The spirit of competition is alive–and ageing quite well. This past weekend, Sarah and I wrapped up four jam-packed days at the 2025 South Dakota Senior Games. It was equal parts humbling, hilarious, and exhausting–and deeply rewarding!
I entered 11 events, took home 10 gold medals, and got smoked in one event with a hard-earned 6th place finish in the 20 K bike ride. Sarah did 8 events, claiming 5 gold, 2 silver, and a bronze. We joked that our garage gym will now need to have hooks on the walls to hang all of the Senior Game medals on!
We ran a 5k (Jill Makepeace joined us Saturday and competed in this as well), a 10k run the next day (Carol from run club joined on that day as well–Watertown Area Run Club was well represented in the games!) We rode the 20k bike ride, and then lifted, jumped, pressed, curled, pushed up, planked, and wall sat our way through all of the strength events. Here are pictures of us during these events:
But what moved us the most? Watching Sarah’s 82-year-old mom line up for the 50-meter dash–then hurl the hammer in a graceful arc across the field. She had never done this before! She had the courage to participate! Aging isn’t about slowing down. It is about showing up. We felt the soreness, yes, but we also felt the joy. The camaraderie. The grit. And the pride of knowing we’re doing what we love–even if it looks different than it did 20 years ago. One participant who won female athlete of the year from last year, referred to all of the hardware at the games. She was not referring to the medals–she was referring to her hip replacement a year ago, and to all of the other participants who were competing with new joints. They did not let this slow them down! But as she said too–the medals are nice! Here is our haul!
Our times are slower–but our gratitude runs deeper now. We race for health, family, and the legacy of staying active. We laugh louder. We recover slower. But we’re still here. Still “golden”. Medals are nice. But movement is the real reward! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of newest streak: # 536