M90 multi-eventer Dan Bulkley and M70 middle-distancer Sid Howard got some great writeups this week — in papers far apart. In southern Oregon, Dan explains his success and longevity in the sport by saying: “Good genes, I guess. . . . The longer distances get a little tougher, the 800 and the 400, but I don’t know, I just keep on going.” Down in Bermuda, New Jerseyite Sid is profiled. “Speaking from his home in the US last month, Howard said he looked forward to returning for his 31st Bermuda International Race Weekend and to returning to Bermuda –a place he loves for its natural beauty and the friendliness of its people.”

Denise Baratta photo shows Dan on roller skis, training for skiing and track.

Here are the stories, in case the links go south:

Local 92-year-old athlete still going strong
Dan Bulkley collects gold medals at an astonishing rate
By Joe Zavala
for the Mail Tribune
January 22, 2010 5:00 AM

PHOENIX — If the residents of Bear Lake Estates look out their window, pull out of their driveway or head out for their morning walk at just the right time, they’ll see something so completely out of the ordinary, a double-take is unavoidable.

It’s a man, definitely older than most at the 55-and-older community, geared up in knee pads and a bicycle helmet, skimming down the road on a pair of roller skis.

His knees are probably a little more stiff than the average skier, his motions slightly more robotic, but still, the guy’s cruising past one manufactured home after another, around corners, with the wind and against it like a college student who’s late to class.

Of course, it’s been a while since Dan Bulkley has stepped foot in a college, even as a professor at Southern Oregon University — 30 years, to be exact.

That doesn’t mean he’s got no place to be. Bulkley is 92 years old, but he can’t afford to slack off now. This isn’t a Sunday morning joy ride, it’s training, and Bulkley will have to do a lot of it in order to defend his multiple track and badminton titles in this summer’s Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah.

“He gets looks,” says Marjorie, his wife of 26 years.

The rubbernecks can be forgiven. There are very few people who predate the Great Depression — Bulkley was born in 1917 — who can do the things that Bulkley does. He had the eighth-fastest 100-meter dash time in the world last year among 90-94-year-olds (21.75 seconds), and he finished first in both the 200 (2:22.29) and 800 (5:52.93) in the 2009 National Senior Games, held at Stanford University.

Bulkley was even better at the prestigious Huntsman Games, winning gold medals in badminton singles and on the track in the 50 (11.16), the 100 (21.75), the 200 (52.32), the 400 (2:13.30) and the 800 (5:44.18).

All of this started as a whim about seven years after Bulkley retired from SOU, where he coached the school’s first track and field team for 22 years before being inducted into the NAIA District 2 Hall of Fame in 1977. Bulkley learned about masters track and field competitions from a friend and decided it was worth a shot. Within months, Bulkley was racking up medals on the masters circuit, and breaking records, too.

As of January of 2009, Bulkley still owned 15 Oregon records dating back to 1992, many in events he no longer competes in, such as the 1,500 and the long jump.

Worldwide, he’s ranked in the top 20 all-time in eight different events, including four top-10 marks. His best event is the 300 hurdles; he ran the second-fastest time ever in the 80-84 age group in 1998, becoming one of just two runners that old to ever crack the 1-minute mark by finishing in 59.67 at Hayward Field in Eugene.

All the success — Bulkley also was voted the Oregon Master Male Track Athlete of the Year in 2009 — doesn’t seem to be feeding Bulkley’s ego. He struggled to come up with an answer when asked to name his proudest moment, and shrugged his shoulders while trying to name the secret to his longevity.

“Good genes, I guess,” he says.

Even if he wanted to, Bulkley would have a hard time hiding what he’s accomplished. There’s a slew of shiny medals, all gold, hanging in the Bulkleys’ living room, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

“I have more,” Bulkley says before scooting off down a hallway.

A minute later he returns with a poster-sized frame loaded with medals. There’s a gold medal from the Japan World Championships, gold medals for cross country skiing and many, many more.

“I’ve got about 10 more of these (frames) in my room,” he says.

