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It’s Never Too Late to Choose Commitment Over Excuses — Ironman Triathlete Ed Wolfgram’s Story

This is the story of an average individual, not unlike you and me. This 48-year-old, noticing that too many of his peers were succumbing to serious health problems, decided to do something to see to it that he wasn’t next. Not content to just cross his fingers and hope that the heart conditions, diabetes and  knee replacements that seemed to be becoming more commonplace didn’t touch his life, he took up running.

This, however, is not about the running! Running is merely one of many choices he could have made to improve his health and decrease his risk of being struck down by an unwelcome disease condition. This IS about choosing commitment over excuses; it’s about the realization that it is never too late to completely transform one’s life from ordinary to extraordinary — from merely surviving to thriving!

Wanting to reclaim robust health, Ed Wolfgram, 48, got up extra early one morning, as in 5 A.M. early, to go for his initial run. He made it about half a block. Undeterred, the very next day he gave it another try and ran the whole length of the block. Buoyed by his improvement, slight as it was, in the weeks to come he added five and ten minutes to his jaunts until his running sessions were 45 minutes, three times a week. Fifteen months later and 25 pounds lighter, he ran his first marathon.

Now hooked on running marathons, in his early fifties, fearing that all this running might lead to a premature end to his running due to breakdown of his knees due to overuse (since at age 15 he had suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear that ended his high school football-playing days), Ed started to alternate days of biking and swimming with his running days. This led to his taking up triathlons as a fun hobby.

In 2009, now 76-years-young, having completed 13 Ironman triathlons (2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and a 26.2-mile marathon) and having won the 70-74 age group in 2003 in 13 hours 25 minutes and 10 seconds at the Ford Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, Ed is ready to take on the Ironman in Kona again this Fall. Making this latest attempt all the more astounding are the events of recent years leading up to October 10’s Ironman:

• At age 73 Ed was treated for and overcame prostate cancer
• Now 76, he still holds down a full-time psychiatric practice in St. Louis, Missouri
• At the peak of his training for an Ironman Ed puts in up to 18 hours a week of training (25 miles of running, 150 miles of cycling and 4 hours of swimming)
• In 2002 he was diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis — a condition where a narrowed valve limits blood flow from the heart — a condition that worsened for Ed over the next couple of years
• Due to the aortic valve condition, he had a pacemaker implanted in December of 2007
• In January of 2008 Ed had open-heart surgery to replace his aortic valve
• To qualify for Kona in 2008 (described below), a 75-year-old Ed had to complete the Louisville Ironman with its rolling hills while enduring 90-degree temperatures and high humidity

Due to his exceptional level of fitness developed over the years, Ed was able to handle his health setbacks with much more ease than most. On the day of his major open-heart surgery, for example, he ran the one-and-a-half miles to the hospital. Also, his rapid recovery from the morning surgery astounded his cardiologist, who had not seen anyone at any age heal so fast; it included getting out of bed that afternoon, walking the next day, a mere 3-day hospital stay, and a return to running just two weeks later. Nine months after the surgery, Ed completed the 2008 Ironman World Championships in Kona in 16:48:20, one of three Ironman triathlons he successfully completed in a three-month period.

Many (not you and I, of course) will hear a story like Ed’s and feel threatened — will feel as if he’s showing them up. They will get defensive and search their mind for excuses disguised as reasons as to why their situation is different. They will argue for why their accelerated aging is justified, was unavoidable and is the normal course of aging.

Others will be inspired by Ed’s story. They will see the hope for themselves in his age-defying achievements. Seeing the possibilities, they will commit to some simple steps they can take to improve their quality of life, as Ed did.

In his late forties Ed struggled to run the length of a block. Now he is reaping the benefits of having taken one small step at a time to improve his well-being.

As was stated at the beginning, it’s not about the running (biking or swimming). It IS about someone showing us that we can completely transform our lives and that we can have all the vitality and energy we need to enjoy life to the fullest, no matter our current age or condition. What are we going to do? Are we going to make excuses as to why we are stuck where we are or are we going to commit to a few simple changes so we can enjoy the better life that Ed Wolfgram has shown us we can have?

About the Author

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From Ed Mayhew, author of Fitter After 50 and AGE BLASTERS: 3 Steps to a Younger You and other books, CDs, videos, articles … on how you can make falling apart as you age merely an option — NOT  a mandate http://YouCanGrowYounger.com

2008 JAL Honolulu Marathon in Hawaii Convention Center

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