ENERGETIC SENIORS KEEP FIT WITH EXERCISE

Women at the Chateau Girardeau Retirement Center are showing that fitness can benefit a person of any age.

Fourteen women from the center will participate in the Fourth Annual Women's Distance Festival Saturday at 8 a.m. at Capaha Park. They are competing in the one-mile "fun run" or walk event.

The festival also includes a 3.1-mile run and a 3.1-mile walk.

The women learned about the festival through their exercise class, taught by Virginia Heston, a wellness specialist with Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Heston said she encouraged all the women in the class to participate in the festival. "I just knew the previous year that there were all ages represented," Heston said. "I felt the ultra-seniors might as well make their presence known."

Heston said that many members of her class would walk or swim on the days they did not have her exercise class.

"When they found out that they wouldn't have to be competitive and could walk, then they got excited and started training," said Heston. She said that they started walking outside early in the morning about four weeks ago.

"Our teacher told us about the event," said Martha Purdy, an entrant in this year's festival. "This gives us an opportunity to practice what we've been learning in our exercise class."

Irene Montgomery, another entrant, said that it is good for her class to support the Wellness Center at Southeast Hospital. "It's nice to follow this event after our exercise classes," she said.

Geraldine Hirsch is the oldest person in the exercise class and is competing in the festival. She said she will not tell her age because she does not think it makes any difference what a person's age is.

"One of the men in the exercise class did ask if he or I was older," Hirsch said. She said she asked him how old he was and he said 85.

"When he said that, all I said was, `I can beat that,'" said Hirsch.

Hirsch said that she walks on the mornings that she does not have the exercise class. "It has done a lot to keep me fit," she said. "If I didn't exercise then, I would not want to do very much."

Hirsch said at the class, they do exercises for all parts of the body. "We get our blood pressure up and our pulse going faster," she said. "It makes us feel better."

She said that some of the class members sit in chairs and do the movements. "We even do the movements from the cha-cha," Hirsch said.

This is the first year that there is a 70 and older age group in the competition.

Heston said that there are enough seniors competing Saturday that the festival's committee decided to add the over-70 age group.

"The seniors wanted to compete with people their own age," Heston said. "They are a very active group.

"Adding the new age group shows us at the Wellness Center that we are reaching the type of participants we want," said Heston. "We aren't just reaching the athletes and competitors, but all types of people."

Heston said that fitness and wellness is for everyone.

"The seniors will be an inspiration to younger people and the people who have just retired," Heston said.

"People will think to themselves, `When I get to be that age I want to be that fit,'" said Heston.

The festival competition is only open to women.

"The festival is a celebration of women's fitness," said Heston. She said that the Wellness Center staff felt that women needed to get more involved in fitness.

Ken Carter is in Heston's exercise class and said that although he cannot compete, he does not feel left out. "I'm going to be the water boy and the mascot," Carter said.

Heston said that halfway around the race, a senior's table will be set up. "If the humidity and heat is too much, the seniors can sit down and rest and then go on from there to finish," she said. "I just wanted them to have the option of only going one-half of a mile."

Commemorative plaques will be given to the first three winners in each age category after the competition at 9:30 a.m. Festival T-shirts will be given to all participants who entered before Wednesday.

Southeast Missouri Hospital, Boatmen's Bank and the Cape Girardeau Road Runners Club are sponsoring the event.