By John Basilesco
jbasilesco@eagletribune.com
August 18, 2008 02:34 am PLAISTOW, N.H. — Jim Lynch has logged about 700 road races in 15 years and has no intention of letting up — even though he's about to turn 78. While many people his age are taking it easy and barely getting any exercise, the Plaistow resident spends every Sunday morning running 10 miles along the trails of Winnekenni Castle in Haverhill. He also runs three miles in his neighborhood up to three times a week, and he lifts weights at the YMCA in Haverhill twice a week. Lynch, 77, who turns 78 on Sept. 6, says it's a lifestyle he adopted after retiring as a construction worker at age 62. While living in Revere, Lynch saw a road race pass by his house. He thought it looked like fun. He told his wife, Helen, that he would run in the race the next year. He did, and he's been running ever since. "I love the physical exercise and how it makes me feel," he said. "I dabble in everything, including yoga. It's a mental and physical thing. The running makes you feel rejuvenated." He's run in marathons, half-marathons, five- and 10-kilometer runs, and triathlons. Lynch easily won first place in his age category in the 16th Sandown Old Home Days 5-mile Road Race, sponsored by the Sandown Rogue Runners on Aug. 9. He also outran 64 of the other runners in the race, many in their teens, 20s and 30s. He finished in 43 minutes, 9 seconds. Lynch recently qualified for his fourth national Senior Olympics, which will be held next year in San Francisco. Along with running events, Lynch has entered swimming events, thrown the javelin, and competed in the high jump and long jump in the Senior Olympics. Lynch said he enjoys both the mental and physical benefits associated with running, including an ideal blood pressure of 100 over 60. "That's absolutely fabulous," Denise Tomasi, clinical coordinator of the cardiac rehabilitation program at Parkland Medical Center in Derry, said of Lynch's low blood pressure. Tomasi commended Lynch for his exercise regimen, which is undoubtedly keeping his blood pressure under control and helping prevent cardiovascular disease. By getting so much exercise, he is doing what everyone needs to do to keep themselves fit and healthy, Tomasi said. Half of the year, Lynch runs in Florida, where he and his wife spend their winters at their home in Boca Raton. Two of the marathons Lynch completed were the Boston Marathon in 2000 when he was 70 years old, and the Walt Disney Marathon in Orlando, Fla., in 1999. He finished the Disney marathon in 3:47, and the Boston Marathon in 4:16. He said he could have had a better time in the Boston Marathon if he hadn't run so fast in the first part of the race. He said he felt super after finishing the Disney marathon, and he and his wife went out dancing and to a show to celebrate. By comparison, the average time to complete a marathon in 2006 in the 70-plus age group was 5:59, according to national statistics from MarathonGuide.com. Marathons are 26.2 miles. Lynch says his wife pushes him to keep running to keep him healthy. She attends every road race he enters and enjoys watching the events and meeting other people who attend, she said. They both talk about how much Lynch enjoys eating and how good a cook his wife is. They both joke that if he didn't get all the exercise he does he "wouldn't fit through the kitchen door." Lynch also jokes about being on a "see-food diet," which means, "I eat all the food I see."
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