Runner hailed as model and inspiration in Syracuse

By Mary Beth Roach

Lennie Tucker’s e-mail address says it all— lennieruns@aol.com. The 70-year-old Fayetteville resident has run in countless races since she came to Syracuse in 1969. Nowadays she runs with a group from the not-for-profit organization Felder-Syracuse to develop track programs for youth, assist in ongoing community competitions and lay the groundwork for a sports and training facility. The retired kindergarten teacher is also a published author and is spearheading a new reading endeavor.

In short, Tucker runs circles around friends and associates.

A graduate of Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia, Kansas, she decided she wanted to teach in either New York or California. So what made her decide New York state? Well, as she said, with an impish grin, “I had a ride to New York.”

o whomever gave Lennie that ride 40 years ago, there are thousands of students and running enthusiasts who say thank you.

Entering Syracuse University in 1969, she earned her master’s degree in just one year, while raising four children, ranging in age from 3 to 8.

The living conditions for this student-mother were less than optimum, but as she recalls, “I figured for one year, we could do anything.”

Being near campus, she saw a number of women running through her neighborhood, and this caught her attention. While she enjoyed running as a child, she said that she rarely saw many females involved in it. She realized now “it was an okay thing to do,” and she renewed her interest in earnest.

At the age of 39 or 40, she began to train for the annual Mountain Goat Run, a 10-mile run through the city of Syracuse that incorporates two long, tough hills on either side of Syracuse (hence the term, “mountain goat.”) “The Goat,” as it’s known, is comprised of one or two shorter races, culminating with the 10-mile trek. New runners to this event might start with one of the shorter races, but not Lennie. And in just one year, she started taking on ultra-distance races, such as a 50-miler on the Hannibal track the following year. She recalls that she completed that in eight hours and five minutes. Seems an arduous undertaking, but she’d asked herself, “What else could I be doing; that I’d rather be doing?” And throughout her ultra-distancing career, her children often came along to keep track of lap counts for her.

But she doesn’t measure her success in this field by how many miles she’s logged or how many medals she may have, but how many young people’s lives she’s touched whether in the classroom or on the track.

After receiving her master’s degree in elementary education, with her certificate of advanced study in early childhood education, she began working in the Syracuse City School District. While at Elmwood School in the early 1980s, she wanted to see more opportunities for physical education for the students. So, instead of just wishing it, she took it upon herself to start a running program, bringing the youngster into the gym at the start of their school day.

“Get them active first thing in the morning,” she said, “to get their brains going.”

Many of the kids took to the sport immediately, and in that first year about 25 to 30 of them sought to enter one of the races in the Mountain Goat. However, entry fees and transportation to downtown Syracuse, where the race begins and ends, were hurdles for some. But for Lennie, hurdles are only things one gets over, not things to hold one back. Through her determination, the generosity of an anonymous donor and the support of then-school Superintendent Lionel “Skip” Meno Jr., a runner himself, she was able to make sure those kids were on the starting line the morning of the race.

Her retirement from the City School District in 1993 allowed her to put even more of her boundless enthusiasm into creating and expanding running programs, especially those geared to children. And although this veteran of 10 or 11 Mountain Goat Runs no longer runs the course, she is one of its biggest cheerleaders. One can often find her at the finish line, encouraging that last runner through the chute, whether she knows them or not.

In the summer of 2004, Lennie heard from then-Fowler High School sophomore Shomari Felder, who told her that he and teammates were practicing high-jumps in the school’s cafeteria, but they couldn’t get the bar high enough. She decided that a sports and training center was needed for the community. So, she rounded up some of her friends and formed a grassroots Felder-Syracuse, with the intent to expand running initiatives for local youth and to spearhead fundraising and public relations campaigns to create the Felder-Syracuse Stadium in downtown Syracuse, behind the former Central Tech high school.

Although their efforts generated keen interest, the group fell short of its financial goals.
Felder-Syracuse members became aware of plans at Onondaga Community College for a new recreational facility, and they met with representatives of the college. The group also reached out to area high school coaches, who began a letter-writing campaign to get a regulation track (200-meters with six lanes) for meets to be held for Section III high school athletes. Syracuse University’s Manley Field House will no longer be available after this school year, so area track-and-field officials were in need of finding a new venue.
Dr. Debbie L. Sydow, president of Onondaga Community College, presented these letters and other letters of support to the Onondaga County Legislature who approved funding for the new Onondaga Arena and Sports Complex. The Felder group has two advisory people on the OCC Arena advisory group.

The facility is in the design phase currently, according to OCC chief public affairs officer Amy Kremenek. It is scheduled for a 2011 opening, but the final design and construction will depend upon budget and other factors, Kremenek added.

As a member of Felder-Syracuse, Lennie helped to develop the week-long track and field camp, offered through the Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation and Youth programs. The camp’s instructors are high school student-athletes who teach the youngsters, aged 7 to 12, the proper technique for sprints and middle-distance running, throws, horizontal and vertical jumps, and cross-country. The benefits are multiple. Not only do the kids get some physical fitness and develop their skills, Lennie explains, but often the instructors find their own niche and go on to careers in education.

