Before he was old, Dan Cumming was a runner. Now that hes officially old if you count getting Old Age Security as the line in the sand we all have to cross Cumming is still a runner.
A special project by Bayshore Home Health is designed to help society move beyond defining people by their age so that we can see each other as a sum of all of our parts.
Before They Were Grandparents creates the context of a whole human being, says Cumming, who will be running the BMO half-marathon on May 6. When youre young, you see someone whos old and say, Oh, theyre just old. But when youre one of them, you know stuff has happened.
For instance, the crowds cheering on the 10,000 runners who will take over Vancouvers streets may see Cumming run past and notice only his grey hair. They may say that hes fit for his age, or pay him some other age-related compliment. They wont know that he has a PhD in food technology and that his work has taken him around the world. They wont see the competitive teenager that still lurks in his psyche, or have read his Running in the Zone blog in which he trash talks two friends one 46, one 54 who are also taking part in marathons that weekend. (You cant go fast any more but you can talk about it, he says.)
On April 26, Cumming will join other athletes such as javelin thrower Cindy Crapper, whose Olympic dreams were dashed when Canada decided not to send a full team to the Los Angeles Olympics, and figure skaters Barry and Louise Soper, who have won six Canadian ice dance titles. Theyll all be at Creekside Recreation Centre from 1 to 3pm to share their stories.
It gives a life to the people you see at one point in time, says Cumming, whose done 14 marathons since 2000.
For more information on the project, go to BeforeTheyWereGrandparents.com.