He’s not attached to them. Bulkley’s tentative plan, although he hasn’t worked out the details yet, is to donate the medals to a local elementary school program.

“I just thought I’d donate my medals to the schools or something and use them for motivation for the kids,” he says.

Bulkley’s training regimen isn’t what it used to be, but he still puts in the time. He runs up and down the stairs at Raider Stadium three days a week and, during the summer, spends his off days in the Ashland Racquet Club weight room.

How long can he keep it up? That’s a question Bulkley has a hard time answering. Instead, he points to a magazine on the coffee table. On the cover is an old photo of a silver-haired Jack LaLanne, the Godfather of Fitness, flexing a bicep the size of a grapefruit and smiling at the camera. LaLanne celebrated his 95th birthday in September.

Bulkley looks at the picture and chuckles. Every year the races get a little more difficult, seem a little longer, but 95 is only three years away.

And what’s three years when you’ve been running since the 1920s?

“The longer distances get a little tougher, the 800 and the 400,” he says, “but I don’t know, I just keep on going.”

Joe Zavala is sports editor of the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at jzavala@dailytidings.com or 541-482-3456, ext. 224

DAN BULKLEY

WHO: Former Southern Oregon University professor and renowned masters champion at age 92.

    * WHAT: Holder of 15 Oregon track and field age-group records, dating to 1992 and a gold medalist several times over in world and national events last year.
    * UP NEXT: Will compete defend multiple titles this summer in the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah.

 
 Sid Howard chalks up his 31st year

By Scott Neil
Long-time participant Sid Howard flies towards the finish line in 1995.

Former world age record holder Sid Howard is participating in the Bermuda International Race Weekend for the 31st year, making him one of the longest, near-continuous entrants in the event’s history.

Regarded as an honorary Bermudian by many in the Island’s running fraternity, on account of his long-standing association with both race weekend and the May 24 Half Marathon Derby, Howard lives in New Jersey.

Now 70, he has hardly slowed despite his advancing years, a point underlined in last August’s World Masters Athletics Championships in Finland where he won the men’s 70 to 74 division 1,500m in five minutes, 19 seconds, and was second in the 800m in 2.29.

He and his late wife first came to Bermuda as visitors in 1977 and stayed at the Belmont Hotel. Their daughter Cynthia married and settled in Bermuda soon afterwards, and it was the following year that Howard, then aged 39, tentatively started running after taking part in a high school’s ‘old man’s race’ back in New Jersey.

That was a mile race and he ran a surprisingly quick 5.05, which he followed up with a 3.02 in the New York Marathon. He had caught the running bug, and when he learned that Bermuda had its own International Marathon he returned to the Island in 1979 to take part.

From then on, he has made the trip every year except 1997 when his wife died. Some years he has competed in both the 10K and the half marathon, although in recent years he has limited himself to racing the 10K and helping out at the race registration desk.

This International Race Weekend stalwart, who often wears a cap with an upturned peak when he runs, has become an instantly recognisable figure for race spectators.

He remains in love with the Island and the friendliness of Bermuda’s people and has made friends with a virtual who’s who of Bermuda’s running scene through the years, including the likes of Ray Swan, Mike Whalley, Jim Butterfield, Ed Sherlock, Kavin Smith, Cal Bean, Bob and Midge Oliver and the Marshall family amongst others.

Speaking from his home in the US last month, Howard said he looked forward to returning for his 31st Bermuda International Race Weekend and to returning to Bermuda ¿ a place he loves for its natural beauty and the friendliness of its people.

He summed up those thoughts in a 2007 interview, commenting: “I count my blessings that I found this Island. I love Bermudians’ mannerisms and culture and their ways.”

Now a great-grandfather, Howard currently holds the US 800m record in the age divisions 60-64, 65-69 and 70-74, as well as the US 1,500m record for men aged 65-69. He is the former 800m indoor world record holder for the age division 60-64, having run a time of 2.14.75 on his 60th birthday.

Last year, out of almost 500 finishers, Howard was 97th in the Bermuda International 10K in a competitive time of 46.54.

Here’s Sid winning the M65 1500 at at Charlotte nationals in 2006.