She's outrunning Father Time
Mary Harada tells people that she retired from her job as a professor at Northern Essex Community College eight years ago so she could devote more time to her ``fabulous running career."
Joking aside, Harada isn't far from the truth.
The 70-year-old from West Newbury, a native of Newton, is outrunning Father Time and her masters-category track and field opponents. Last month, Harada set a world record in the mile for her age group, 70-74, at the USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships, clocking a time of 7:12.59 at the Reggie Lewis track in Roxbury. Her time eclipsed the previous mark by almost seven seconds.
Harada's record-setting run came less than a week after she won three medals at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Linz, Austria. The former history and government professor took home bronze medals in the 800- and 3,000-meter races and netted a silver in the 1,500. USA Track and Field named Harada its New England Athlete of the Month.
At an age when a lot of her contemporaries have long since stopped pounding the pavement, Harada is running four times a week, logging 25 miles, and training for masters competitions for runners 35 and older.
But she doesn't understand what all the fuss is about, saying, ``I'm 70. I have friends in their 80s who are still going strong. I don't see myself as old."
The Newton native first took up running in 1968, shortly after earning her doctorate, simply as a way to stay in shape.
She began competing in road races in the early 1970s, and has run six marathons, including the Boston Marathon twice. Harada competed in her first masters mile race in 1980, but, like a fine wine, it is only with age that she has reached her peak.
``Usually as you get older you get slower," said Karen Lein, a runner for the Liberty Athletic Club, of which Harada is a member. ``For her to improve is amazing."
Even Harada's husband, Makoto, and her two sons, Jonathan and Matthew, are in awe of her ability. ``My youngest son said, `I can't run a mile and you can do it in 7:12,' " recalled Harada with a laugh.
How is Harada able to keep up the pace at her age? Her genes are certainly on her side. Harada's mother lived to be 90 and her father to 102, so Harada is not being coy when she says she doesn't consider 70 to be old.
Health also has played a large part in Harada's success. Harada has asthma, but she has avoided any debilitating injuries. She had a bout with plantar fasciitis, a recurring heel ailment, a few years ago, but that was remedied using acupuncture therapy.
Her only other major injury happened 20 years ago, when she pulled her iliotibial band -- a group of muscle fibers along the outside of the thigh.
``Age is a funny thing," said Harada. ``If you've maintained your health and stayed active, you can maintain what you have. With age you do slow down -- you just have to work harder to maintain that edge."
Lesley Lehane, who coaches Harada at the Liberty Athletic Club, said that the grandmother has more grit than many of the college runners she coaches at Boston University.
``She's tough as nails," said Lehane, assistant director of men's and women's cross-country and track and field at BU. ``Some of the college athletes at BU see what Mary and some of these ladies' workouts are and they're amazed at what they can do."
Lehane said Harada gets no special treatment because of her age -- quite the opposite.
``She does what they do, only she does her intervals a little slower," said Lehane. ``If she knows that the workout is six 600s, she won't let me have her do less." Lehane, a one-time world-record holder in the indoor 5,000 meters and former masters competitor, said she has tremendous admiration for Harada and her ability to defy aging.
``I ran for 25 years and my body won't take it anymore," said Lehane, who still holds the record for 35-year-old women in the 2,000-meter steeplechase. ``The last thing my body wants to do is run. It's an aging thing."
Harada knows that not everyone is lucky enough to age as gracefully as she has. ``The older I get, I never take it for granted," she said. That's why she is in a rush to set another world record.
Harada has focused on the 70-74 outdoor world record in the mile, currently 7:15.68.
``This is my year to do it," she said. ``Each year after this I'll just get slower, and then I'll have to wait until I'm 75." Harada's quest is complicated by the fact that the mile is not run at a lot of outdoor meets for her age group.
Still, Lehane is confident that Harada can reach the mark this summer. ``If she stays healthy, she's going to do it," said Lehane. Harada said she's not sure how long she'll keep running, but she doesn't plan to slow down any time soon.
``With running you can keep going as long as you want," said Lehane. ``Mary and other masters runners are proof of that. You can run as long and as far as the mind will take you."
