Running Grandma

I loved the story in The Kansan newspaper about Mary Jane Mann, a 74-year-old grandmother in Topeka, who started to run when she was 46 and is still at it today. Why do I love this story so much? The fact that I'm a 74-year-0ld grandmother on Long Island (New York) who started running when I was 46 and am still at it today might have something to do with it.

The special bonuses from my running have included the experience of running with my grandchildren. It's been wonderful to see that, as I have gotten slower and slower, they have gotten faster and faster. But the best is that we enjoy pounding the paths together. These shared runs have included the ones with Anna at age three, pumping her chubby little arms, running with me on the beach; the three-generation races three or four of us have run every Mother's Day for the past dozen years (before going out to brunch to replace those calories we had expended during those 3.1 miles!); and the New Year's Eve when Stefan and I ran at midnight in Central Park while fireworks flashed overhead.

I would love to hear about the kinds of activities other grandmothers share with their grandchildren -- things you love to do, and love even more doing with them.

To read the September 25 article about Mary Jane, go to http://www.thekansan.com/stories/092507/topstories_092507005.shtml