Site search
sponsored by
News
Sports
ENLARGE
Seventy-four-year-olds Pat Kennerley, left, and Barbara LaPlante will be among estimated 400 people competing Sunday in the 15th Annual Barbara Schmidt-Millar Celebration of LIfe Triathlon at Scotts Flat Lake, east of Nevada City.
Pat Kennerley has always lived an active lifestyle, whether with a scuba tank on her back, snow skis strapped to her feet or a tennis racquet in her hand.
So why all the hub-bub over her competing in Sunday's 15th Annual Barbara Schmidt-Millar Celebration of Life Triathlon? Is it simply that she celebrated her 74th birthday this year? Really?
When a nosy reporter posed the question this week, it reminded her of being back in the Bay Area, windsurfing five days a week, only to be disappointed when one of the other regulars found out how old she was.
“I mean, I was one of the guys,” Kennerley said. “But then once they found out how old I was, they were asking ‘Can I carry your board?'
“I told him, ‘If you lay one hand on that windsurfer, you're toast.'”
Barbara LaPlante hasn't been an athlete all of her life, but she also wonders why there's such a commotion when she crosses the triathlon finish line and fans find out she's 74 “and a half.”
“I don't dwell on it,” LaPlante said. “I hope they all could do it at this age, too. I guess I just try to do my best and set a good example and just do it.”
They're two of the 400 or so women who have been returning to Scotts Flat Lake on Banner Mountain east of Nevada City each September to test their own mettle and support a good cause.
Women of all ages, shapes and sizes celebrate by swimming, biking and running through the Cascade Shores community, raising money for the breast imaging center at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley and the Millar scholarship fund.
“We're not fast, let's face it,” Kennerley said. “I do it because I can ... and why not? I feel good.
“The training is the best part, because of the camaraderie and just seeing people interested in the same things you are,” she added. “The triathlon is the culmination, but the training is great.”
Kennerley continues her active lifestyle year-round, but she typically ramps up in early May to prepare for the triathlon with swims at Scotts Flat Lake and 60-plus-mile bicycle rides. It's the fresh air and vistas that western Nevada County affords that she's enjoyed the most since moving here after her 60th birthday.
“Being outside is very, very much a part of my life,” she said. “I really like nature and this is such a beautiful place to live.
“I don't know what to attribute (the ability to do a triathlon) to. I've been a vegan for 25 years, so I eat well and take care of myself,” Kennerley added. “So often, people say things like ‘I'm getting old, and I can't do that anymore.' They can, if they want to.”
LaPlante wasn't sure she could do a triathlon when she first gave it a try. But after being inspired by her children, she decided to give it a shot.
“I've been active, but not a very good athlete,” LaPlante said. “I never thought I could do this when I was raising my kids. I never did like bike riding, and though I swam, I couldn't even imagine running.”
But as her children got active in their junior high and high school years, they inspired her to join in the fun. By 2000, she had gained enough confidence to complete her first triathlon.
Both women plan to continue competing for as long as they can. And although they've also participated by completing the triathlon as a member of a team, they prefer to do all three legs on their own.
And the fact that folks have a hard time believing 74-year-olds could be so strong sometimes offers incentive to keep going.
“People treat you differently when you get older, especially younger people, when they know how old you are,” Kennerley said. “But, what can I say? I like to do what they do.”
Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or (530) 477-4240.
So why all the hub-bub over her competing in Sunday's 15th Annual Barbara Schmidt-Millar Celebration of Life Triathlon? Is it simply that she celebrated her 74th birthday this year? Really?
When a nosy reporter posed the question this week, it reminded her of being back in the Bay Area, windsurfing five days a week, only to be disappointed when one of the other regulars found out how old she was.
“I mean, I was one of the guys,” Kennerley said. “But then once they found out how old I was, they were asking ‘Can I carry your board?'
“I told him, ‘If you lay one hand on that windsurfer, you're toast.'”
Barbara LaPlante hasn't been an athlete all of her life, but she also wonders why there's such a commotion when she crosses the triathlon finish line and fans find out she's 74 “and a half.”
“I don't dwell on it,” LaPlante said. “I hope they all could do it at this age, too. I guess I just try to do my best and set a good example and just do it.”
They're two of the 400 or so women who have been returning to Scotts Flat Lake on Banner Mountain east of Nevada City each September to test their own mettle and support a good cause.
Women of all ages, shapes and sizes celebrate by swimming, biking and running through the Cascade Shores community, raising money for the breast imaging center at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley and the Millar scholarship fund.
“We're not fast, let's face it,” Kennerley said. “I do it because I can ... and why not? I feel good.
“The training is the best part, because of the camaraderie and just seeing people interested in the same things you are,” she added. “The triathlon is the culmination, but the training is great.”
Kennerley continues her active lifestyle year-round, but she typically ramps up in early May to prepare for the triathlon with swims at Scotts Flat Lake and 60-plus-mile bicycle rides. It's the fresh air and vistas that western Nevada County affords that she's enjoyed the most since moving here after her 60th birthday.
“Being outside is very, very much a part of my life,” she said. “I really like nature and this is such a beautiful place to live.
“I don't know what to attribute (the ability to do a triathlon) to. I've been a vegan for 25 years, so I eat well and take care of myself,” Kennerley added. “So often, people say things like ‘I'm getting old, and I can't do that anymore.' They can, if they want to.”
LaPlante wasn't sure she could do a triathlon when she first gave it a try. But after being inspired by her children, she decided to give it a shot.
“I've been active, but not a very good athlete,” LaPlante said. “I never thought I could do this when I was raising my kids. I never did like bike riding, and though I swam, I couldn't even imagine running.”
But as her children got active in their junior high and high school years, they inspired her to join in the fun. By 2000, she had gained enough confidence to complete her first triathlon.
Both women plan to continue competing for as long as they can. And although they've also participated by completing the triathlon as a member of a team, they prefer to do all three legs on their own.
And the fact that folks have a hard time believing 74-year-olds could be so strong sometimes offers incentive to keep going.
“People treat you differently when you get older, especially younger people, when they know how old you are,” Kennerley said. “But, what can I say? I like to do what they do.”
Contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton via e-mail at bhamilton@theunion.com or (530) 477-4240.
