This 70-Year Skipped a Half Marathon!
Richmond, Virginia based skipper Ro Gammon’s excitement about her new skipping goal leapt from the computer screen when she contacted us to share her intention of skipping a half marathon as a way of celebrating the fact that she was turning 70 in the Fall of 2018!
Here’s the skinny on the where, when, what, why, and how behind Ro’s quest…
What inspired you to start skipping?
Knowing that I was about to reach my 70th Birthday in the fall I wanted to come up with a physical challenge to celebrate entering a new decade.
Since I come from a running background I’ve already completed marathons, half marathons, an ultra, triathlon plus I have also been an age group winner. I couldn’t think of anything that would be different or a new challenge in the running arena.
I thought about running 70 miles, etc but all those ideas still centered around running. I wanted a new and different challenge.
I’d been thinking about what to do for months. Then one day out of the blue it hit me! I would skip a Half Marathon!
How did you find iSkip.com?
Not knowing anything about skipping except what I did as a kid, I immediately starting searching the internet to find as much information as possible about skipping for fitness. I had so many questions I didn’t know where to begin. Low and behold I found the iSkip website .
I immediately reached out and started communicating with iSkip’s founder Kim Corbin. You just can’t imagine how excited I was when we started emailing and communicating by phone concerning my new adventure.
I have been skipping merrily along ever since, just as I did many, many years ago.
What race did you skip in?
How did you train?
A good number of runners use an interval method where they run for a certain amount of time then walk for a period. So I decided to do skip for 90 sec. and run for 30 seconds and so on.
What did your community think about your mission?
I got a lot of support and encouragement from folks in the area.
The owner of my local workout studio, Linda Alexander of Oxygen and Iron Training Studio gave me stretches and training exercises to help prepare me in my journey.
A local running shoe owner Jeff Van Horn of Lucky Road Run Shop has been working with me on the best running shoe to use for my training. He has also contacted my favorite running shoe company (Altra) to see about some adaptations that could be made to the running shoe for skipping.
Go Ro!!! We’ll be there to support you all the way!!
This is so awesome! Can’t wait to hear more about your journey!
Wow. This is awesome Ro. You have inspired so many of us in Richmond and helped us achieve our running goals. This is a new adventure that I am sure you will be leading us all towards. So proud of you.
We will be there with you all the way Ro!
I know all your coaches are behind you!
Gosh Ro…what can I say?..Wonders never cease . You are wonderful and great and hard to believe that you are to be 70 this fall. You have been my inspiration, and I thank you for being there for me and so many others. Keep up the good work. See you at HMT.
Ro, you’ve always found a way to inspire many!
This is so cool, Ro & I can’t wait to see you achieve this goal!! You’re such an inspiration & huge motivator for the Half team….which means you’ll have LOTS of cheerleaders!!
Go, Coach Ro! One more mile, don’t forget to *skip* and smile! 🙂
I am a 72 year old skipping enthusiast. I have never thought of entering into a Marathon and this great lady has started me thinking. I live in Arizona and our weather is great for skipping in Winter but taxing in our Summer months. Thanks for this inspiration. We are never too old to skip!
Wow! I am impressed. Gosh I’d sure like to go on a skip with her (I’m not being creepy I skip a lot for those who don’t know me I’m a tad bit known for my skipping in Seattle). The thing I like most about skipping is its inclusivity, from kids to seventy year olds everyone who participates is a winner. Thank you Ro, I am inspired by your story. Running is great, but when people skip they are being active and joyful and inviting people to be look at them and smile.