Winter 2007	Running at life
Groskin competes in the Senior Games. Almost 50 years ago, World War II veteran Jack Groskin, of Fayetteville, started running. Running makes Groskin feel good and helps him fight the headaches and nightmares that plague him from his military days. As part of the 4th Marine Division, he was one of thousands of men to storm Iwo Jima’s shores. What ensued was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Marine Corps. Groskin suffered for many years from battle fatigue, or post-traumatic stress disorder as it’s called today. Medications and other therapies didn’t entirely work, but running, which he discovered when he was 35, seemed to help take the edge off his pain. “I became obsessed with running,” Groskin says. He still is. Groskin is 82 now and far removed from the 19-year-old Marine on that far-flung Pacific island. His pace has slowed somewhat—five years ago he had to cut back on his three-mile-a-day running regimen—but he’s still meeting challenges head on. “My knees are still good,” Groskin says. This past year, he ran the 100-meter dash at the Empire State Senior Games with a time of 25.2 seconds. The 200-meter dash is at the top of his to-do list for next year.   Groskin has a checkup at Syracuse VA His recipe for success is simple: Keep going, no matter what. “I just can’t say, ‘I’m not going to do anything today,’” says Groskin. He created a mini health club in his home’s basement with seven different pieces of exercise equipment that help him warm up for his daily morning run. His wife of 55 years, Hannah—an avid swimmer who also competes in the Senior Games—provides support and keeps their home free of high fat, high calorie temptations. While staying active and eating right have kept his mind and body healthy all these years, Groskin wishes his peers could do the same for themselves. Case in point: He was the only competitor in the 100-meter dash’s age 80–84 category at the Senior Games, which netted him the gold medal. “All my friends, they don’t do things like running, and they’ve had heart troubles,” he says. “Exercise is forever. If you keep moving, even in your 80s, you’re going to be able to do more,” says Groskin, “and really enjoy life.”
Winter 2007 Starting the New Year | Running | Vitamins | Performance Preparing for Disaster | Iraq Call | Feet Beat VA News and Updates | Health Beat | VA Wellness Programs

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