Carlton Mendell of Windham has been running races since 1972, and while he’s noticed his times getting slower every year, he doesn’t mind.
“There’s no way you can keep the clock back,” he says.
At 84-years-old and still going strong, Mendell has actually kept back the clock pretty well.
He’ll be one of the oldest runners in this year’s TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon, but with a schedule that sees him running 75 races a year – sometimes two or three in one weekend – it’s just another race.
At 10K the Beach to Beacon is also one of Mendell’s shorter races. He’s estimates he’s done 160 marathons in his career, along with ultra marathons and 24-hour races. This fall he is doing the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va.
What’s his secret for doing what some half his age are unable to do?
“I have good ancestors and I don’t step in any potholes,” Mendell said.
He also has a dedicated training regime, rarely taking a day off, and a peculiar diet. He starts off his training runs at McDonalds – for breakfast. Still, he’s never had any injuries and claims to not even get sore.
“I don’t do any speed work,” he says. “Some of these guys get worked up on that speed work on the track. As you get older you get injured early. That’s hardly a race I go to where there isn’t somebody injured.”
As a 50-year-old recovering alcoholic, Mendell began running as a way to lose weight and hasn’t stopped since.
“I can see myself slowing down,” he says. “I know I’ll eventually have to cut back.”
Eventually.
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