“This knife cuts a lot of ways,” Lennie said, adding that the camp is “the most rewarding thing I’ve done.”
The camp is one of the more popular programs offered by the Syracuse Parks Department, according to Parks Commissioner Pat Driscoll.

And while Lennie may no longer be in the classroom, her love for learning and students is still quite strong. In 2003, she published “The Teacher’s Voice,” praised by Amazon.com as “poignant collection of essays, short stories and poems. . . (it) gives light to a profession that gives so much and expects little in return.”
Its editorial review states that “from stories focusing on the school nurse to a little boy whose silent generosity touched a whole classroom, Lennie Tucker writes her stories in a melodious manner, telling the tale of a kindergarten teacher who loves her job and her students.”

During extremely hot summer weather, when it is not safe for the children to be out on the track, Lennie and her instructors will gather the children under trees and read books. She always had a big bag of books at the ready.

A few years ago, while working at the cheese booth at the New York State Fair’s Dairy Products Building, she went on break, pulled out the books, went to a corner of the exhibit hall, and began reading to whomever might pass by.

Asked if she received any odd looks from fairgoers, she said, smiling, “I’m past embarrassment.”
Her boss at the fair, Robert Harrington, was so impressed with her initiative that the following year he offered her space at the booth to do her readings, and now she has a small stage at the Dairy Products Building during the run of the fair.

And she is opening a new chapter of her reading adventure, seeking opportunities set up at events open her bag of books and read to people. During the holiday season, she asked if she could read to the youngsters who came to the Syracuse Parks Department’s Festival of Lights at Burnet Park. While they and their parents waited for the horse-drawn wagons at the event to take them on rides through the park and to see Santa Claus, she would entertain them with her stories. Event organizers liked the idea of giving them another activity to do while they waited, but they weren’t sure she’d have much of an audience. Lennie remained undaunted. The kids loved it, and she had eager listeners for more than two hours.

“We have been fortunate enough to have Lennie Tucker as a part of our parks and recreation programs for a number of years now,” said Commissioner Driscoll. “She is truly a model and inspiration to all who work every day to make things better for kids in our community.”

Try Stretching and Balance to reduce injuries during a fall

By Chris Motola

An object in motion tends to stay in motion—at least as long as it keeps its balance.

In the experience of Ron Olmstead, director of rehabilitation at Crouse Hospital, the capacity for physical activity has more to do with precedent than age. Active young people tend to become active seniors. While it may be harder to start running marathons at age 60, Olmstead notes that there’s nothing inherent in the aging process—disease notwithstanding—that makes it impossible.
“Senior’s muscles aren’t much different than younger people’s,” says Olmstead.

It is, of course, important to consult a primary care physician before embarking on a new course of strenuous activity.

In fact, Olmstead says seniors tend to be very well informed about concepts of cardiovascular health. Most consider walking to be a good exercise.
Other areas of fitness tend to be overlooked.

“Seniors don’t think about stretching or balance,” says Olmstead. “They’re most focused on cardiovascular exercise.”

Stretching can reduce the likelihood of injury during falls and other missteps. Olmstead compares tendons and ligaments to rubber bands—the more elastic they are, the less likely they are to break.
Equally important, and probably more overlooked, is balance.

“Falling is a traumatic experience for the elderly,” says Olmstead. He notes that those who have suffered a fall tend to play it increasingly safe, relying on walkers and other assistance devices when they many times would be better served by strengthening their sense of equilibrium.

“Some of the things we give [seniors] are the wrong things. People will walk around Wegman’s or the mall, but how often do you practice standing up and sitting down?”

Balance has three components, according to Olmstead. The visual component relies on sight and the ability to process space and proximity. Sensation and touch are another component and help negotiate uneven surfaces like sand, mud or even carpeting. Finally, the vestibular system—the part pertaining to the inner—helps regulate a sense of equilibrium. Olmstead says the reason children like merry-go-rounds, swings and getting dizzy is that those activities provide vestibular stimulation. Such “exercises” would be, theoretically, just as productive for adults if not as socially acceptable.

Simple Balance Exercises

• Stand and Sit: Just stand up from a seated position, then sit back down. For added difficulty, try this from the floor rather than a chair.

• Tight-Rope Walking: Don’t worry, you won’t need a net. Simply walk heel-to-toe in a straight line for 10 or more steps then walk backwards toe-to-heel an equal number of steps.

• Balance on One Leg: Simply hold your weight on one leg for 30 seconds or more, then switch legs.

• Bike riding: A great way to mix your cardiovascular and balance workouts.

Formal Exercise

• Tai chi chuan: A soft martial art focused on slow, flowing motions. The stances help develop both flexibility and balance.

• Yoga: Using body weight, yoga employs various “poses” to develop strength, flexibility and balance.

• Pilates: Originally a rehabilitation program for the injured, pilates focuses on stabilizing key muscles and the body’s core.