A Caring Geezer Jock Shows The Way

Wayne Fisher uses a methodology he learned as a physics major at the Coast Guard Academy and on the job with the Coast Guard to help him run faster. Better still, he shares his science on Facebook and then shares science and food in a faraway land.

By Ray Glier

Wayne Fisher’s crew in Baltimore needed a mom to watch over its not-so-secret get togethers. They looked harmless in their blue outfits and their patch and kerchief swag, but they had too much energy for one mom and she quit. Wayne’s mom stepped up. “I’ll do it,” June Fisher said, which translated today is, “I got this”.

Just like that she was Den Mother to a bunch of boisterous Cub Scouts who never seemed to have a bad day.

So when you see Fisher, 69, all over Facebook sharing and caring on track & field matters, plus helping feed hungry kids in Africa, know that the unruffled Mrs. Fisher taught her son this:

One of the pinnacles of life is keeping an eye out for others.

Sharing and caring is a consistent thread with Geezer Jocks, like Fisher.

Still, he is very unique.

Wayne is on Day 73 of rehab from a quadriceps injury (left leg), and he has a play-by-play of his comeback on Facebook. Surely, in these 10 weeks of rehab, an injured Geezer Jock somewhere has read these notes and benefitted from Fisher’s professorship.

It is not an amateur’s rehab he is conducting. 

A retired teacher and Coast Guard scientist, of sorts, Fisher trains as if the Science of Sprinting is tattooed on the back of his hand. He studies the sport, and is willing to learn from others, and not only does he give authoritative tips on his discoveries from daily workouts, Wayne posts his hand-written workouts (sometimes with smiley faces).

Fisher majored in Physics at the Coast Guard Academy and then did quality control for the Coast Guard with data-driven processes designed to minimize errors and maximize efficiency.

This week, Fisher calculated his leg is 75 percent back to normal because of his stride length, his knee bend, and stopwatch times over measured distances.

That scientific approach is for runners on the path alongside Fisher in Masters track.

Then there are the runners on the path behind him. They are the next generation of runners like Trevor, a 14-year old boy with promise from Uganda, who would be an eighth-grader in the U.S.

In Uganda, Trevor ran the 800 in 2 minutes, 14 seconds on a dirt track in 105 degrees, Wayne said. Trevor’s passion for the sport—running in broiling heat—begged for a sponsor.

Fisher bought the boy running spikes and other gear and Trevor, among others, is also helped with food by Wayne and a cadre of Christian folks. School is $25 per month, $75 per term and the Americans pay the fees of some children, who also get fed at school.

You bet Wayne researched where his money is going and who is spending it.

"These are real people," he said, not internet trolls.

Fisher has also befriended Mukasa Edwards, a 32-year old teacher/athlete, who was on Uganda’s national track team. Mukasa has “adopted” children in his village and finds food for them with the help of Wayne and his friends, Michael Silver, Josh Pesin, Deborah Gibilaro, Jennifer Dagan, Franco Leonardi, and Michael Southwood, among others.

“I was a high school physics teacher and I taught elementary science and I’ve worked with Title I schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County,” Fisher said referring to a cohort of underserved children in North Carolina. “We are blessed in the U.S. and we take care of our kids. Over there, in Uganda, those kids go to bed hungry.

“That tugs at my heart. So I want to give back and give them a chance to have a better life.”

Wayne grew up inside Boys & Girls Clubs and Rec Centers in Baltimore. He said “sports helped me grow up” so he understands the value of “running around as a kid.”

Fisher leans on and is inspired by one of his favorite Bible verses, Luke 12:48, “to whom much is given, much is required.”

You don’t have to be a Christian to understand the verse means you can’t be an empty black box in life. It’s better to have a purpose and make the path easier for others.

Fisher, who lives in Georgetown, Texas, has found his purpose with track & field insights, and providing money for food for Ugandans.

Here is the deal with this Geezer Jock.

Wayne is a pretty good competitor in the 400, long jump, and 300 meter hurdles. He is not a superstar as he ages up in the five-year cohort 65-69. He is like many Masters runners that way.

In 2020, he ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in the 300 meter hurdles (M65-69). In 2023, he was 4th in the 300 hurdles in Greensboro in the 2023 USATF Masters Outdoors Championships. He had a 6th-place finish in the long jump in Greensboro.

Wayne’s only gold in Masters track & field was in the long jump in the 2017 National Senior Games.

The real gold is his almost daily sharing on Facebook. Geezer Jocks should pay attention to the data he presents because this is what he did for a living. Numbers and calculations and science. Fisher is not throwing guesswork out there for track & field competitors.

Wayne is “just a guy”, as NFL scouts label undrafted free agents, which makes him extremely relatable to many Geezer Jocks. He is like many older athletes in that he is squeezing all the juice he can out of his body.

Did you know that 30 percent of players in the NFL are undrafted free agents. League scouts said these players “couldn’t” until they proved they “could.”

That’s the ethos Fisher brings to Masters track & field, which is why in 2025 when he is 70 we should look for Wayne in the World Masters Athletics championships in Gainesville, Fla. He said he is going to enter the pentathlon, which will take advantage of his speed and jumping…and daring.

One of Wayne’s workouts before the injury were broken 400s—300 meters, 100 meters, then 300, 100 followed by 200, 200—which is a good workout for someone in his late 60s. If he felt a twinge at all, he backed off, but Fisher dared to push.

Then came the mishap on a rowing machine January 13 during High Intensity Interval Training. The quadricep did not swell so Fisher didn’t realize how much he was injured until he could not fully pick up his left knee.

Wayne, a  gym rat, was put on the shelf. Fisher had not had a leg injury in 10 years, he said. Being patient with this leg injury then is a challenge. Wayne is trying to heal enough to compete in the Texas Senior Games on March 17.

“I’ve got to get my stride length back,” Fisher said. “It isn’t easy being injured. I’ve been doing things like the Concept2 Rower, stationary bike, and running in the pool. Anything to keep moving.”

You see. Even on the shelf with an injury, and without his usual full-workout logs as a guide, Wayne keeps opening his box, which is not an empty black box, and giving back.