From 6 to 200 MPH

Friday, December 16, 2011

Meet My Idol ........ Joe Saley, 72 Years Old Runner!!!!

Joe Saley's name got my attention when I was scanning the race results of the Condura Skyway Half Marathon last February.  I thought  at age 68, I was the oldest runner to join the event and got pissed when I found that a 71 years old runner kicked my butt.

When I got back in California, I went on a mission. Searched the Internet to find out who is Joe Saley. What I found is an impressive resume of a  runner.

Joe grew up in Mountain Province, Philippines.  He joined the US navy after graduating from Baguio Tech. He is from New Jersey and  retired. Started running in 1994 and since then:
      1. Ran  NYCM 14 times.
      2. Qualified and ran Boston 5 times.

He was able to avoid major running injuries and recover quickly.  As a proof of how fast he recover, a week after this year NYCM, he ran a 10k race with a time of  54 minutes. Awesome!

Joe and I have a common dream ...... to run/join the Bataan Death March Ultra Marathon in the Philippines. Being born before the infamous march, we have relatives who were with USAFFE. It will be a great honor to be on it even if we don't finish, after all 20,000+ of the original marchers didn't make it.

Joe at the NYCM
Joe at the NYCM Finish Line

2 comments:

  1. Art, Thanks for your kind and good words. Also for posting my photos. Please don't idolize me as I am just a typical average runner.

    As for the Condura Half, I was only a minute ahead of you. I'm sure if you knew an older guy was running, you could have easily overtaken me. So don't hate yourself for it.

    Welcome to the golden age group of M70-74.Thank God for blessing us to be able to run. Btw, am still 71 until October 1.

    Happy running, take care and have a safe, joyous holiday season.

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  2. Art, I stand corrected on the time for Condura Half. You were only 11 seconds behind me.

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