Can't Nothing Bring Me Down

by Ida Keeling

  Before the gun was fired to start the race, the voice over the loudspeaker was informing the crowd in the stands of who the runners were and giving their ages. When people learned my age, the applause was lengthy and robust. I could not help feeling a warm sense of pride. I felt focused and nervous but I was also determined. In other words, I was ready.

  The gun sounded, and when it was over I had won another race. The French media folks were so nice and made me feel like I had really accomplished something special.

  I think that people like reading about me because everyone knows that as the years add up, people slow down. It’s called aging. By the time a runner is over forty, they slow down by nearly two seconds for every mile.

  Older runners have more difficulty accomplishing something known as “vertical push” off the ground because of decreased muscular power as compared to younger runners. The limiting effects of diminished “vertical push” mean that senior runners have to employ a greater, or higher, frequency of stride to run faster. While younger runners appear to be loping along with ease, senior runners are covering distances in what appears to be a shuffle. I don’t mind though. Whatever works.

  I’ve been told that senior runners also have to contend with what happens as a result of their heightened stride frequency. They say that higher frequency of stride leaves less time for achieving efficiency of movement. One of the best ways to fight against the combined effects of higher stride frequency and the inefficiency that comes with it, especially when running at higher speeds, is weight training to maintain muscle mass. I had to learn that an easy way to address loss of muscle mass is to adopt an appropriate program of weight training.

  So for senior runners like me, the addition of years understandably causes some changes, but there’s good news. It turns out that for older runners like me, the higher frequency of stride produces less stress coursing through the body with each step. As a result, older runners have a lower incidence of running related injuries that can take down younger folks.

  One of my most satisfying achievements happened when I beat my own record at the New York Armory Track and Field Center. I was shocked when reporters from ESPN, ABC News, the Huffington Post, and other places picked up the story.

  Since I never set out to become even a little bit of a celebrity, God must have put me in this spotlight for a reason.

  Many choose to ignore God or have concluded that there is no God. For me, God has been my living beacon of hope. Without God to guide me during my darkest days, I don’t know what would have become of me.

  The God that I have relied upon all the days of my life was with me when I lay keening for my mother after she died. That same God made sure that Laura and Cheryl escaped from a burning building. That same God kept me strong enough and healthy enough and blessed enough to get up every morning as I struggled to raise four children on my own. There were certainly times of despair and wondering if God heard my prayers. No despair or moment of wondering could last or triumph over the words God spoke in Hebrews 13:5 when the Creator of the Universe promised, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (NRSV).

  Finding the determination to make it through every day while sewing in a factory so I could house, clothe, and feed my four children was helped by remembering the long night Jesus, the Christ, spent. In those harsh, lonely hours when the Lord knew that he’d been betrayed and that his time of trial and death would soon be upon him, Christ fell face first to the ground and pleaded to God, saying, “Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

  God let my girls leave me and learn to live on their own while completing their studies. They came home at times. Eventually Laura decided that she wanted to live in South Carolina and she stayed there for a long time. Now, she lives in North Carolina. Laura is retired and she does volunteer work writing for many papers online.

  Cheryl liked my place to be her home base but she moved around a lot. When she was young and in college, I told her that she has called me from very strange places but she just laughs and says things like, “Belgium isn’t strange, Mom.” She lives in New York City now where she has many jobs including one as head coach up at prestigious Fieldston School. Those kids are very happy and the parents love her very much. Also up at the armory, Cheryl trains folks in tennis and even started a camp with the children. That is why I don’t like to bother her too much. She has so much to do and she’s always in training for races too.

  Recently, someone asked me what was the best decision I ever made in my life. It was to marry Lawrence Keeling. When we got married, we got along pretty good, but men have this crap in their heads that they never get out. They think guys will be guys which comes from boys will be boys, and that old stupid mentality even though people don’t say it anymore, is still there. They are brought up to believe that they should get a pass no matter what they do. But, when I think back now, he was a wonderful man. He loved me. The last years of his life were pretty hectic but he would have been gratified to know how our two children turned out.

  They are nice, intelligent, educated, and compassionate women. They made the right choices in life.

  God’s loving arms were there to catch me in the aftermath of the brutal drug-related slayings of my sons. The devastation of the murders was made worse by both cases going unsolved, and with the persistent encouragement of Cheryl, I found my way back into the land of hope by running.

  Some might wonder how I could have found freedom in running. How could my heart have been healed by taxing it to work harder by running on tracks and trails? Like other areas of my life, and like other times when life has tried to steal my joy, I have relied upon my faith. At times, it’s been difficult because, even by his own words, God has declared that there will be times when mere mortals simply will not know why their lives go in certain directions. There will be times when those of faith will wonder where the Great Maker was when darkness was closing all around and even the good will of family and friends could not stem the pain.

