:: Spirit of an Athlete :: Not Caged by Age

Sylvia Quinn Born October of 1936

Spring 1977. Sylvia and her husband running the first Coeur d'Alene Marathon

Sylvia Quinn celebrated her 50th birthday by running in Montana’s Le Grizz 50 mile ultra marathon. A fitting act for the Race Director of Spokane’s Bloomsday, a popular 12k event that draws international elite runners.  Today, at 73, she marks 35 distinguished years as a competitive runner. Sylvia Quinn is a world class athlete.

I am sitting in her sunny living room, a grand-daughter nearby piecing a jig saw puzzle. Sylvia is a petite, energetic woman with a no-nonsense manner. She tells me the story of how she got her start. Years ago, in 1972, her husband returned to their home at Fairchild AFB, WA from a tour in Guam. He had started running while gone and continued at the base track. Sylvia and their daughter would watch. Then one day she decided to give it a try; Sylvia didn’t make it around the track once. Her husband told her she would never be a runner, three days later he left to go on tour again.

Undaunted, Sylvia  went to Kimmel Athletic Supply  and bought the only kind of athletic shoe that was available at the time: black leather Adidas with white stripes. Her husband was going to be gone for six months. Sylvia was determined to prove him wrong. She set a goal of running 600 miles – 25 miles a week – before he returned. Most of the miles were on a track inside the gym. Round and round she went, on the hard wood floor. No instruction, no other runners for company or advice. She simply recorded every mile, whether she walked it or ran it. She stayed with it, one foot in front of the other, and after awhile Sylvia realized she was enjoying it. After 38 years she is still running.

A TRUE ATHLETE

34 Bloomsday races since the first one in 1977. Sylvia won a medal at each one.

In the 1970′s running was becoming popular across the nation. In 1977 Spokane, WA organized its first road race, Bloomsday, a 9 mile course back then; Sylvia signed up and won a medal.

A few days later she listened to a talk given by Dr. Joan Ullyot, a running advocate for women, and  was encouraged to run farther. Coeur d’Alene, ID, offered its first marathon one month after Bloomsday, Sylvia ran that also. She finished in 3:27 and took first.

In the 35 years since those first races she has run in every Bloomsday race and all, bar one, Coeur d’Alene Marathon. If that is not incredible enough, Sylvia has placed for her age group in every Bloomsday race, with 31 of the 34 medals for first place. The Coeur d’Alene marathon she has won outright more than once. These are very fast times for a woman of any age. In her 35 years of running Sylvia has finished over 65 marathons and ultra-marathons and countless shorter races. Training schedules usually called for 45-50 miles per week.

In 2002 Sylvia had the honor of  being a member of the Olympic Torch relay on its way to Salt Lake City. She showed me the black soot at the top of the torch she has kept, she didn’t clean it after a friend reminded her it was the soot from a flame that has never gone out and symbolizes so much to athletes around the world.

AGING AND MENOPAUSE

2002 Salt Lake Games. Sylvia was an Olympic Torchbearer on the Torch Relay in Spokane, WA.

She is realistic about limitations that come with age and tempers her training. She allows her body to recuperate when needed and warns against becoming fanatical about training. The aging process will slow you down; you lose elasticity and strength.This year, at age 73, she finished the Bloomsday 12k in 1:03. An excellent time but disappointing for an athlete that sees her times getting slower. But she encourages women to not let this be a deterrent.  She admonishes to run as well as you can for your age group. The benefits and enjoyment that comes from running are too great to stop.

Unfortunately, Sylvia has also had to cope with severe osteoporosis. This disease does not display symptoms until it is in an advanced stage; Sylvia’s symptoms started in her mid 50′s. Overuse has led to fractures, although she credits running with strengthening the bones in her legs. The disease has been under control with medication for several years, but she cannot do 60 mile weeks any longer. Sylvia advises women to discuss risk factors and early screenings for the disease with their physician as it can be so debilitating.

There is mounting evidence that when a woman’s body is in balance she will go through menopause with few, if any symptoms, just a normal and natural part of aging.  The balance is brought about by regular exercise and a sensible diet.  I asked Sylvia about her experience with menopause and she quickly informed me that she had absolutely no symptoms. None. And as far as she could recall, the women in her running group who were in their 50′s and 60′s never had symptoms either.

MOTIVATORS

Bloomsday 1987. Sylvia finished the 12k in a smoking 51:45.

Running is her social life. She meets up with a  morning running group 4-5 days a week. The women range in age from their mid 40′s to 60′s. She tells me that I must talk with her closest friend, Gunhild, who is in her sixties and runs 100 mile ultra-marathons. But to Sylvia that is not the impressive part, what gets her is that Gunhild has never had an injury.

Sylvia taught running classes at the local YMCA for many years, helping others reach their goals and dreams. Sylvia reflected that so much of exercise is mental, “half the training runs are in your head”. She heard every excuse, the most common was that there wasn’t enough time to exercise.  She explained, “You take the time. You have to take the time to take care of yourself. Then you can take care of others.” I hope no one complained that they were too old.

The main reason Sylvia runs? It’s very simple, she feels good. And she runs year round. Apart from pouring rain, winter weather does not force her inside onto the treadmill. Dressed in layers, ice joggers on her shoes, hand warmers in her gloves – she has run even in blizzards.

She will continue to run for as long as she can. As Sylvia firmly stated,  “you set the challenge for yourself.”

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Read about other Perennial Bloomies 91 yo Ginny Warden – 59 yo Kris Olson-Wood

Sylvia Quinn was the race director for Spokane’s Bloomsday from 1981 to 1991, years of explosive growth with turnout hitting 60,104 in 1991.  Sylvia encouraged people of all fitness levels to join in, the race became a community celebration. Today, as then, the race draws serious, competitive  runners  as well as families with strollers and walkers.