Forever Young sweeps 2019 aside with some special moments for the ages
Credit to Author: Gord Kurenoff| Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2019 10:16:09 +0000
There is some irony on this cool, rainy Monday morning as the inspirational “Rolling Stones” of the Lower Mainland running/walking scene gather for their year-end brunch inside the Richmond Curling Club.
It seems fitting, if not scripted, when one of the 100-plus guests shouts: “Forever Young is in the house,” while people with empty plates slide closer to the food tables overlooking a hog line in the decorated Hollybridge Way facility.
Yep, it’s hammer time for The Youngsters as skipper John Young greets each person by name as they enter the final social gathering of the season for the “blue jacket club” that boasts of 150 active members over the age of 65, and another 75 on the FYC mailing list.
Young repeats a joke for the benefit of a few guests who might have missed the most recent Forever Young Club Newsletter: “We exercise for one hour, have coffee for one hour and shop for one hour. In our world this is called a triathlon!”
♦ FOR MY PHOTOS OF THE 2019 FOREVER YOUNG 8K, click HERE
Patricia Stapleton, who recently qualified for the Boston Marathon (70-74 age class) with an impressive time of four hours and 45 minutes, gives a passionate spiel about the Richmond Food Bank as collection pails and envelopes are passed around the room. She points out the food bank feeds 2,000 people a week, including seniors and children. The Forever Young Club members, who have helped out financially in years past, deliver again on this day.
Patricia Stapleton of the Richmond-based Forever Young Club, centre, presents John and Joan Young with a gift for all their work leading the seniors’ club. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Joan Young, the wife of John and one of the three co-founders of this active and fun run/walk club — 85-year-old running phenom Gwen McFarlan is the other founder, but is in Texas on this day visiting family — points out the club added 20 new faces this year and “became more popular than ever in trails and Richmond coffee shops.”
“We believe we are the most active, friendly and inspirational group in Richmond,” smiles Joan. “If nothing else we have a commitment to fitness and fun. We are much more than a running and walking club — we are a community and really good friends!”
She reminded the brunch crowd that the 2019 Forever Young 8K attracted 230 entrants to the Richmond Oval in September, and another 70 people showed up at her house for a Canada Day run and party. “And we had a surprise birthday party for Gwen as she turned 85, even though she didn’t attend! She had a cold but we partied anyway and sent her the video, with all the speeches, to show her what she missed!”
John Young, left, and Warren Purchase presented a $3,000 cheque Monday to Nicola More of the Dream On Seniors’ Wish Foundation. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Warren Purchase of the Richmond Olympic Oval, who is the FY8K race director, teamed up with John Young to present a $3,000 cheque to Nicola More of the Dream On Seniors’ Wish Foundation as part of the money raised from the fifth annual race. Purchase and Young pointed out an additional $500 from race-day donations would be forwarded to the foundation, too.
“Seniors are important, and they matter,” said More. “And the Forever Young Club not only represents the age group, but they look after it, too.”
After the Youngs received a gift of appreciation from Stapleton, on behalf of the members, John Young stressed to the gathering: “This club is really all about YOU! You make the club. You make it fun and worthwhile. You make it so we don’t mind getting up early on a cold or rainy or snowy day to go out and exercise and socialize. It’s what keeps us all Forever Young.”
Kajaks’ track club coach Avril Douglas, a B.C. Athletics Hall of Fame inductee who looks like she drinks from the fountain of youth, won five gold medals at the 2019 55-plus Games in Kelowna. She was a guest of the Youngs on Monday and applauded the couple for their vision and dedication.
Members of the Forever Young Club sang Christmas songs before and after they ate on Monday at Richmond Curling Club. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
“They have something special here,” said Douglas, while watching the crowd sing Christmas carols. “Take a look around this room. Everyone here has a reason to go out, exercise and interact. It’s not about speed or medals for most of them. It’s about being part of a fun group where they aren’t considered too old or not an important part of society.”
I suggested that the Richmond-based Forever Young Club “blueprint” be cut-copy-pasted and sent to every city in the country looking for a way to keep seniors engaged. I also joked with Douglas that I wanted to start a “Forever Slow” chapter, when in reality Forever Grateful is more appropriate.
A few years ago John Young invited my father-in-law, Dennis Hill, to the annual year-end banquet. After hearing all the success stories about the club’s runners, walkers and the stories of seniors refusing to stay home, knit sweaters and rot, he went home, lost 65 pounds and became more active and mentally healthier than ever.
On Saturday, dressed as an elf at Stanley Park, the soon-to-be-75 Dennis posted a personal best 5K time of 41 minutes — and that’s mostly walking, sprinkled in with some running bursts to prove Forever Young is much more than a catchy name.
Dennis Hill of Abbotsford, 74, proudly shows off his medal after posting a personal best in the 2019 Forever Young 8K, held in September at the Richmond Olympic Oval. (Gord Kurenoff photo)
Dennis also set a PB in the Forever Young 8K this year (1:08:43) and crushed his first-ever Vancouver Sun Run in an impressive 10K time of 1:30:18.
Now he’s taking all the advice shared by John, Joan and Gwen to try and get my mother-in-law off the couch and up-to-speed, reminding her of John Young’s great speech from a few years back: “We basically have three categories in Forever Young. The Go-Go, the Slow-Go and the No-Go. The key is to avoid the third category as long as humanly possible. And have fun and enjoy the coffee.”
Mom will be a project, but Dennis insists he’s just getting warmed up.
Fun on the Run blogger Gord Kurenoff of The Vancouver Sun heads for the finish line in the Forever Young 8K. (Joanna Pak photo)
FINISH LINES: Speaking of Richmond, the annual Steveston Icebreaker 8K and New Balance 1K Kids Run is set for Sunday, Jan. 19. The popular event, hosted by the Kajacks Track and Field Club, is the opening race of the 2020 Lifestages Lower Mainland Road Race Series and second race of the B.C. Athletics B.C. Super Series.
Gotta run …