At 92, A Pitch to Keep Runnin
Cape Cod Athletic Club , March 3, 2000
~ Rob Duca – Cape Cod Times – 3 March 2000
Fort Myers, Fla. – Boston Red Sox right-hander Ramon Martinez wasn’t the only person continuing a comeback yesterday at City of Palms Park. Legendary marathoner Johnny Kelley of East Dennis provided another inspirational story.
Last year Kelley was on a respirator and seriously ill in a Harwich rehabilitation center. But yesterday, at age 92, he threw out the first pitch before the Red Sox faced the Pittsburgh Pirates in a spring training game. And next month he’ll return as Grand Marshall at the Boston Marathon after a year’s hiatus due to illness.
“I’ll lead the way for everybody in the whole race,” Kelley said yesterday. “It will be wonderful.”
Kelley has been vacationing in Venice, Fla., for three weeks with his companion, Ginger DeLong of Orleans. The two-time Boston Marathon champion – he ran the race 60 times, finishing 58 – is back to running 20 minutes each day and swimming regularly. He attributes his longevity to genes and good living.
“I don’t smoke and I don’t drink,” he said. “And my mother’s brother lived to 101. So I’ve been fortunate. I run because it’s a part of me. If I don’t run for a few days, I feel as if something has been stolen from me. This is my therapy.”
“I feel fine. I don’t know many 92-year-old joggers. I don’t know many who can walk.”
After Kelley made his ceremonial toss, Red Sox manager Jimmy Williams sprinted out of the dugout to shake his hand.
Kelley recalled that he grew up a Red Sox fan as a youngster in Medford and loved playing baseball.
“I couldn’t hit a lick, but I was a pretty good outfielder. I could run a little,” he said.
Kelley was recently named Runner of the Century by Runner’s World magazine and last summer was inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame.
