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New Hampshire Sunday News (Manchester, NH)

August 27, 1989

Page: 1A

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Runner Johnny Kelley Performs ‘Missionary Work’ in NH, at 81
Author: JOHN CLAYTON Sunday News Staff

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PENACOOK – After years and years of running mile after mile in marathons all over the world, 81-year-old Johnny Kelley is the perfect choice to drum up interest in the Granite State Senior Olympics.

That was his assigned task yesterday, but he simply could not pass up the opportunity to bring his message of athleticism to a younger audience. Thus, with about 30 young soccer players from Penacook gathered at his feet, Kelley told stories of Olympian proportions, and the youngsters, mesmerized by the lively, white-haired sprite, listened in rapt silence.

When he was through, they bid him adieu with a lively, ”Bye Mr. K,” and with a wave and a wink, he was on the move again.

”That’s what I call missionary work,” he said with a smile.

The gospel according to Kelley is simple. Stay active to stay healthy, and like any good minister, Kelley practices what he preaches.

Because of his advanced age, Kelley has been asked to serve as an inspiration for those who would compete in the New Hampshire version of the Senior Olympics, but organizers stress that he is not to be used as a yardstick by which potential competitors can measure their own abilities.

That would be unfair, for even though Kelley has gained fame for his longevity as a distance runner, even had he retired from competition 50 years ago, his achievements would be no less remarkable.

He ran the first of his 58 BostonMarathons at the age of 21, and he won the event in 1935 and 1945. He also picked up seven second-place finishes, and placed in the top 10 on 19 occasions.

He earned berths on three Olympic teams and has run in 112 marathons all over the world, and just last week, he completed the seven-mile Falmouth Road Race in 56 minutes.

On Sept. 6, he will be 82.

”I don’t advocate everyone running 26 miles, but everyone can be physically active, and that’s what I like to tell people,” he said.

For Marcia E. Wyman, coordinator of the Granite State Senior Olympics, Kelley is a godsend.

”We just thought he’d be a good representative of what people should see if they’re considering taking part in the Senior Olympics,” she said. ”A lot of people, especially nowadays, are starting athletic activity later in life, and John’s a good example of why it’s worth starting.”

The GSSO is open to New Hampshire residents, aged 55 and older, from novice to expert, who wish to compete in any of 13 events, ranging from archery to golf, bowling to billiards, horseshoes to shuffleboard, and tennis to track.

The events, coordinated through the state Division of Elderly and Adult Services, will be held Sept. 10-17 at several locations througout the state.

You won’t see Kelley in the Granite State competition, however, even though Gov. Meldrim Thomson declared him an honorary citizen of the state following a special race in Epping some years ago.

”I’ve had my glory,” he laughed. ”Time for someone else to get in the spotlight for a change.”

His modesty notwithstanding, Kelley still gets his share of limelight. His annual appearance at the Boston Marathon finish line draws cheers that rival those accorded the winners, and he remains a fixture on the John Hancock Running and Fitness Clinic circuit alongside other greats like Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit-Samuelson and New Hampshire’s Cathy Schiro-O’Brien. Because of his accomplishments, and his personality, Kelley is in constsant demand on the lecture circuit as well, where people seek the key to his longevity.

He is the first to confess that he has not found the fountain of youth. He has been blessed, he admits, with good genes, and he lives by a system that works for him. A sampling of the Kelley system.

* On eating: ”I eat anything and everything I want. I like fruit, and ice cream, and I eat steak once a week. My wife Laura’s a great cook. The one thing I can’t stand is a plain glass of milk, so I take calcium pills.”

* On drinking: ”I have an occasional glass of wine with dinner, and maybe a can of beer before dinner, but never to excess.”

* On smoking: ”I don’t smoke. I’ve never smoked. It’s a dirty habit.”

* On exercise: ”I run at 5 a.m. just about every day, but I take a day off now and then if I’m tired, and I don’t run for distance, I run for time. Maybe an hour one day, two hours the next. It’s better that way.”

* On aging: ”When you get over 70, everyone is limited in some way, but the key is to keep active. You don’t have to run. Walking is good. Bicycling, swimming, anything to stay active.”

It works for Kelley. An accomplished oil painter, he still makes his living as an artist-in-residence at his Cape Cod home. It is a job that is far more conducive to running than his early duties with Boston Edison.

”It was nothing like today, where runners get all kinds of time off, or spend all year training,” he said. ”I had to work my eight hours a day every day, and give up a lot of overtime in order to run, but it was worth it to represent my country in the Olympics.

”It’s something that no politician can get for you. You have to go out and get it yourself, but when I went to Berlin in 1936, they deducted the time from my wages. Today, they get ‘compensatory time.’ I got ‘leave-deduct’.”

He also got a wave from Adolf Hitler when he crossed the finish line as the only American to complete the Olympic marathon in 1936, but he refused to acknowledge the greeting. ”It was Aug. 8, 1936, and you could tell things were wrong over there because when you’d go for a run, you’d see soldiers everywhere and all the munitions factories going full tilt. It was frightening.”

The military build-up Kelley witnessed in 1936 resulted in the cancellation of the 1940 Olympic Games that were scheduled for Finland. In 1944, the games were pre-empted by the war, but in 1948, at the age of 42, he again qualified and competed in London where he finished the marathon in 21st place.

”I guess you have to say I was a world-class runner, but I was never any great shakes,” he said. ”Back then, you might get 200 people to run Boston, all from the Eastern Seaboard, but now, you can get the great European runners over here on a plane in three hours. It’s a lot different today, with the training, the equipment and the money.”

What hasn’t changed is the personal reward and pleasure Kelley gets from running, and it is that message he hopes to convey on behalf of the Senior Olympics.

Copyright 1989, 2002 Union Leader Corp.
Record Number: 0F544F8A16894433