Age no obstacle for runner, lining up for 1,000th race

Jack Curtain of Cambridge ran his first marathon 30 years ago. Now 77, he hasn't stopped competing. (Globe Staff Photo / Wendy Maeda)

Jack Curtain lay crumpled on a medical cot at the finish line of the Ocean State Marathon. At age 47, with almost no training, he'd just run the first road race of his life - 26.2 miles, no less - and was in more pain than he could ever remember.

"So the guy next to me says, 'Do you think you'll ever do this again?' " Curtain recalls. "I looked around and I said . . . 'Are you [kidding] me?' "An hour later, though, when the man asked him the same question, Curtain had a different answer.

"I says to him, 'Gee. Maybe Boston next year.' "

That was 30 years - and 999 road races - ago. Curtain is now 77, with 35 marathons under his belt (15 in Boston), several shelves worth of trophies and race medals on his living room wall, and legs that still boast a runner's muscular definition. He has not stopped running since the moment of his epiphany, competing in weekly road races Thursday nights in Somerville and Saturday mornings at Fresh Pond.

He will run career race number 1,000 on Thursday, in his regular 7:15 p.m. event in Magoun Square.

"He's got a good chance of winning his division, especially if no one shows up," joked friend Paul Collyer, director of the Somerville Striders Athletic Club. "Jack is a classic story of maintaining your health throughout your whole life. He's indicative of what's happening with people over 40 today. I remember my dad when we had a birthday party for him when he was 40. He was crying. Nowadays, what, 50 is the new 40, and 40 is the new 30."

Curtain is not the oldest runner out there - Louise Rossetti of the Somerville Road Runners is 87, while Lexington resident Julian Seigal, of the North Medford Club, is going strong at 80. But of all the local seniors, Curtain is unique in the sheer productivity of his later years. He has completed 999 races while in what is normally the downside of a runner's career, when bodies wear down, wills wane, and age makes every mile seem a lot farther.

Curtain has had injuries here and there - a hernia operation, and some eye problems - but nothing major. A retired Edison forklift driver, Curtain credits his strong health to his blue-collar ways and lifelong love of exercise - he once played semipro basketball, and he still does push-ups and sit-ups at the Cambridge YMCA, where he is a regular.

"To me, the 1,000th race is going to mean a feeling of great accomplishment, that I could stay the course, not just for a marathon but for life," he said.

Running, which he picked up on a lark, came easy to him. To prepare for that first marathon in 1978, he ran around the Boston section of the Charles River 17 times on the first try. He finished the race in 3 hours and 39 minutes. Two years later, at age 49, he ran a marathon in 3 hours and 7 minutes.

He has run races in just about every town in Eastern Massachusetts, from Lawrence to Lynnfield to Bourne on Cape Cod. He has competed in Dublin and Montreal, in a lot of 10Ks and 5Ks, and everything in between.

He came in second in his age division in Newton's 1979 Garden City Marathon, a wild affair that featured a fierce snowstorm, flash-frozen streets, and fires along the race route. "I had a woolen hat on. My brother-in-law. . . had to put his hands on my head for half an hour to get the thing off. It was frozen to my ears," Curtain said.

He met legendary marathoner Johnny Kelley before the start of a master's division race in Westfield in the 1980s. "He shook my hand, and you know what I seen in his eye? 'I'm going to beat you.' True story. He didn't, but he was 20 years older, and he tried."

Curtain's competitive spirit isn't far behind. Perusing his runner's log, he laments aloud that he should have run more races each year. Inquire about his current running pace - he runs 12-minute miles, at best - and he is almost apologetic.

In May, Curtain fell during a race along the Charles River. With a bloodied elbow, he waved off assistance, got up, and finished. X-rays later showed he had fractured a few ribs.

"The word inspirational comes to mind," said Jimmy Dupont, 55, a fellow member of the Somerville running club. "I hope to live that long. And to have the will to go out there with people a third your age?"

Such was the case on a recent Thursday night outside Olde Magoun's Saloon, where Curtain, ever affable, lined up with 42 younger runners for the start of his 993d road race, a 3.1-mile trek. Wearing a bright orange safety vest over grey sweats, Curtain pumped his legs, swung his big elbows, and took off.

He came in last, with his entire running team gathered at the finish line, cheering him on.

Peter DeMarco can be reached at Demarco@globe.com.