  Some lives have more than their share of tragedy. There have certainly been people who have suffered far more than I have. Some become bitter and angry with God. They wonder why God withheld his mighty hand of power during moments of crisis. They rage and shake their fists at the sky. I don’t do that. I have clung to God’s reassurances that my Creator ultimately knows what’s going on, and that, if I trust him all will be well.

  I’m really enjoying my athletic career, and so far, I have nothing but pleasant memories about it.

  Over the last couple of years, I’ve been surprised by all the razzle dazzle. Imagine me in Vogue magazine? I wonder what Mama and Daddy would have thought about that. Sometimes all the razzle dazzle makes me wonder if I’m dreaming.

  In the last few years, the New York Times and ABC News came calling to talk to me about my life and my running. No matter how many times it happens, I still can’t believe that these great institutions are interested in talking to little old me. It’s like getting a big hug that says it is okay to invest in hope especially when all you are feeling is despair. I hope that my refusal to surrender to devastation, heartbreak, and aging will move someone else to do the same thing: find a way to get up and create a new, full life. While people are understandably left speechless by my accomplishments at this age, Cheryl feels that the significance of what I’m doing is not in breaking records but in setting them.

  So far, I’ve won a medal and lifetime award for my participation in a race in Atlanta in 2005. I was ninety at the time. I followed that achievement in 2008 by setting a world record for runners in my age group while competing in Clermont-Ferrand, France. At a forever-young ninety-five years old in 2011, I set the world record for my age group by running 60 meters in 29.86 seconds at a Manhattan track meet. In 2012 at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Eastern Regional Open, I leaned forward into a 2.3 meter per second headwind and completed a 100-meter dash in 51.85 seconds. I’m surprised that some of my competitors
included runners young enough to be my great grandchildren.

  2014 proved to be another good year for me. In August of that year, at the age of ninety-nine, I participated in the Gay Games in Akron, Ohio. Running in the 100-meter dash, I set the record for people in my age group by completing the event in 59.80 seconds. I topped 2014’s performance in 2016 when, on April 30, 2016, I became the first female centenarian in history to complete the 100-meter run. My time was 1:17:33, and it was the best time ever recorded for any female one hundred years or older for that event.

  None of this is easy for me. I have chronic sinusitis plus arthritis in my knees and toes. I also have arthritis in my hands and sometimes it hurts real bad, but I can’t let it keep me down. I also have to do a lot of sewing. When I buy something, I have to fix it because I am so small. I find a way to do whatever I need to do. I can’t let myself down.

  I’ve been asked if I’m afraid of anything. Well, I go out by myself a lot because I’m an outdoor person and I also like to have some independence. For some reason, I’ve started worrying about losing my memory while I’m walking the streets alone, not knowing my name and unable to tell anyone where I live. When I start worrying about that, I force myself to dismiss it. I just write my name, address, and phone number on a card, put it in my pocket, and walk out the door. God will lead me home.

  As much as I like to be independent, I do use common sense. There truly is no substitute for common sense.

  In 1993, I was seventy-eight years old. It had become really scary around the St. Nicholas Houses and many other housing projects. Well before his difficulties with Watergate, President Nixon had declared a war on drugs. For New York, the kingpin of drugs was heroin. Perceived as a swamp of violence, corruption, and urban decay, the drug plague that hit New York City in the 1970s brought with it an astonishing escalation in violence. Riding the subways became particularly hazardous due to the assaults that took place in tunnels and on trains. People were mugged outside their apartments. Junkies shambled through the streets, imposing their desperate needs and ways on everyday citizens who struggled to survive the day.

  The drug problem was out of control and the young people were beating and robbing the old people. In fact, there were far too many robberies right in my building. Harlem back in the late 1990s was much worse than it is now and the police couldn’t keep up with the number of crimes. So when a friend of mine told me about a really nice, empty apartment at the Dorie Miller Houses in Corona, Queens, I decided to take it. I stayed in the Dorie Miller Houses for eight years and I was eighty-six years old when I moved again. I didn’t let my age stop me at this latest challenge. I just stepped out in faith and believed that our Lord and Father would guide my footsteps into the right direction, and that is exactly what He did. This time I took an apartment in the Bronx that was very close to Cheryl.

  One of my favorite stories is about the time I raced in France. It was 2008 and I was ninety-two years old. Cheryl went with me. On the way to the race I made sure that I was quiet so that I could get in the right mental space for racing. I didn’t talk so I ended up napping on the train. When I got there and my race was called, I went to a certain spot and an escort took us into a pre-race tent and then I sat there and got nervous. Then an escort took me out on the track to my lane. I lined up there. I had to stand in a certain spot and they called your name out in the stadium and said how old I was. “Ida Keeling, USA!” I got a lot of applause. Then I just waited for the gun. The prerace feeling is a combination of pride, nerves, and intense focus. All you want to see is that finish line. The French newspapers wrote a lot about the whole race because of my age.

