14 minute read
MADONNA HANNA THE SEED OF SPEED
BY ANN HEDREEN
PHOTOS BY ERNIE SAPIRO
Advertisement
is busy. She’s got records to break. She is closing in on the Washington state records for the 50 and 100 meters, and on this rainy morning, the state Senior Games Track & Field Finals are just six weeks away.
But taking the time to drive from her home in Tacoma to a photographer’s studio in Seattle to pose for the cover of 3rd Act is also important, because Hanna’s core mission is to motivate all of us to believe that anything is possible.
“This is what 68 going on 69 looks like!” she says, as she flexes her bicep for the camera. “This is what a millennial coach will do for you!”
Hanna is five-foot-seven, but looks taller, as if her legs had stretched and stretched over a lifetime of running. But that is not her story. It was not until she was 57 that she woke up one day and had an overwhelming feeling that she wanted to run. “The seed of speed lay dormant in me for 50 years,” she explains. Though she had never been an athlete, she somehow knew, deep down, that she would be fast. And so, at an age when most people tend to slow down, or stop running altogether, Hanna was ready to start.
Her first coach was her husband, Stephen Hanna, who she says favored “old-school” but effective training techniques like running with a backpack full of bricks. His drills and her determination turned out to be a powerful combo. In her first Washington State Senior Games in 2011, Hanna won gold in both the 50 meters and the 100 meters. In 2013, in her first National Senior Games, she came in 9th in the 100 meters and 11th in the 200 meters, and earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 relay. The list goes on. Though she ruptured her Achilles tendon in 2014— right in the middle of a race, with a brutal snap as loud as the starting gun—Hanna was able to come back and again win two gold medals in the 2017 Washington games.
Stephen Hanna died of cancer in 2018. He and Madonna had both been beloved teachers: he at a Tacoma elementary school, she as a fashion marketing teacher at high schools in Bremerton and later Tacoma. For Hanna, it was a second career, after several years of working in the fashion industry. Her “Flights of Fancy” runway shows for students with disabilities earned her a Point of Light Award from President George H.W. Bush. She was also recognized twice as Washington state’s Vocational Teacher of the Year, and twice as the Regional Teacher of the Year. She also was honored with a prestigious Milken Education Award.
After our photo shoot, Hanna told me stories of some of the students, including an autistic girl named Melissa, who smiled for the first time in her life when she modeled in one of the fashion shows. Some of Stephen’s grade school students also got to walk the runway.
Hanna promised her husband that she would not quit running. He had been by her side during her long recovery from a near-fatal car accident in 1987, and helped her bounce back from the Achilles rupture in 2014. He knew she could and should get back to the track after his death.
So she went in search of a coach. And “after years of teaching millennials,” she found a millennial track star—27year-old Olympic hopeful Marcus Chambers—who put her on a whole new training regimen. Two days a week she works her hamstrings, quads, glutes, triceps, biceps, back, arms, and abs at the gym. Two rounds of everything. Sometimes she adds pushing a sled with weights on it, “focusing on the first five steps.” Three days a week, she does track drills: many, many rounds of starts, sprints and laps. Diet is crucial too: egg white omelets loaded with kale, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and turkey bacon; cereal, blueberries, yogurt, nuts, smoothies. And that’s just breakfast. Her go-to snacks are bananas, apples, oranges, gummy fruits, and the occasional éclair. Once a week, she works out with Chambers for an hour.
But Hanna is not only a 68-year-old track star. She is also a longtime member of Toastmasters, and has competed at the international level, where she made it to
(CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)
Madonna Hana and Marcus Chambers are featured on the cover of Toastmaster magazine’s June 2020 issue.
The dementia journey isn 't easy.
Reaching us is.
24/7 Helpline 1.800.272.3900
Visit us online at alzwa.org
Going for Gold
Age Doesn’t Hold Back Madonna Hanna
PUGET SOUND
UKRAINE RITE OF PASSAGE
A Bomb Shelter Birthday
LATE-LIFE LOVE
Issues to Consider
Grow Your Risk Muscles
Challenge Your Comfort Zone to Expand and Enrich Your Life
NO PASSPORT REQUIRED
Discover the Unfamiliar Nearby
Don’t miss a single issue!
Subscribe today.
3rdActmagazine.com/subscribe or scan the QR code below:
(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE) the 2015 semi-finals, meaning she was in the top 100 out of 30,000 competitors. She is also the author of a children’s book, which was inspired by her recognition as an educator of the need for children who have been bullied for being “different” to build self-esteem and resilience. Hanna grew up in a white, conservative suburb of Boston, so she knew firsthand what that kind of bullying felt like.
She is also an actor. If you have attended shows at the Tacoma Little Theatre, you’ve likely seen her on stage. Recent roles include Edna in Children of a Lesser God.
