Still Running
My namesake, septuagenarian, fellow Lackawanna County Pennsylvania native, and as far as I know not my relative, Tony Cerminaro is still running marathons, even in yesterday's heat. The Scranton Times-Tribune reports:
For Tony Cerminaro, this year's running of the Steamtown Marathon meant a lot to him for several reasons.Cerminaro is a former age-group Boston Marathon champion, awarded the title in 1997 after the initially declared champion was found not to have actually completed the race. See Two Disqualified From Boston Marathon - New York Times
For the 71-year old, it was a marathon that he almost missed.
Recently, Cerminaro underwent a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. The test measures the amount of PSAs in a person's blood. A high level of PSAs is considered a possible symptom for prostate cancer.
"The doctor found that my levels were high, so I stopped training for three weeks," Cerminaro said. When I went back for an exam, my levels were back to normal."
Once his PSA levels decreased, Cerminaro slowly began to work out and get back into running condition.
"I don't like to take time off from training," Cerminaro said. "But I have to listen to the doctor."
Cerminaro won his age group, the Men's 70 and up race with a time of 3:26:35, finishing 218th overall. It was the 12th consecutive time that Cerminaro won his age group title.
According to Cerminaro, the warm and humid conditions became a hinderance during the race.
"At times, I was having a difficult time catching my breath," Cerminaro said. "I also never pour water on my head to cool down, but I was doing that today."
Despite the elements, Cerminaro was pleased with the result.
"Considering the weather, I really did better than I thought that I would do," Cerminaro said. "I'm really happy with the way I ran today."
Another reason that Cerminaro wanted to race on Sunday was it marked the 60th marathon the Jermyn resident has participated in.
"With knowing that this would be my 60th marathon, I had to run in this race."
