Several athletes from the Orillia area are gearing up for the Canadian Masters Outdoor Championships in Laval, Quebec this coming weekend, competing against fellow senior-level athletes from across the country in a variety of track and field events.
Masters competitions allow competitors ages 30 and up compete against athletes within their age brackets, and Orillia’s John Winchester is looking forward to competing in the 60-64 group this weekend.
Although Winchester, 62, is an avid Nordic skier and hockey player, he said he joined masters competitions in recent years to stay in shape through the summer, as well.
“It's a reason to train; it's a reason to stay in shape,” Winchester said. “I did the Ontario Masters last year, and I just did the Ontario championships this past month, and it's nice to see the same people year in, year out and to compete against people your own age and ability level, too.”
Competing at the national level for the first time, Winchester is set to run in the 100-metre, 200-metre, and 400-metre races, and will also compete in the long jump competition.
For him, the competition is simply about getting out there and working to beat his own personal bests — a feat he has managed to consistently achieve over the past couple years.
“I enjoy new challenges. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about staying in shape,” he said. “If you can get a personal best in any of your events, regardless of where you finish … hey, you're happy.”
As he is not part of a track and field club, Winchester said he has enjoyed training himself by studying different techniques online and on YouTube, whether it’s how to start a sprint off the blocks efficiently, or how to properly pace a 400-metre run.
He also said he enjoys the community aspect of the competition, with athletes of all age groups coming together to compete and have fun.
Earlier this year, the retired teacher ran into a former student of his at a competition at York University.
“It was kind of nice to reconnect with a former student who's also competing against people his or her own age. That's what I enjoy about it,” he said.
Providing a good example for his daughters is another motivator for Winchester to get out and compete, he said.
“I've got young daughters, and you like to provide kind of an example for them,” he said. “Just because you get to a certain age doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to do certain events anymore.”
For Kairy Hennessy-Loucks, competitions like the Canadian Masters Outdoor Championships are an opportunity to break records.
The Orillia native, now based in Barrie, has competed in track and field events throughout her life, and currently boasts nine Ontario records across a variety of events for her efforts.
She’s set to compete in long jump, triple jump, high jump, 80-metre hurdles and 300-metre hurdles in Quebec.
“I do a lot of technical events, like I'm still hurdling and doing triple jump and long jump, that people are a lot smarter at my age not to do,” quipped the 58-year-old athlete. “You end up competing against the records.”
This year will be Hennessy-Loucks’ seventh in the Masters competition, and she has also begun travelling to the U.S. to compete in national-level competitions there.
“As soon as someone steps up to the line and does it at our age, you have to give everybody credit,” she said. “The people that you meet and the connections you make are unbelievable, from all around the world.”
She said she has managed to consistently improve over her past seven years of competition, which she chalks up to a “consistency of training” she’s been able to maintain since her kids left for university and she retired as a physical education teacher.
“I have time now to be at the gym and do my thing, and this has become my thing,” she said. "I'm getting better than I was from 50 to 55 — that's unusual, right? I know I'm going to go downhill really fast, but I'm getting better now.”
Although she lives in Barrie, Hennessy-Loucks comes to Orillia to train every week, citing family in the area and an appreciation for Orillia’s sports facilities.
“Every day you're meeting new people, and we don't have that in Barrie, so Orillia is really lucky,” she said.
More about Canadian Masters Athletics can be found here.
