Vintage Wein : 10K Races Stir the Blood of 85-Year-Old Man Who Plans to Run Into the 21st Century

Manning Wein finished first in his division of a 10-kilometer race last weekend, but to be accurate, it should be noted that he was the only one in that age class. Funny thing that 85-and-over division, isn’t it? Seems folks that age just don’t run. As a matter of fact, government statistics tell us that the vast majority of people that age don’t breathe, either.

Wein, who began running competitively 10 years ago at age 75, romped over the 6.2-mile course in Encino last Sunday in an hour and some change. Well, romped is a bit misleading. Some people run 10 kilometers these days in less than 30 minutes. Then again, these people were not, in all likelihood, born in 1902. And probably didn’t go to high school in the neighborhood of Dodger Stadium more than 40 years before there was a Dodger Stadium.

“My idea is just to finish, and I’ve finished every 10K I’ve entered,” said Wein of Van Nuys. “I was way at the end of the pack on Sunday, but that’s OK. It’s quite a struggle, you know. Six and a quarter miles isn’t easy for a man my age. I went pretty slow. But it’s quite an accomplishment to keep those feet and your body moving for more than six miles.”

A man two years older than Wein also ran at Woodley Park on Sunday. But, well, Wein wasn’t impressed.

“He just runs in the 5-kilometer races,” Wein said. “To me the 5K isn’t very interesting. I do that every day. Ten is quite an accomplishment. Run a 5K and then just keep right on going and run another 5K. Yup, 10K is the race.”

All the running he’s done has kept Wein in remarkable condition. And the conditioning isn’t wasted. The only shoes Wein wears more than his running shoes are his dancing shoes.

“You’ve got to see me dance,” he said. “I’ve won talent shows with my cha-cha. That’s my real interest. And I do a nice waltz, too. Dance is more fun than running, but running is more exciting. When you finish a 10K race, it’s such a nice feeling. To keep my body moving that long, well, it’s quite a tussle.”

But tussles are nothing new to Wein. Orphaned at age 8 in New York City, he learned to survive on the hard streets of a wild, turn-of-the-century town.

“My early life was a struggle just to survive,” he said. “It was pretty tough there for a while.”

Wein isn’t bitter, though, about the difficult days he was forced to endure. His daughter, Gaye Shepard, 51, a psychotherapist in Pasadena and Wein’s constant running partner, said her father always looks to the future as he enters the second half of his ninth decade.

“He lives quite a powerful life,” his daughter said. “He never dwells on what has gone wrong with his life. He only thinks about what is good in his life. It’s about a man who really didn’t have a good earlier life but who refuses to think about that. The latter part of his life has been the best and most exciting part. He’s 85 years old and he looks ahead to the good times.”

Naturally, Wein has heard all the cautions from his friends. Don’t run, they tell him. Stay home. Read a nice book. Wein has a wish for all the well-wishers: He wishes they’d shut up.

“When I sold my dry cleaning shop and retired in 1977, I needed something to do,” he said. “I tried running and right away worked myself up to the 10K races. I was able to run 10 miles in training, non-stop. I encouraged myself and I believed it would help me live longer, give me a stronger heart. I think I was right.

“Once in a while a doctor will try to tell me to cut it out, but I figure the doctors should be doing this, too. Have you ever seen some of those guys? I think I’m in better shape than they are, the guys with the big pot bellies and the sedentary lives. They’re in more trouble than I am.”

Eighty-five years old. Born the same year that Leon Trotsky escaped from prison in Siberia, two years before Teddy Roosevelt was elected president and a full decade before the Titanic sank.

Wein reasons he might still be running when they bring the Titanic back up.

“I don’t mention it because people look at me funny, but I’m shooting for 100,” he said. “You know, that’s only 15 years from now. I want to make it to the year 2002. And if I stay in shape, I think I can still be running at 100. That would be nice. The year 2002. Check back with me then and see how I’m doing, OK?”