By: Matthew Kirdahy
Cranbury resident and track and field coach Alex Johnson laced up a pair of running shoes at age 55, not knowing where they might take him.
That was 15 years ago. In that time, Johnson, 70, has won more than 300 medals from competing in track and field tournaments worldwide.
But he says he still has a long way to go, especially after what he called a "great summer for running."
In July, Johnson competed in the World Masters Athletic Championship in Puerto Rico.
The Masters tournaments include athletes older than 40 years. Johnson said 2,600 senior athletes, including 441 from the United States, competed in this two-week competition.
At the meet, Johnson garnered fifth place in the 400-meter race with a time of 1:11.04, but he said the highlight of the meet was when his team took first place in the 400-meter relays.
In a relay race, four runners comprise a team. Johnson ran in the second lap or leg. The first runner finished his leg and handed the baton to Johnson with a lead. He grabbed the baton and darted around the track.
"The lead guy gave me the baton with a slight lead," he said. "I got into lane one and I said to myself, Oh boy I’m in first place and I have to keep hold of it.’ "We had a 20-meter lead when I gave it to the third guy, who then gave it to fourth place guy. Then he fell. So we lost the lead."
Johnson said the fourth runner regained the lead and his team went home with a gold medal.
That medal is one of 300 track medals that Johnson has won at meets over the years. He competes in the Masters events as well as the National Senior Games Association events, also known as the Senior Olympics. Both organizations hold biennial competitions.
Johnson said he competes for the social interaction with people hailing from all over the world. He said he keeps in touch with athletes he met while competing in the United States.
"At the competition, you meet people from all over the country," he said. "I’ve got friends in Wisconsin, California and places like that. You get together and you keep track of them through the National Masters News. That publication ranks us. They ranked me third in the country in 1997 and 1998 for the 200-meter race out of 70 or 80 athletes."
The National Masters News publishes in print and on the Web at www.nationalmastersnews.com.
People can access Johnson’s racing scores from the last competition on that Web site. He said he will train until the 2005 tournaments. In the mean, time he’ll focus on coaching the young athletes in town.Johnson retired in 1992 as a human resources director at Continental Insurance on Prospect Plains Road in Cranbury. He has been coaching track at the Cranbury School for 18 years. He also coached basketball and soccer.
Johnson said he still runs because the activity makes him feel good even though there are physical limitations as an older runner.
"I enjoy the competition, the challenge," he said. "When I work out, I walk around the track and say ‘What can I do today?’ It can be too much stress on the body sometimes so I try to moderate what I do."
Johnson started competing on the track when he was 55 years old. Two years later he joined the Shore Athletic Club.
"I found out about the N.J. Senior Games when I saw an article in the paper," Johnson said. "I played some basketball at the time so I wasn’t completely out of shape. Other than that, I hadn’t run since college, so I joined the Shore Athletic Club so I could train running indoors and outdoors."
In 2000, Johnson’s running career was put on hold when he got into a car accident and cracked his sternum.
"That put me off for a while," he said.
While competing, Johnson found most of his success in the 200-meter race until he tried the 400-meter race. He trained his body up for the 400-meter race almost by accident.
"My favorite event is the 200 meter," he said. "I started running the 400 meter a few years ago so I could be a stronger 200-meter finisher. When I started training for it I said, my time’s not too bad. I went to the nationals in Maine in 1997 and I came out third in 400 meter. I won the nationals for the 400 meter in 1999 in Atlanta."
He says this type of experience on the competitive level has helped coach the Cranbury School athletes.
"I teach from my learning experiences," Johnson said. "I tell the kids to be consistent and tell them to try to keep your body in shape all year. The first thing the kids want to do is race each other and I tell them it’s not about that. You want to build it up. Besides that it’s a short season and I’m amazed at how well they come along."
Johnson said he doesn’t know how long he’ll remain a track coach in Cranbury, but did say he has his sights set on an event at the Penn Relays.
"In terms of my long-term goals, at the Penn Relays, on a Saturday, they hold a 100-meter dash for people 75 years and older," Mr. Johnson said. "I want to run at least that long if my arthritis holds up."
