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Charles started walking after lung cancer. Then he ran. Now, he also jumps.
By Ray Glier
The men in their 70s on the starting line likely experienced the same raw brutality of life. Cancer, heart disease, neurological disease, and joints that throbbed with pain. That oneness, that consensus, helps draw Charles Myers, 74, closer to Masters Track & Field.
He's afraid for the future of that solidarity.
Charles was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023. After 35 radiation treatments and higher than normal chemotherapy doses, Myers slept for 20 hours a day for weeks and weeks.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to recover,” he said.
Then Myers started walking. Then he ran, fitfully at first, and then with more refinement.
Here is the part of the story that should make you sit up straight.
“I’m finding a lot of people, especially the men, are doing track and field that have a history of health problems,” Charles said. “They have hip and knee replacements, heart surgery, and cancer, and they're back doing sports.
“I think sometimes having an injury, or ailment, is enough stimulus to encourage people to say, ‘I'm going to do more’.”
Geezer Jock is not recommending a heart attack to jump start your fitness, but I am saying an infirmity is no reason to sit.
Myers, who was a chiropractor and now owns Keeper’s Cut Meadery in Marion, N.C., with his wife, Kathy, is running the 50-meter dash, the 100 and 200 and doing some field events in local meets. He is far from world class, but Charles gets excited about the chance to challenge himself.
He fears losing that bond he has created with the sport and its competitors.
Myers sees the same smiling, friendly faces at the meets. Masters track will stagnate if it doesn’t get different and more friendly, smiling faces, he said.
“I think people don’t come out, basically, because they're not aware of just what the demands are in track & field,” Charles said. “I think they possibly have some pretty big misconceptions that it is too demanding for them. I've noticed some pickleball players my age are getting injured and playing very aggressively. I don't think that's a whole lot easier.”
It’s a basic issue.
“They just don't know it exists,” Myers said.
I am not bleating for more media coverage like soccer fans who feel the beautiful game is underexposed in America. Besides, soccer has plenty of money for billboards.
John Seto, who built and manages www.mastersrankings.com, which is vital to the growth of the sport, estimates participation has dropped 20% since 2020.
According to John, the peak known participants was in 2014 (10,467 in 1,650 meets). Annual participation seemed to hold moderately steady through 2019. In 2020 known participants and meets plummeted (3166 - 876).
Two key data points from Seto:
• “We estimated there were between 13,000 and 15,000 age 30+ athletes participating in up to 2,000 track & field meets annually from 2014 through 2019.
• Preliminary data seems to support that number of track & field meets for ages 30+ has returned to pre-COVID levels, but athlete participation appears to be down by about 20%.”
“The old guard deserves tremendous credit,” Charles said. “They’ve kept the sport alive. But if we don’t bring in new people, eventually loyalty alone won’t be enough. We need more on-ramps. Not everyone is ready to enter a championship meet. Some people just need a friendly first experience.”
Growth requires basics, Myers said:
*Every current competitor should become a recruiter.
*Create a tee-shirt that says ‘Ask Me About Masters Track & Field’. It’s starts a conversation.
*Tell people all those hours in the gym builds muscles. Why not put them to work?
*Participate in all-comers meets even if you are the only 70-year old. The crowd will adore you.
In addition, participants should strive to grow awareness and support mastersrankings.com, which not only incentivizes, it provides benchmarks for people ranked 80th, 90th, not just in the top 10.
The big takeaway for people considering the sport is Charles’ story about what attempting a 50-meter run did for him mentally.
“After the treatments and being basically incapacitated, I thought, ‘well, you know, I'm either going to stay this way, regress, or get better’,” he said. “The only way I'm going to get better is to force myself to do things.
“So I started to walk. I would walk maybe 50 yards, and then I found just a slight, slight grade close to my home and I did that. When I got to the end of the 50 yards, I felt like I was climbing Mount Everest.”
But…he kept going. Myers had a purpose now.
“After cancer, training gave me something to aim at again,” Charles said. “Masters track isn’t just about medals. It gives people structure, identity, community, and a reason to keep preparing.
“The opportunity is huge. We have aging adults looking for purpose, fitness, community, and challenge. Masters sports offer all of that. But we can’t wait for people to find us. We have to go find them.”
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