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| The Hammer! |
The Albert Mesarosh award is given to a runner who has accomplished many things in his or her running career. It’s named after our remarkable runner Albert Mesarosh. Previous winners include Albert and Charlotte Gerkin.
This year’s winner is a remarkable man, a great runner and a great man. He might not be the world’s most interesting man, but he is a pretty interesting guy.
He is a published author. He writes clean romance novels. This is unusual for a guy who studied at Purdue and graduated with a degree in chemistry. He worked for many years at Crane.
He is a HAM radio operator who still uses Morse Code.
He has given 25 gallons of blood.
He is a leader in his church, teaching classes and leading the singing.
He overcame prostate cancer back in 2004.
He is probably best known for his running. He started running when he was 37 years old. He was gaining weight and getting overweight. He knew his family had a history of various health problems which could threaten his life, so he decided to do something about it.
His first race was the Limestone Classic, which back then was a 6 miler. He trained a total of 2.5 weeks, ran it in Converse high tops that were tied so tight he had bruises. He finished 188th, which was nearly last.
That was probably the last time he finished near the last. This year’s winner, like Albert and Charlotte before him, has a long list of accomplishments. I think the remarkable thing, beyond his longevity, is the fact that many of his PRs happened in his mid to late 50s.
Age Distance Time
56 5K 19.13
57 4 miler 26.25
58 13.1 1.30.14
58 26.2 3.32.55
How and why did this happen? At the encouragement of other runners, he started doing speed work. If you are looking for dramatic improvement, then his example is worth considering.
Our winner over the years has been a regular on podiums everywhere. He has won his age group at the Louisville Mini Marathon. He also won his age group in the Papa John’s 10 miler.
Our winner is 75 years old, and while presently off for a little while, still runs. He can often be seen on highway 37 around Oolitic. Our winner this year is Larry Hammersley, also known as The Hammer!
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