Bob Matteson – Setting Records at 92
By
Phyl Newbeck
Posted May 11th, 2009
He set the world record for 92-year-olds in the 400-meter distance in June, 2008, at the Vermont Senior Championships in Burlington. In July, he broke the one- and two-mile marks in Colonie, NY. Less than a week later, he broke the 200-meter world record at the New England Masters Championship. In September, he was off to Maine where he broke the record for 800 meters. Finally, on a near-freezing day in late November, he broke the record for 100 meters—shattered it, actually—by half a second. Bob Matteson of Bennington is now the only person in the world to hold the world record for his age group in all six disciplines. Of the six records he set, only two were held by the same person.
Always athletic, but never a competitive runner, Matteson started getting serious about the sport when he was in his late 70s, thanks to his daughter, a high school student who he chauffeured to classes at Bennington College. She suggested he do something to keep himself busy while she was in the classroom; maybe run around the campus. After some initial “huffing and puffing,” Matteson discovered he enjoyed running, and was good at it, too. He started entering road races and began taking part in the Vermont Senior Games.
Matteson trained five days a week, but has dropped this regimen down to four days because of his busy schedule. In contrast to many senior athletes, Matteson continues to hold down a full-time job as a management consultant. He graduated from Middlebury with a dual degree in economics and government, followed by a PhD from Harvard in public administration. Although he isn’t able to run every day, Matteson does have a morning ritual of drills and stretching exercises for a minimum of 35 minutes, “to my wife’s dismay,” he adds.
Peter Farwell, the head cross-country coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Williams College, is the man Matteson credits most for his success, together with Bill Nedde of UVM and Kathleen Newton at Williams. Farwell has been working with Matteson for 13 years. He says Matteson, who was 79 when he started racing, was already “pretty competitive,” but needed some help with his training technique. Farwell notes that Matteson was quite stubborn, joking that “he’s the dumbest Harvard PhD I know.”
Newton, an assistant coach at Williams, as well as the head track and field coach at Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, assists Farwell in coaching Matteson. Newton thinks Matteson’s relatively late entry into the world of racing begs the question of what he could have done if he had raced at a younger age, but on the whole, she considers it to be an advantage for two reasons. The first is there has been less wear and tear on his legs over time, and the second is that he sees great gains, when others who have raced all their lives might see their skills eroding.
The local running community is proud of what their hometown runner has achieved. Jack Quinn, president of the Batten Kill Valley Runners Club, reports that the club has named an award after Matteson. The annual award goes to the member of the Mount Anthony Union High School track team who exemplifies Matteson’s best characteristics: “tenacity, dedication, determination, goal orientation and above all, maintaining a sense of humor in the face of defeat.” Also in recognition of his accomplishments, Matteson was appointed in 2008 to the Governor’s Commission on Healthy Aging.
Matteson was able to break most of his records on the first try. He considered the 200 the easiest, “because that’s the way my muscular structure is set.” The 100 was hardest. “There’s no room for error,” says Matteson, explaining why it took five tries to set that record. His single age sweep in the six events is the first by a runner of any age group.
Matteson swears he will “gradually taper off” running. In 2009 he intends to compete at the annual Steve Zemianek race in Bennington and the Green Mountain Senior Games. He has also promised a daughter who lives in New York City that he will run in the Fifth Avenue Mile, a race that attracts world-class runners. Matteson usually wins his age category at that race. After that, he says, “I’m not going into a cocoon and hibernate, but I’ll probably cut back a bit.” Matteson will probably never give up running completely. “I enjoy it very much and am pleased that endurance and willpower have enabled me to continue to do this,”
he says. “I’m sure this hobby has contributed to my keeping healthy and active into my 90s.”
Phyl Newbeck lives in Jericho with her partner, Bryan, and two cats. She is an avid skier, skater, cyclist, kayaker, and lover of virtually every sport which doesn’t involve motors. Since her mother continues to bicycle at age 84, Phyl hopes her genes will allow her to be as active as Bob Matteson later in life. Phyl is the author of Virginia Hasn’t Always Been for Lovers: Interracial Marriage Bans and the Case of Richard and Mildred Loving.
