HEALTHIER, HAPPIER LIFE

except eating well and exercising. Today, the two pictures hang side-by-side in her ofce, where she does freelance writing and is a workplace wellness consultant. They are a reminder of where she was and of the potential inside her inside just about everyone, she says. I want people to realize its not all over if your parents are heavy, she says. Its not over if youve been heavy all your life, or if you think you cant do it.

Janet Palmer

A Metro bus driver, Palmer spent a lot of her life on the sidelines. I didnt even start running until I was 50, she says. The woman before me at Shoreline Stadium is in pigtails and shorts, catching her breath after a little jog. And shes smiling. Good Lord, is she smiling. At 53, she ran her rst marathon. I thought what idiot would do this again? Being wise, she sticks to halfs, running one every other month. Why? Turns out that once she tried running, she really liked it. On this warm evening, she has just nished a fun event held weekly called the Joggers Mile. Its for runners of all ages and abilities, and Palmer nished way in the back of the pack. The object is to predict exactly how long a mile will take you. The person whose time is closest to their guess wins. Even if you lose, you could win, she says. Thats what makes it so fun. A few years ago, she was a lot less healthy. She remembers when the problem smacked her right in the face, watching the Torchlight Run along the parade route. Id see all these runners and none of em are fat, she says. And were sitting there with our coolers looking like Jabba the Hutt. No more. As she begins describing how she lost inches around the middle, and gained something more important, there is an announcement: And the winner of the Joggers Mile is . . . Janet Palmer! She starts jumping up and down. I won! I won! She doesnt stop. I dont need a prize! I got the glory!

David Ortman

Never ask a masters athlete how hes doing, says Ortman, 59. Because hell tell you. Then he launches into a litany of afictions: the hamstring pulls and rotator-cuff injuries, the calf strains and so on. Once, he was laid up for two years with plantar fasciitis. All this as a result of competing in the sorts of track-and-eld events, like hurdles and sprints, normally done by people onethird his age. As a trained journalist, I know the next question to ask: Why? He laughs. Then he talks about friends who are really hurt. Hes running and throwing and jumping, even as hes nearing 60, because he can. I gure, well, until I get to needing the hip and knee transplants, I might as well do it now. If you arent active today, he says, its only going to get more difcult tomorrow. Besides, its a whole lot of fun. Hes part of a track-and-eld

In the short term, exercise can tear the body down. But in the long term, says Al Erickson, the decathlete, it builds it up.

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