  People that I have known for years always want to know if I’ve met this or that celebrity. It is nice to see these folks, and I don’t ask for autographs, but I do let them know that I recognize their accomplishments and respect the journey they have taken and the impact they have made on the lives of others. People ask most about Oprah Winfrey and President Obama. I did not meet Oprah, but I have met her great friend, Gail King. I’ve met Lisa Ling and a few other people who are famous in the world of running, but I tell my friends that none of that matters. I didn’t start running to meet celebrities; I had to do it to clear my mind.

  The last poem I ever wrote was on the day after Barack Obama won the election. Here it is:

  The New President Barack Obama

  It’s President Obama’s time

  with his beautiful family

  decorating the White House in style.

  He is a man for all seasons. A man of the world.

  A concerned person for people everywhere.

  His honesty and sincerity distinguishes his character.

  This character that he wears like a badge of honor.

  It’s President Obama’s time.

  A man with a plan in hand to rid the world of political games

  and injustices.

  A plan to lift the lid off the coverups and clean up the mess

  at last

  which he inherited from the past.

  It’s President Obama’s time.

  Time to bring about world peace.

  Our President who said, “Yes We Can.”

  With trust, togetherness and understanding

  we will bring about world peace.

  And a better tomorrow.

  All the blessings of the world to you, Michelle, Sasha and Malia.

  I never thought that I’d live to see a black man in the White House. I wonder what Mama and Daddy would have thought about that.

  If I had my pick of famous people to meet, I would love to meet Michelle Obama and Barack Obama. He was the best president we ever had and Michelle was a great first lady. They made a great team. They really made the White House shine.

  Cheryl threw me a one hundredth birthday party in May 2015 at a swanky restaurant in downtown Manhattan. There were ninety-five guests and it was wonderful to see my nephews and nieces whom I hadn’t seen in many years. They were all grown up. When I last saw them they looked like children; now all the girls looked like somebody’s mama. I just went up to each one of them and said, “Hi, nice to meet you,” because I couldn’t remember their names or which one of my siblings each one belonged to. Once they opened their mouths and began talking, I was able to figure it out, but I couldn’t do it based just on how they looked. For example, the last time I’d seen my nephew Michael, he and his mama were getting in a car to go somewhere and he was about twelve and his sister was about ten, and now he was a man with children of his own.

  I almost lived to see another miracle. A few days before the latest election, I was contacted by ABC to join a few other women to say a few words on camera. It was to be shown after Hillary Clinton won and became the first female president of the United States. Since she didn’t win, the speech wasn’t aired.

  I’ll never stop going to the gym. My gym will always be involved in my life. I will always allow time to work out at least two or three days a week. So, between cleaning up my home and doing my gym exercises, I don’t have a whole lot of stamina left over. My energy is simply not what it used to be.

  When I go to the gym, I see young people in their twenties and thirties trying to do simple things like push-ups and sit-ups. They sometimes have a hard time completing these activities because their bodies are not used to moving around a lot. At least, I think that might be the reason that they have to strain so hard. I hear them groaning and grunting as they try to make it to one hundred push-ups. Then they look at me sailing through my regimen and they come over to find out how I’m doing it at my age. Most of the time, they think that I am in my seventies. When I say that I’m over a hundred years old, their mouths drop open and they say things like, “Gee, how do you manage to move like that?” It really cracks me up.

  When I have a race coming up, I take it a lot easier. I get more rest and stay out of the gym for just a few days. I am very much aware that I am old and there is no point in being foolish by going to the gym
and then directly to a race. That just don’t make no sense.

  I know that my running will not spare me from more heartache or physical pain. I’m not trying to run from trouble. But as I run, it is my hope that others are watching my strides and will be encouraged, inspired, or motivated to do their own type of running, to pursue their own goals and not look back. I’m running toward solutions, strength, and hope. Every step that I took from my first competition to the present has been my way of declaring that nothing will keep me down.

  I hope that my sharing this story will help someone embark on their own journey with a light in their eyes, or survive their troubles knowing that anything is possible if you just believe and keep the faith. There can not only be light at the end of the tunnel, but solace in the arms of God.

  God has my back. So I keep running.

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  One hundred and two-year-old Ida Keeling is a mother, activist, and runner. Miss Ida, as she is known in her Bronx community, grew up the child of immigrants during the Depression. She began working to help provide for her family at age twelve. After her husband passed, she raised her four children alone while serving as an active member in the civil rights movement. She started running at sixty-seven years old to overcome the grief of losing her two sons. Today, Ida is a world-record holder for the 60-meter dash in the 95–99 age group and continues to set new records with each race. She has been profiled in the New York Times, Vogue, Essence, and on ABC News.

  Anita Diggs is the author of The Other Side of the Game, A Meeting in the Ladies Room, A Mighty Love, and Talking Drums: An African-American Quote Collection. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and teaches at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

  Photos

  My father, Osbourne.

  Standing on a Harlem street. I’m twenty-six in this picture.