Westbury senior runners train through donor-funded program

Thirteen people went through their paces, working out the way you’d expect athletes to when training with any team. They weaved between bright orange cones, stepped over rope ladder rungs, hopped to improve balance and then, for good measure, ran outdoors.

“Nice job, nice job, nice job. Quick, quick, quick,” said Jane Vongvorachoti, 41, of Merrick, a personal trainer and coach who ran the 2016 Olympics marathon for Thailand. “Then you get to walk. You’re doing good, you’re doing good.”

Her encouragement pushed a group of athletes whose biggest opponent may be time: They are all age 60 and over.

The participants were working out in the Strides for Seniors program at the Westbury Senior Center, supported by a nearly $400,000 donation to the running company Elitefeats from Glen Wolther, owner of Westbury-based All Round Foods Bakery Products, and his wife, Donna Rosen. Their contribution is helping fund this and other running initiatives on Long Island.

“I am an avid runner, and I want to give back to the running community,” Wolther said. “I decided the running community in Nassau County and western Suffolk wasn’t united enough like the New York Road Runners club in New York City.”

Andrea Padinha, executive director of the Westbury Senior Center, watched the workout and emphasized why it mattered.

“A doctor once came in here and said, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it,’ ” Padinha said. “That’s the motto we live by here. That’s why exercise is so important.”

Islandia-based Elitefeats, which helped organize running events last year that attracted 250,000 participants, is using Wolther’s donation to boost Long Island running, including among seniors.

“That is our biggest single donation. It’s got to be the biggest donation from an individual to Long Island running,” Elitefeats CEO Brendan Dagan said. “A lot of what we’ve been working on is community outreach and supporting running communities. One of the goals is to increase participation.”

Strides for seniors

Helped by that donation, Elitefeats launched the free, weekly “Strides for Seniors” program in Westbury in September, with running as a key element.

Strides for Seniors seeks to increase physical activity among seniors who, by the end of the program, should be able to walk or run a distance ranging from 100 meters to five kilometers.

“There are two big issues seniors face — physical activity and socialization,” Dagan said. “By attending running events, they socialize more, and they socialize here, staying physical and staying active.”

The Westbury training continues up to a 5k race Nov. 29, a fundraiser for St. Brigid’s Roman Catholic Church in Westbury. Participants can run, walk, run/walk a 100-meter dash or take on the full 5k. The donation covers the trainer’s fees, as well as T-shirts and entry fees to the race. More than 20 participants from the group chose to walk or run that race.

“Running is absolutely beneficial for older adults, if the individual’s overall health, joints and cardiovascular system can tolerate it,” said Nicole Sorrentino, a senior physical therapist at Northwell’s Sports Therapy and Rehab Services (STARS) in Franklin Square. “If the individual has been a lifelong runner, it makes it easier to continue, although it is possible to start at any age with proper training.”

The more than 30 participants in Strides for Seniors have different reasons for taking part.

“My goal is to lose weight and gain strength in my body and my back,” said Delphine Way, 66, of Westbury. “I always was an athlete when I was younger. You get older, have kids, work. You don’t have a chance to do that. This is right down my alley. I can’t play soccer and basketball, but I can do this.”

Mary Campbell, 92, of Westbury, said better strength and balance are her aims. “I feel that my left side is weak. And the exercise has helped me to keep movement. I like to move and balance.”

Some participants just have a good time, even if it takes effort. “I do it because I enjoy it. I do it because it keeps me going,” said Eugenie Wallace, 76, of Westbury. “I’m energetic because of it. And it’s keeping me young.”  

‘Motion is lotion’

The benefits of running for older people — and all people — range from improving muscle strength to circulation, according to experts.

“As a physical therapist, I am constantly reminding patients that age doesn’t mean that you have to stop moving — it just means that you may have to make some adjustments,” Sorrentino said. “I always say that motion is lotion.”

Vongvorachoti said movement loosens joints, speeds circulation and, when done properly, improves balance and can help prevent falls.

“Your joints, muscles and tissues and bones aren’t as strong” when you’re older, Vongvorachoti said. When you run, she said, “You’re moving through different ranges of motion you normally would not do.”

Running exercise programs for older people, though, requires special expertise and guidance to help avoid injury. “She’s got the knowledge base about how to work with a senior population and integrating mobility skills,” Dagan said of Vongvorachoti, a licensed physical therapist.

Dagan, of Elitefeats said he hopes to take Strides for Seniors program to other locations, calling the Westbury effort “a pilot program.”

$380,000 in donations

The program exists thanks to the donation from Wolther and Rosen. 

Wolther said he started running in 1991 at age 34 and has since run more than 30 New York City marathons while cutting his running time significantly.. “Glen has been supporting the running community as long as I can remember,” Dagan said, noting that Wolther and Rosen, who said she also runs, have done that “quietly, behind the scenes.”

Wolther donated $20,000 to the Westbury Senior Center before agreeing to donate $120,000 a year for three years to Elitefeats, which put together this exercise program for senior citizens, and other activities to support running. Dagan added they also give muffins, bagels, cookies and more for the events.

Running is social

Vongvorachoti points to the psychological benefits of running, creating more peace of mind. She noted that having a goal, such as a brief or long race, can motivate people.

“It’s my stress reliever. People go out for a drink with friends or for a dinner,” she said. “I want to wake up early and go outside in the dark and run with some running friends.”

People still ask her what it was like to run in the Olympics. Vongvorachoti didn’t want it to end so much, she said, that she slowed at the end rather than launching a second, final sprint.

“When you’re running it, you think of all the things you’ve done to get there,” Vongvorachoti said. “This girl passed me at the finish line, but I didn’t care. I was coming down the finish line stretch. I was trying to soak it in.”

Now she focuses more on helping others than competing.

“This is an excellent program,” said Manuel Galvez, 85, of Westbury. “This is like our second home. Instead of staying at home by yourself, we’re here. We socialize, have good food and exercise."