And if all that doesn’t sound like enough, Hanna is a motivational speaker. She likes to talk about “pebble power,” especially to audiences of older adults. “I hold this little pebble in my hand and I say, see this little pebble? When you toss it into liquid, it creates ripples. This is what we can do in our lives. Because you guys have so many talents and different things that you can do, that you can share with people, and that you’re going to create. And then I tell them about myself, about the people I’ve been able to empower and motivate and encourage, and then I ask them, ’What’s your pebble power?’”
Her inspiration is the “pebble power” of the disabled children she worked with on the fashion shows, who she encouraged to call out their own “beautiful difference,” rather than let others define them. “I have seen kids who have become empowered by the fact that they have Tourette’s, or a big birthmark on their face, or something else. Because now they can say, ’Yeah, this is my beautiful difference. Glad you noticed.’ You know?”
Back at the photo shoot, Hanna happily strikes pose after pose for photographer Ernie Sapiro. With her experience in the fashion world, she excels at holding each pose as long as necessary. “Yes, I eat Wheaties! Three bowls a day!” she jokes, arms raised in perfect position. “You think I look like Wonder Woman? I am Wonder Woman!”
And she is. Except that she’s not. What Madonna Hanna wants us all to embrace is the idea that real people can be actors or toastmasters or awardwinning teachers or track stars, if they’re willing to put in the training time. And if they believe that anything is possible.
Ann Hedreen is an author (Her Beautiful Brain), teacher of memoir writing, and filmmaker. Ann and her husband, Rustin Thompson, own White Noise Productions and have made more than 150 short films and several feature documentaries together, including Quick Brown Fox: An Alzheimer’s Story. Ann is currently at work on a book of essays.
TRIUMPHS OF
BY MIKE HARMS ENDURANCE
“My father died at 69,” Jack says. “He was grossly overweight, had an unhealthy diet, smoked, and never exercised. After I reached 60, I accepted that if I didn’t make some major life changes, I was headed in a similar direction. I was overweight, had high blood lipids, and I was addicted to tobacco.”
Today, at 79, Jack is one of my fittest personal training clients of any age. In a typical week, Jack does an hour of Pilates, strength trains for two hours, bikes 30-40 miles, and plays tennis for 5-6 hours. He also practices piano for 1-2 hours per day.
Jack’s inspirational transformation exemplifies what’s possible when we take ownership of our fitness.
ESTABLISHING A BASELINE
Jack’s life-changing fitness journey started with a full physical exam, including a cardiac stress test. Getting a physical before starting a new exercise program is always prudent. It helps ensure that our bodies are ready for additional work, plus it can help establish safe exercise parameters, and it provides a baseline from which we can measure future progress.
Jack joined a gym and hired his first of four trainers. In my experience, clients get the most out of personal training when they’re humble, committed, and open to coaching. Jack personifies these traits—he rarely misses a session, he welcomes feedback, and he works hard.
His efforts paid off. Jack’s strength, appearance, and well-being improved noticeably over time. “My progress was obvious and it was highly motivating,” Jack says. Subsequently, his annual physicals revealed improvements in fitness and health, as well as decreased risk for a variety of disease.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH KNOWLEDGE
Jack is an MD hematologist/oncologist who spent the last 20 years in biopharma developing new drugs to fight cancer. He holds 15 patents and authored more than 290 scientific publications. He is retired but remains a consultant to biotech companies.
Personally, and professionally, he believes in the health benefits of strength training.
“Rigorous strength training allows the body to use insulin more efficiently and minimizes the risk of diabetes,” he
Jack working over the punching bag. Photo by Mike Harms
says. “It improves blood lipids and decreases measures of ongoing inflammation, major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Most surprisingly, maintenance strength training decreases the incidence and likelihood of recurrence of multiple cancers.”
EXERCISING FOR LIFE
Jack’s fitness from strength training allowed him to improve at other activities he enjoys, including biking, tennis, and classical piano.
“Goals I set for my 80th birthday are to play a decent tennis game …,” Jack says. “I’ve made major strides over the past year. I can move around a tennis court in a manner I couldn’t do 20 years ago. I have good hand-eye coordination. My core strength allows me to have a strong serve, a good ground stroke, and I’m able to rally at the net.” (Another goal: Perform a credible piano recital of difficult works.)
By combining a consistent strength training program with regular aerobic exercise and working with his physician to decrease risk factors associated with diseases of aging, Jack is confident that he—and others—can maintain an active lifestyle into their 80s and beyond.
And so, the journey continues.
Mike Harms is an author, coach, and owner of Muscle & Hustle gym in Seattle.
