Michael Brauer of the Sioux City Journal wrote a nice profile of M65 middle-distance runner Gary Patton, only a week after Gary underwent hernia surgery. Good for Gary. That’s in the rearview mirror as he preps for Sacramento worlds. Gary says: “My kids are thoroughly convinced that when they’re in their 60s and semi-retired, they’ll have to haul their 95-year-old dad off to track meets. And that’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to be one of those guys out there, plodding around the track when they’re 95 years old.” Now that’s the essence of masters track. The winner is the oldest guy running. But his wife, Barbara, is a secret to his success: “She cheers so loud at meets, she’s been known to convince entire sections of complete strangers to join in cheering for her husband.” Classic.

Here’s the story, in case the link expires:

ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa – Now that he’s approaching semi-retirement age, Gary Patton is looking forward to chasing his passion.

Literally.

Because, in Patton’s case, retirement goals include becoming the fastest 65-year-old runner in the world.

It might sound crazy – that is, until you get to know Patton.

Not many senior citizens sign up for track meets during the same point in their lives that they’re enlisting for Medicare coverage.

But that’s Patton, a confessed workaholic and a project manager for DeWild, Grant, Reckert and Associates Company in Rock Rapids, Iowa – where he’s spent most of his life with his wife, Barbara, and raised two boys, Charles, 31, and Chris, 28 (Gary maintains he can outrun both).

“I tend to work too many hours; I’m a 50-, 60-hour type of guy,” Patton said in the kitchen of the home he designed and built, two miles outside of Rock Rapids.

“I didn’t have many other things that really interested me besides running.”

Patton is just one week removed from hernia surgery, which will prevent him from heavy activity for at least a month – not the easiest thing, when you’re as good a runner as he is.

How fast is Patton? His only chance for true competition in his age group comes at masters track meets of the national and world-level variety.

In March, Patton clocked a 5:06 mile to earn a silver medal at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Kamloops, British Columbia. He is the four-time defending Iowa Senior Olympics champion in the 400, 800 and 1,500-meter runs, and holds two ISO records.

He’s competed against the likes of U.S. Olympian Gary Hall, Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers and world masters’ record holder Nolan Shaheed.

There is one difference between Patton and his competitors, though – most of them were collegiate standouts; some even professional athletes. Patton, on the other hand, had never gone out for an organized sport in his life.

SLOW START

At Central Lyon High School, Patton was a self-described “chubby, small and slow” kid whose athletic experience was limited to P.E. class and his time spent as a student trainer.

Nowadays, the bespectacled Patton still stands 5-foot-4 – although there’s not much he could do about that. As for the small and slow part? Now he’s trim, fit and his times speak for themselves.

It all began when Patton picked up jogging in college while he pursued an engineering degree at Iowa State University. He didn’t start racing, though, until sometime in the mid-1980s when his boss at DGR convinced him to sign up for Rock Rapids’ Heritage Days Road Race.

He showed up that Saturday dressed in a T-shirt, some old tennis shoes and a pair of ratty gym shorts.

“I saw these guys with fancy running shoes and running outfits and I’m thinking to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ ” Patton recalled, laughing. “It seemed like half the crowd finished ahead of me.”

He skipped the awards ceremony and didn’t give it a second thought until his boss walked in Monday morning with a medal.

“Apparently I was the only one my age who was in halfway decent shape, and he handed me this medal for 1st place for over (age) 40,” Patton said. “I thought, ‘Wow that was really cool.’ That’s when I started getting into it.”

A BIGGER STAGE

First it was just 5K and 10K road races, never more than an hour or so away from home. Then a few years ago, Patton picked up a copy of the track publication “National Masters News” and saw that his times compared with some of the nation’s elite 60-to-64-year-olds.

Thinking, “I could run that fast,” Patton signed up for the 2008 USATF Masters National Championships in Boston. As he walked into the brightly-lit Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center for the first time, he was “awestruck.”

“I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to get killed,’” Patton said – another laugh. “These people knew what they were doing. These were nationally renowned athletes.”

It was like a flashback to Heritage Days 25 years before – in more ways than one.

The short guy from Iowa who’d never even ran on an indoor track before started racing the 3,000 — and wouldn’t you know it? He won the thing.

“I didn’t have any strategy. The gun sounded and I just took off like a bat out of hell,” Patton said. “The announcer couldn’t believe the pace I was keeping – nobody had ever seen me before.

“This guy is just screaming into the P.A. system, ‘Patton is keeping an incredible pace!’”

Patton’s own thoughts sounded more like: “I’m going to fall on my face!”

He didn’t, but someone else in his age group eventually passed him and cut him off short with one lap to go.

“My toe hit his heel and I stumbled,” Patton said. “It got me mad and I sprinted down the last straightaway and beat him at the finish.”

HE WAS HOOKED

Since his victory at Boston (he also won two bronzes in the mile and 800), Patton has competed at four more national and world-level competitions. He has at least that many more marked on his calendar for 2011, after his birthday in December.

He’ll pack up his Dodge camper van and hit the road – to Sacramento, Albuquerque, Houston and wherever else the competition lures him. He’ll be traveling with Barbara, of course, who wouldn’t miss out on this for the world.

“Are you kidding? Not if they’re that far away,” she said.

On the other hand, “If they’re local and you have to be there at seven o’clock in the morning? Forget it.”

Gary’s most loyal fan is joking, of course. She cheers so loud at meets, she’s been known to convince entire sections of complete strangers to join in cheering for her husband.

65 YEARS YOUNG

For Gary, reaching 65 years will have its perks – namely, moving up one age group.

“There’s a big advantage to turning one year older,” he said. “The better times are quite a way below the 60-64 age group. If I can just stay where I’m at now, or at least slow down slower than the rest of the guys, I should be able to do pretty good next year.

“I know a couple of guys who are in the 65 age group who aren’t looking forward to seeing me as competition next year,” he added, before correcting himself: “Well, they are excited. But they know I’m going to challenge them.”

The amazing fact is, at his age Patton is still cutting time. He trimmed a whopping 13 seconds off his 800 this year, down to a 2:22.55. That’s just eight seconds off the 65-70 men’s world record (2:14.33) set by Canada’s Earl Fee in 1995.

Patton doesn’t know if he’ll get there, but he doesn’t plan to stop trying anytime soon.

“My kids are thoroughly convinced that when they’re in their 60s and semi-retired, they’ll have to haul their 95-year–old dad off to track meets. And that’s what I’d like to do,” he said with a smile. “I’d like to be one of those guys out there, plodding around the track when they’re 95 years old.”