80-year-old distance runner doesn't plan to slow down anytime soon

New York Post

2 days ago

He's taken it all in stride.
Long Island senior citizen David Frisone is the talk of the running world, lacing up his sneakers to race — and win — twice a week at the age of 80.
'Most people I run with are a good 15, 20 years younger than me,' the speedy man of New Hyde Park told The Post.
'They always try to beat me, but I win most of them.'
Frisone has run the New York City and Boston Marathons in the past, and typically participates in a mix of 5K and 10K races on select weeknights — all while training for larger half-marathons in between.
'People are telling me I should concentrate on shorter races now,' the Nassau resident said.
First steps
He discovered his knack for the track at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School, where he ran all three seasons of indoor and outdoor track and cross country in the 1960s.
Frisone then attended Staten Island Community College, which did not have a team, and ultimately hung up his shoes for a few decades after.
'That's life. You start raising a family — I have three kids, and a wife, of course,' said Frisone, who worked as a director of engineering implementation and later an accountant.
3 David Frisone, 80, receives a medal after participating in a weekly 5K at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, N.Y.
Heather Khalifa for New York Post
However, when his trio of pride and joy discovered the family genetics and wanted to start running as kids, that moved Frisone to come out of retirement in his 40s.
'They were very impressed then — and still are today,' Frisone said. 'Not running for 20 years, that actually probably helped me save my legs, kept my legs fresh. It was an accidental secret weapon.'
After catching his second wind, Frisone and his wife, Maureen, took on the gargantuan NYC Marathon, which he finished in about 5 hours in 2010.
Then, five years later on a brutally cold April morning, Frisone notched what he called his most significant ever achievement on foot — acing the Boston Marathon in about 4 hours and 34 minutes.
3 David Frisone, 80, runs through a sprinkler on the course of his weekly 5K at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, N.Y.
Heather Khalifa for New York Post
'Boston was bad weather, cold, rain — but when you're addicted to running, you just go for it,' he said.
Best foot forward
Nowadays, Frisone is a member of the Long Island Road Runners and usually has friendly faceoffs with the same group of people he's gotten to know over the years.
He volunteers to help set up and then participates in weekly runs at Eisenhower Park, inspiring other participants, many of whom are much younger, to kick it into high gear.
When allowing for age grading — a similar system to a golf handicap — 'usually I get top 10 or top 15 in the whole race,' Frisone said.
3 David Frisone, 80, poses for a portrait after running in a weekly 5K at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, N.Y.
Heather Khalifa for New York Post
More than anything, however, running keeps Frisone's mind racing in a good way.
It gives him tons of great friends and social activity at a time when medical experts warn that too many seniors are deteriorating from isolation.
'We don't just run. We always do something after. It's either a bagel, pizza, Mexican food, or something like it,' he said, adding that the group went out for a pizza party this week.
'It's a way of celebrating your run, it keeps the conversations going.'
Next, Frisone plans to travel to Scotland in September to participate in either a 10K or 5K race, simply for the enjoyment of it.
'I compete hard. It makes me competitive, and it's a form of addiction,' he said. 'If I had to stop running, I would really miss it.'