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Last May, 83-year-old Gerda Samuels stepped across the finish line of her very first race. Here’s how she got there.
Samuels describes herself as an “old lady.” She doesn’t deny this – but she also tries her best not to let her age dictate what she does in her life. She used to go to her local gym regularly, but after it closed, she admitted that she spent three years wondering how to continue staying active without it.
After some research, Samuels realized that her only good option was to go to the local YMCA – a place she’d originally avoided because she thought it would be too crowded.
But Samuels couldn’t have been more wrong.
The YMCA was vibrant and filled with life – including many seniors around her age. Samuels loved being able to engage with a similarly-aged community while continuing to interact with mothers and other women who were also much younger than her. She soon became a regular in a SilverSneakers class, a program catered to seniors who are recovering from surgery or trying to become more active.
Even with this class, Samuels wanted to continue walking, as she had when she was a little girl growing up in Germany, and even just a few years ago when she went to the gym. When the YMCA announced that it would be starting a campaign with the American Council of Exercise to encourage people to walk, Samuels knew she had to join and participate in any way she could.
As a way to motivate their members to start walking, the YMCA organized a 2-mile fun run/walk. Samuels signed up, even though the distance was fairly daunting. None of her senior classmates wanted to join her.
Still, Samuels was determined and refused to let her lack of comrades stop her from completing the race. In the months leading up to the big day, Samuels practiced walking 5 miles each week to build up her endurance.
On the day of the race, Samuels admitted that she was incredibly nervous, given that much of the 2-mile walk was uphill.
But she quickly realized that everyone else who was walking – mothers with strollers, sisters, and even a woman with a cane – was there, cheering each other on and being incredibly supportive.
Samuels crossed the finish line with no problem and received more hugs than she expected, perhaps because she was one of the older ones participating in the race. But after this moment, she knew with stunning clarity, “I do not have to be 'just an old lady.' Yes, I'm old, but there is still so much to do in the world! Anything is possible.”
