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Podruchny still going stronglating a stiff tension bar for another 10 and squeezing onContinued from page 24two hardened silicon caulking tubes to develop one of marathon a few weeks later. That first effort was less than those grips that immediately brings you to attention.a stellar one. He gave up after 18 miles. His family As well he does a lot of abdominal exercises. Lying onthought he had died en route when he didn't show up at his back he does leg lifts, then pushes his heels downthe finish line. He didn't know then that he could have raising his hips and sit up crunches. Flipping around hewalked to the end.does a whole series of exercises on his stomach, includ-Nevertheless he was bitten by the challenge, and begin-ing 'sphinx' half pushups without lifting the lower partning in 1980 he competed in one marathon per year, of the body off the floor. He is careful not to stretch sothen upped that to two, then progressing serially. Last hard as to strain his back.year, at 73, he ran 16 marathons. On his one-hour runs, he covers about four miles (6.4In his first marathon he had a time of three hours, 47 km) along the Lakeshore up to Appleby College and backminutes and five seconds. His rate eventually dropped to to his home in Bronte, greeting everyone he meets on his3:27 which made him eligible for the signature marathons. route. For the last three years his pace has waned. However, His diet is as simple as his exercising. Podruchny fol-as he ages there are fewer and fewer entrants in his age lows some basic food guide recommendations, usingcategory, sometimes as few as three or four. multigrain breads, eating a lot of fish, some cheeses andPodruchny notes that as you get older the fluid very little red meat. His proteins consist of nuts, beans,motion of the runner may be affected. A lot of mechani-and he will occasionally go for a fast food burger. Hecal dynamics are involved, as well as maintaining a good never takes an alcoholic drink, only one cup of coffee aflow of oxygen to the muscles. He notes he has not had day with a spoonful of honey, stays away from sugar, hasany serious injuries that might come back to haunt him. a glass of soy milk in the morning, a banana every day My joints are in good shape. I have no arthritics. I'm and a cross section of fruits. His weight, which hasstill strong, he says.remained the same since he was 22, ranges from 188 toOne thing is without question, no matter what your 190 pounds. He's lean, with very little to no fat, has apace, it takes everything you have in you to finish. Since pulse rate of 38 to 44 at rest and blood pressure, a youth-his first bad start, he has finished every marathon. I have ful 120/80.an amazing body, he says, that comes through when it The day of any race he is up for hours before the start,gets really tough.getting up at about 3 a.m. He does some stretching andHis training regimen is fairly basic and he uses simple eats about three hours before the race. He considers thisequipment. The only thing he doesn't skimp on is run-time his waking up period. Just before the race he willning shoes. The shoes, costing anywhere from $100 to run for about eight minutes as a warm up, to loosen up$200 a pair, are as important to him as winged heels were and increase his heart rate. to Mercury. At first he tried just about every brand name You might have recognized him on the Lakeshore orand settled on New Balance. He rates and records his ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVERin a local marathon without knowing, for he is a greatshoes by comfort, shock absorption, stability and motion A SHOE THING: A veteran of 149 marathons, Thomas Podruchny iscutup. He likes to interact with the people along thecontrol. When a particular shoe he favoured was being very particular about his shoes. He once stocked up, buying 40 pairs of aroute. He doesn't talk with his cohorts in the race, but hephased out, the '1223', he went on-line and bought up line that was being discontinued.likes to chat, 'performing' for the sidelines, trying to sellevery pair he could get his hands on. He ended up with his number, offering to give away his medal, asking for ayou want to make it the best for that day.40 pairs.heart, lung or legs transplant.As well as his detailed daily exercises, shoe and marathon resultPodruchny doesn't wear the same pair every day, During the hours of the marathon he says there arerecords, he has binders of photographs and write ups and a large andthough, because the rubber compresses after a certain highs and lows. If he feels he is running out of steam heheavy collection of Olympic sized medals, pounds and pounds of them. distance and needs time to expand. He records the dis-breaks into a quick walk, but generally feels good rightHis runs have taken him across Canada and the United States,tance run on each shoe, retiring the pair after about 200 through to the finish line. He doesn't feel the hormoneeight European countries and Tasmania. His 150th will be in Sanmiles, cleaning them up and giving them to friends.'high' or 'hit the wall' that many runners experience, butFrancisco on July 29th and he will end the year with a run inTraining for Podruchny is not so much engineered as he definitely has a mission to get to the finish line.Philadelphia. He plans to run as long as he can and expects, as wellit is a ritual, maintaining the same schedule from the You race as best as you can. Pushing yourself. Theas hopes, that he will still be running in his 90s. He goes by the phi-beginning. He runs for one hour every day followed by time is an important aspect, as you try to maintain orlosophy that you don't retire until you expire. one hour of working out. His workout involves stretch-beat former times. You know the time is recorded andI'd be happy to die running, he says. It's in your blood so to speak. ing out a two wire cable for about 10 minutes, manipu-Cole signs on with national lacrosse contender, Maryland TerrapinsBy Herb GarbuttCole has already come a long way though, and theres no reasonWhen Cole made the jump from minor lacrosse to junior withOAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFto believe he cant continue to progress. Just two years ago, Colethe Oakville Buzz last season, he continued to add to his skill set.was playing in a tournament in Baltimore with the Hill Academy,It was a lot faster paced than in minor and youre playing withTwo years ago, the thought of playing lacrosse at a U.S.the Vaughan school he attends that offers academic and athleticolder players, he said. I felt like I had to be better sharing the ballcollege had never even crossed Bryan Coles mind.programs. He hadnt even considered that college coaches wereand the guys I played with did so much to get me open.Yet a little over a month ago, he and a group of friends gath-watching him but was thrilled, and a little surprised, when anCole finished second on the team with 20 goals whileered around a computer to watch the NCAA final betweenassistant coach from Maryland approached him following a game.averaging more than two points a game as a rookie. ThatMaryland and Virginia. Cole had a definite rooting interest,While it was his focus on his teams own end that caughtearned him a promotion to Jr. A with the Burlington Chiefsknowing he would be joining Maryland the following seasonMarylands attention they liked that I play D first andwhere he has continued to thrive. Despite missing fiveafter committing to the Terrapins earlier this year.then push the ball in transition, Cole said he believes hesgames, Cole is second in team scoring with 22 goals and 46I cant wait, to be honest. When they first asked me todeveloped a two-way at each of his stops. When he arrived atpoints in 15 games. With the Chiefs, he has added both speedplay, I was ecstatic, knowing their background.The Hill Academy, Cole said he hardly made an impact onand endurance he will need next year.For a player who didnt see collegiate lacrosse in hisoffence. But working with Brice Queener, the teams offen-We just try to outrun teams, he said. Maryland is one of future, Cole is now in the envious position of joining thesive coordinator, helped him round out his game.the fastest paced teams so that will help.national finalists, a team that has made the third mostThis year, Cole helped The Hill win the North AmericanWhile the Chiefs prepare for the playoffs, Cole will also beappearances in the NCAA championship game.Lacrosse Invitational in Michigan. Often drawing double teams,looking to continue to improve not only his lacrosse gameBut watching the final online drove home a message. Cole set up three goals in The Hills 14-7 win over Culver in thebut in other areas as well. It makes me think Ive got a lot of work to do to get to thefinal. The Hill Academy also won the inaugural Post GraduateI want to continue to get bigger, faster and stronger. Even inlevel that a lot of the freshmen are at already.Cup in May, defeating Navy Prep 10-4 in the final.school, I want to get my grades better. Im a lot more focused.25 Thursday, July 7, 2011 OAKVILLE BEAVER www.insideHALTON.com