PROFILE--Gary Circosta has been running for 43 years

(8-18) Gary Circosta is 71, and has been running for 43 years. Along the way, he has completed

160+ marathons, including a streak of 19 consecutive Bostons at one point. He still works full-time as a dentist, meaning that he must do most of his running in the early morning (4:00 a.m.) He has lived in Massachusetts most of his life. 

When and why did you start running?

I officially began running as a self-standing hobby in 1975. At the time I was in the Air Force as a dentist. I had a lot of

RESEARCH--Don't Be "Skinny Fat." Do Your Strength Training

(8-18) Many longtime runners are justifiably proud of their trim bodies. After all, we live in an "obesity crisis" era, and thousands of studies have proven the health benefits of a low to modest body weight vs. excess weight. Thin is good.

But "skinny fat" isn't. The subject has been getting a lot of coverage in recent days due to a new study in the British Journal of Nutrition. The research project tracked the BMI and WHR (waist-hip ratio) of more than 5000 Irish residents over age 60. The two measures--BMI and WHR--were then associated with various health risks. WHR is, loosely speaking, a measure of "belly fat" or excess visceral fat around the middle, also termed "central adiposity."

The paper concluded that belly fat was

PROFILE--Sylvie Kimche has been running for 40 years

Winning on Fifth Ave.

(8-18) Sylvie Kimche is a member of New York’s Central Park Track Club and is a record breaking-masters runner. Now 71, she looks to her age-graded performance where she consistently places between 84 to 89 percentile (it was in the 90s until 2015 when the age-grading table were adjusted and became much tougher) and still hits above 90 percent in the mile. She cross-trains by hiking and biking throughout Asia, Africa, South America, and Africa. 

Kimche grew up in southeast France and competed in alpine skiing before immigrating to the United States in 1979, becoming a US citizen in 1990. She has competed on the road and track in distances from the 400 meters to the marathon, but dropped the marathon from her resume in 1989 to concentrate on shorter distances. She is a well-respected and fierce competitor but when the race is over she is gracious and loves being social.  She retired in 2007 from her work as a designer for Abercrombie and Fitch. Kimche has been called one of the

RESEARCH--Exercising 4 To 5 Times A Week Pays Big Dividends In Late-Life Heart Health

(7-18) The Phys Ed column in today's New York Times includes a good summary of recent research by Dallas exercise physiologist Ben Levine. (His wife happens to be a lifetime runner.) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/well/exercise-makes-the-aging-heart-more-youthful.html

The basic conclusion: A lifetime of regular moderate to vigorous exercise, like 4 or 5 times a week, pays big heart dividends in later life. In particular, it increases arterial elasticity--the opposite of stiff arteries. 

Individuals who exercise regularly through midlife get the biggest payoff in later life. But there are fitness benefits even for those who are sedentary for much of their life before beginning a regular exercise program. In other words, it's never too late to start.

Levine also draws a distinction between a couple of leisurely walks a week and four to five real workouts. The former might not get the job done. Try to exercise on more days per week than you don't exercise.

Here are links to Levine's studies in PubMed: 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25236519 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29311053 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29781119  

PROFILE--Amby Burfoot has been running for 56 years

(7-18) Amby Burfoot is 72 (Aug, 2018) and lives in Mystic CT, very close to where he did his best running 50 years ago. These days, he covers many of the same courses as a half century ago, but it takes him 50 percent longer. Burfoot won the Boston Marathon in 1968 (2:22:17), and ran 2:14:29 later that year in Fukuoka, Japan.

Amby & wife Cristina
after 2014 Boston Marathon

In 2018 Burfoot completed Boston on the 50th anniversary of his victory (and also for the sixth year in a row.) He has also finished 55 consecutive Manchester CT Road Races (4.74 miles) on Thanksgiving, winning nine times. He has run the 54-mile Comrades Marathon in So. Africa twice, and covered about 110,000 total running miles in his life.

Started running/years running? I started in 1962, so I have been running about 56 years.

Why did  you start running? I was the son of a YMCA director, and became very skilled at many sports. I dreamed of playing major league baseball or basketball. However, in high school I learned that you need more than skill; it takes speed, strength, power, muscle, which I didn’t have. Still, I wanted to be good at some sport. I switched to cross country my junior year in high school, and more or less succeeded from the get-go. I was maybe top 5 in CT xc country the fall of my senior year, and won the CT 2-mile track championship the next June in 9:39. I’ve been running ever since.

RESEARCH: Exercise Improves Cognition, Fitness, Endurance, Balance Of Subjects Over 60

(8-18) A recent study looked at the effect of exercise training on cognition, fitness, muscle endurance, and balance of subjects over 60 with mild cognitive impairment. The study used a randomized, controlled protocol (RCT), considered to be the "gold standard" for such research.

The authors concluded that the (very moderate) exercise training program "improved cognitive function, muscle endurance, aerobic conditioning, and balance in older adults with mild cognitive impairment."

The paper was published in the Journal of Geriatric Physical Therapy. Click here for more.

PROFILE--Gail Waesche Kislevitz has been running for 50 years

(7-18) Gail Waesche Kislevitz was born September 29,

Finishing 2014 Boston Marathon.

1951. A Libra, she likes to keep her life balanced and running is a big part of that.  She grew up in Oradell, New Jersey, and spent her summers in New London at the family home on Long Island Sound. It was there on the beach that she watched her older brothers who ran cross-country and track for River Dell High School, run sprints in the sand. She wanted to do the same thing, to feel the wind and splash of the surf, to push herself and come back sweaty and jump in the water for a cool down. As girls back in those days were not encouraged to run, she started running under cover of darkness when she was sixteen, the summer of1968. She pulled on her Keds and took the family dog with her as her first running partner. And she never stopped. She’s run 26 marathons, did a half Ironman, and continues to get a thrill every time she steps out the door for a run. She’s not a streaker, doesn’t hold a record, isn’t fast, but she is a lifetime runner.

Started running/years: August of 1968, 50 years. And counting.

Why did you start running? I was a tomboy and loved