Masters official and M55 jumper John Oleski has written a column for today’s Boston Globe, timed to appear on Day 1 of the indoor nationals. John writes: “Beyond sports, the event’s significance is its defiance of social norms. Who told these masters athletes that they could run, jump, throw, and hurdle? Who told them that they could compete for medals? After all, so many Americans have enshrined comfort and convenience as denominators of the good life, leading to a sedentary society where the majority overeats, underexercises, and turns to passive entertainment.” Good questions, John. The answers? Their dreams.

Here’s the column, in case the link goes bad:

The joys of pushing one’s body and soul
By John M. Oleski | March 23, 2007
“THE FIRST 40 years provide the text, the next 30 the commentary.” So went a high school yearbook quotation popular in the 1960s and ’70s. This adage accepted the biblical allotment of 70 years for the human life span and portrayed life as a period of action followed by reflection.
This weekend, the US Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships take place at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. Almost 800 athletes, from nearly every state, will compete in five-year age brackets. Men and women from age 30 to past 90 will compete for national titles in the pole vault, shot put, mile, and other events.
Beyond sports, the event’s significance is its defiance of social norms. Who told these masters athletes that they could run, jump, throw, and hurdle? Who told them that they could compete for medals? After all, so many Americans have enshrined comfort and convenience as denominators of the good life, leading to a sedentary society where the majority overeats, underexercises, and turns to passive entertainment.
In developed countries, the life span is increasing rapidly. Before 1800, no human had lived to 100. Today there are 250,000 centenarians in the world, a number expected to increase exponentially. With longer life has come the potential of many more years of healthy living, and society strains to adjust to a stretched-out life span.
Forty is said to be the new 30, 50 the new 40, and so on. These are imprecise measures but reflect a redefining of what is possible. They also reflect a yearning to stay vital and relevant, not to be cast to the sidelines.
Masters athletes play a critical role in this social discourse because they challenge limits and define the upper level of physical performance. When they break age-group records, they break age-old stereotypes.
Alfred Tennyson in the poem “Ulysses” imagined literature’s most famous traveler as an aging king, distressed by sedentary life and longing for the excitement of his unparalleled adventures:
“How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!”
Few masters athletes invoke literary themes to explain their motivation. Most cite enjoyment of intense exercise, a passion for running, jumping, or throwing that time and age have not diminished. First-time spectators at a masters meet are often astonished at the speed, strength, and agility that older athletes display.
In truth, there will be a broad range of ability on display at the nationals, ranging from those of ordinary athletic endowment to former Olympians. However, those with elite pedigrees do not necessarily win and there are numerous latecomers who never competed until well past their youth.
One latecomer is Bob Matteson of Bennington, Vt., who started at age 67. Now 90, he will take aim at several American and world records this weekend.
Lacking access to an indoor track in winter, Matteson relies on his “hospital and telephone pole workout” to hone his speed. This consists of a warm-up jog around a hospital, then a speed workout on the street measured by the distance between telephone poles. Running one to two telephone poles for each segment, he starts at his 10K-race pace, then progressively speeds up to mile pace, and finally 200-meter pace as he sprints to the finish.
With good health, which is part fortune but also greatly affected by choice, people are not fated to sedentary living. With a commitment to vigorous physical activity, athleticism is possible at all ages. Life need not shift from action to reflection. Rather, action and reflection can interweave across the life span and produce a richer and more satisfying narrative.
At first glance, masters athletes look diverse, but once in motion, similarities emerge. You see it as they jostle for position around the turn, drive hard toward the finish, slide powerfully across the shot put circle, sprint down the runway and plant their pole in a steel box, lifting to go over the bar — focused and intent, shining in use.
John M. Oleski is a psychologist in Wellesley and a vice president for USA Track & Field-New England.