t waste away while the years go by \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/winddrinkers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Screenshot-2023-01-25-at-4.58.43-PM.png\")
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