Take a Ride with the People Who Paddle
Coach Roula Bland shouted the command as we bent to our task: Paddles stabbing water then pulling back hard to try and win the race with a second boat.
We lost.
But that’s okay because what a win to be on Lake Washington this sunny day, with stunning views of mountains, sky, and blue, blue water. Sailboats billowed past as platesized turtles sunbathed on a log boom.
This was Dragon Boat 101, sponsored by the Seattle SAKE Paddling Club. Offering free, introductory outings for beginners, the club promotes the well-being, safety, training, and fitness of people who paddle.
As we newbies lined up in two rows on a Lake Washington dock, Coach Roula Bland explained how to move the 40-foot boat from a dead stop. Holding the single paddle up with straight arms, we’re told to reach forward and
Left: A single paddle is used in dragon boating. Photo credit: NancyEllen Regier. Below: Club SAKE masters women racing in the 2020 Sound Rowers Mercer Island Sausage Pull on Lake Washington. The masters women crew is comprised of women over the age of 40, though most are in their 50s, 60s, and 70s. Photo credit: Seattle SAKE Paddling Club.
to the side. Then, with a hip rotation, we lower the paddle for the stroke back, keeping eyes up while moving in unison with paddlers in front.
We gingerly entered the dragon boats for an on-board lesson in this ancient Chinese sport that goes back more than 2,000 years. Now a popular international racing sport, the standard crew consists of 20 paddlers, paired up and facing There are front. At the bow many moments sits a person who to be savored uses drumming in a sport that’s both fast or voice calls to issue commands to paddlers. In the and furious rear, a steersperson as well as or tiller uses a contemplative. long attached oar to steer the boat, By CONNIE MCDOUGALL and also shouts commands.
Our boats were white, but come race days, they don colorful regalia, with the head of a dragon at the bow, a tail aft, and often, stylistic scales painted on the side.
Left: Members of the Seattle SAKE Paddling Club turned out to help newcomers get a taste of dragon boating. Photo credit: NancyEllen Regier. Above: SAKE boardmember and dragon boat competitor Sandy Chock-Eng posed with her paddle in Vancouver, Canada, this last summer, where she competed with the club’s master women’s race team. Photo credit: Anne Lee.
We spent more than an hour practicing fast, slow, and stop paddling, while learning commands, my favorite being “let it run,” where the paddle rests on the boat’s edge. “Paddles up” prepares for the first stroke. “Finish, finish, finish” is a war cry to pick up the pace.
Head coach at the Seattle SAKE Paddling Club for the last seven years, Bland issues instructions with a charming Australian accent. She paddled for Australia in the 2004 Asian Title races, and both paddled and coached in Prague during the 2009 World Title races, as well as Macau in 2010. “Besides the camaraderie, travel is one of the things I most enjoy about the sport,” she says. “I’ve been to China, Thailand, Canada and Europe.”
Another appeal is accessibility. “It’s an easy entry-level sport for any level of fitness,” Bland notes. “There’s less impact on the joints, especially the knees.”
This makes dragon boating attractive to older adults, as reflected in the club’s membership, ranging in age from the 20s well into the 80s. Club board member and competitor Sandy Chock-Eng, 74, raced in Canada earlier this year and hopes to compete in Italy in 2024. “I got into it by accident about six years ago,” she says. “One of my friends suggested we try it and I took to it immediately.”
She’s a self-described “water person” who grew up in Hawaii paddling outriggers. “With dragon boats, it took about a year to really get the timing, the reach, and the flexibility down.”
Besides racing, the club also offers recreational dragon boating, standup paddle boarding, and outrigger canoeing. “We take all abilities,” says Chock-Eng. “We’re very accepting and that’s what I love about our group. It’s welcoming. One of our goals is this notion of care.”
For instance, there’s a Survivor SAKE team, an effort of Team Survivor Northwest, which offers programs for women cancer survivors. The SAKE team paddles for fun, but also enjoys competitive racing.
Chock-Eng was on the receiving end of the club’s support last fall when she couldn’t paddle after shoulder surgery. “It was around Christmas and Roula arranged this ’princess paddle’ for me and another member. They put us in the back, paddled into a cove, and we had doughnuts, Christmas treats and hot chocolate.”
There are many moments to be savored in a sport that’s both fast and furious as well as contemplative. “Sometimes we’ll go out as the sun is setting,” Chock-Eng says. “The water is like glass. Mount Rainier shines in the distance. You just can’t beat that.”
If You Go
The Seattle SAKE Paddling Club (ClubSake.com) offers free Dragon Boat 101 lessons in the spring and summer. During fall and winter, beginners may participate in weekend paddles on Lake Washington. For more information, email info@clubsake.com.
Connie McDougall is a former news reporter and current freelance writer of nonfiction and personal essays. She lives in Seattle.
