Half marathon features 1,900 runners and one 65 y/o female Trikke rider
Susan Morgan
I have been a runner for some 30+ years, but since my recent, 65th birthday, I’ve been unable to tolerate the impact of running. My legs started reacting badly to even walking for longer than four miles. As a long-time runner and total running addict, this was devastating.
Yes, there’s the gym, what with its low-impact or no-impact machines, but I want to be outside, exercising with my running friends and the running groups I’ve been involved with for years.
Yes, there’s biking, but I hate what the seats do to my … ahem. Plus, biking doesn’t afford me the same amount of exercise, unless I go very fast or uphill. Uphill hurts my knees and very fast isn’t very safe for me (nor is it very comfortable). Also a bike, with its pedal leverage, is just too fast for exercise alongside my running friends.
Yes, there’s swimming, but …
Then a friend told me about this thing called a Trikke, so I checked it out on the web. Looked interesting. Clearly no impact. And I liked that I’d be standing upright and moving my legs (like in running but without the pounding). Plus, there was upper body and core work.
After buying a T78 Air at Sports Chalet, it took a week for me to learn how to move it reasonably and a month to learn how to move it well. Then another month to learn how to move it up a (very small) slope.
I still can’t handle anything that looks like a hill, but I did find the sweet spot! It helped (tremendously) that I found a certified trainer in “my area” (well actually, about a 50 minute drive away but well worth it!). I’ve taken a couple of lessons and that has made a huge difference.
I rejoined my running groups as their “Trikke mascot.” Runners measure their time in pace (minutes/miles), not speed (mph). I’m a very slow runner (at 65 years of age) and started out as an even slower Trikke rider. But now I can keep up with the “back end” of the running group (averaging about 11–12 minutes per mile).
As a runner, I’ve done many half-marathon runs, including several locally. A favorite of mine was the See Jane Run half marathon in Alameda, CA, a very flat route along the San Francisco Bay. Before this year’s event, I sent organizers an email asking if I could do it on my Trikke. After conferring with their race director, the organizers said yes!
So on June 5, 2011, at See Jane Run, there were 1,900 runners and one Trikker! It was a blast. All of the runners were cheering and shouting encouragement as I carved my way around the course. Workers at the aid stations clapped as I came carving past them. It was soooo great! I love my Trikke and I love that I can still exercise alongside all of my running friends.
I plan to find more half marathons in which to ride my Trikke, perhaps a full marathon, too.
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