Chronicle Sports - March 25, 2010

CHRONICLE SPORTS

The Running Man

His Competitive Fires Still Burning Bright, 76-Year-Old Harwich Selectman Larry Cole Has Become One Of The Elite Runners In His Age Division – And He Has The Medals To Prove It

Eric Adler

HARWICH — At an age when most people begin to slow down, Larry Cole got off to a running start – literally.

It was four years ago when the now 76-year-old Harwich selectman first took to the side streets, the back roads and the bike trails to train for the Phoenix Marathon in an effort to raise money for the American Stroke Association.

Since then, Cole has completed a medley of 5K and 10K road races and half marathons across New England. He may not be Johnny Kelly, but with Prefontaine persistence and Energizer Bunny endurance, he’s transformed himself into one of the elite runners within his age group.

Harwich’s Larry Cole, who runs in anywhere from 35 to 40 races a year, makes a turn during the Johnny Kelly Road Race in Hyannis. PHOTO COURTESY OF LARRY COLE AND CAPSTONE PHOTOGRAPHY.

“I’m just a competitive person,” said Cole when asked what not only sparked but has kept his interest in a younger man’s sport. “The great thing about running is you’re competing against people you know and your own records.”

Like a fine wine, Cole has gotten better with age. He placed first within his age group (75-plus) in the Falmouth Road Race last summer, finishing the seven-miler in 1:13:25. And just a few weeks ago, he was again the top runner among his peers in the Hyannis Half Marathon, completing the 13.1-mile course in 2:22:16.

“I had run two other races earlier this year and in them I finished third and a distant fourth [respectively], so coming in first was nice, but it would have been more special if my time had been better,” said Cole. “What pleases me more than winning is a good pace.”

That’s the reason Cole runs a regular circuit from Harwich to Chatham three days a week, covering eight miles on Tuesdays, 10 to 11 on Thursdays and 13 to 14 over the weekend. His consistent training allows him to compete in 35-40 races a year.

His odysseys, to name a few, include the 10-miler in Foxboro, the Cohasset 10K, the Seagull Six in Falmouth, and the James Joyce 10K Ramble in Dedham, where “people are in period costumes and read Joyce along the route” said Cole. “At the end of the race, they don’t award medals, they award books.”

Cole is also a frequent competitor in several Lower Cape competitions, such as the Chatham Harbor Run, the Irish Pub Road Race and Brewster Brew Run, which features an irresistible frosty reward. “The reason I run is for the beer,” he said, half-joking. “That’s the motivation.”

But the race that may be most near and dear to Cole’s heart is the one he spearheaded, the newly-formed Harwich Cranberry Harvest Half Marathon and 7.3-miler.

The idea to host a race of a sizable length in Harwich was something Cole had been considering for quite some time (the Irish Pub Road Race is only three miles and the long-established but recently defunct Bob McCourt race in Harwich Port was 5K). He sketched out various models, and with the help of road race coordinator Paul Collier and fellow selectman Ed McManus, his dream course became a reality last year.

“The race gives you the flavor of a typical Cape town and the route is quite scenic,” said Cole. “You go by Allen Harbor, Red River beach, two villages, a couple of Cranberry Bogs and town center. You really get to see Harwich.”

What’s given the Harwich Cranberry Harvest race even more meaning – and perhaps popularity – is that it’s part of a Cape Cod half-marathon trilogy that includes the aforementioned Hyannis Half-Marathon in February and the Hyannis-based Johnny Kelly road race on Memorial Day.

Despite a forecast that called for non-stop rain storms, the initial Harwich half marathon and 7.3-mile race, held the first weekend in October, featured a fair share of finishers.

“The weather forecast was bad, there was a Patriots home game, and there were 30 other races in Massachusetts that day alone (and 15 others the day before), so to have 1,000 finishers overall among the two races was very good,” said Cole. “Now that we're established, this year we expect 2,500.”

For the record, Cole finished second in his age group. He snapped the tape in 2:17:37, sandwiched between third-place finisher Roger Bermas of Roslyn Heights, N.Y. (2:33:08) and West Chatham’s Art Neves, who won with a time of 2:02:41.

As Cole has learned, no matter how hard or long you train, there always seems to be someone who can put their foot in front of the other a little faster.

“There are guys in their early 70s who are still running a mile at a seven-and-a-half minute pace,” said Cole. “They just smoke me.” There’s also former Boston Marathon winner Bill Riley of Centerville, who runs at a six-and-a-half mile pace and is setting world records in the 70-plus age group.

But Cole isn’t so much threatened by his fellow AARP challengers as he is encouraged by them. “In many races, there are guys in their 50s and 60s who finish sixth, seventh and eighth against people in their 20s, 30s and 40s,” he said proudly. Keeping his competitive fires burning, Cole trades his running shoes for a pair of ice skates two times a week. “I’ve played hockey since I was in junior high school and I just love the game,” he said.

For the last 20 years, Cole and colleagues in the over-the-hill hockey fraternity have rented ice at Tony Kent Arena in Dennis. He also plays in a 50-and-older men’s league at the newly constructed Hyannis Youth and Community Center.

“It’s no-check hockey because people have to get up and go to work the next day,” said Cole. It’s a rule he tries to follow, but it isn't easy for the lifelong defenseman. “Since you can’t legally hit anyone to the body, I sometimes have to arrange some ‘accidental collisions,’” he said with a laugh.

The old adage that hockey players are known for their toughness is certainly one that applies to Cole. During a recent game, he dislocated his shoulder and had it popped back into place in the locker room.

Cole, whose term as selectman will end in May, said he has no plans to run for re-election. While his political life is coming to a close, his athletic one continues at a strong pace.

“There are all kinds of techniques and regiments and diets, but just being lucky enough to be healthy has been the principal thing for me,” said Cole. “So I’m going to keep on going as long as I can.”

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3/25/10